Jade Empire... hmm...

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

so i rented jade empire and began playing last night.

i have to say, with all the fuss and the high scoring ratings i've read
about this game, i wasn't all that blown away. mind you, i'm just in
the early stages of the game, so i'm sure there's more coming along.

the graphics are beautiful, no doubt. it's a great looking game. but as
for the gameplay, there's a lot to be desired. some actions during
combat don't seem to "take" when i want them to, leaving me wide open
for attack. aligning with objects to open or characters to talk to can
sometimes be wobbly, as well.

but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
load times. ugh. i'm just tired of games that take forever to load! in
the four hours i put in playing this game last night, i think i spent a
reality of two and a half in actual playtime. in fact, i was able to
watch an entire one hour tv show between load times and gameplay, and
not lose sense of the plot of the show. and believe me, i'm not rushing
through Jade Empire, as i want to savor the experience.

Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
10's... ???

anyone feel differently about this?

 

[beck]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com> wrote in message
news:1114883631.477923.205330@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> so i rented jade empire and began playing last night.
>
> i have to say, with all the fuss and the high scoring ratings i've read
> about this game, i wasn't all that blown away. mind you, i'm just in
> the early stages of the game, so i'm sure there's more coming along.
>
> the graphics are beautiful, no doubt. it's a great looking game. but as
> for the gameplay, there's a lot to be desired. some actions during
> combat don't seem to "take" when i want them to, leaving me wide open
> for attack. aligning with objects to open or characters to talk to can
> sometimes be wobbly, as well.
>
> but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
> load times. ugh. i'm just tired of games that take forever to load! in
> the four hours i put in playing this game last night, i think i spent a
> reality of two and a half in actual playtime. in fact, i was able to
> watch an entire one hour tv show between load times and gameplay, and
> not lose sense of the plot of the show. and believe me, i'm not rushing
> through Jade Empire, as i want to savor the experience.
>
> Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
> realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
> 10's... ???
>
> anyone feel differently about this?

I agree that the loads times are really bad. Particularly noticable when
you take a wrong turn and it loads as you have to wait again.
As for the rest of the game, I have really enjoyed it. I finished it a few
hours ago and got a final time of just under 17 hours. I have played this
almost non stop for 2 days. Unfortunately I had to sleep
It has really captivated me. The storyline has really pulled together after
the second chapter.
Very happy with the game, just saddened it had to finish.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

On 30 Apr 2005 10:53:51 -0700, "Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com>
wrote:

>so i rented jade empire and began playing last night.
>
>i have to say, with all the fuss and the high scoring ratings i've read
>about this game, i wasn't all that blown away. mind you, i'm just in
>the early stages of the game, so i'm sure there's more coming along.
>
>the graphics are beautiful, no doubt. it's a great looking game. but as
>for the gameplay, there's a lot to be desired. some actions during
>combat don't seem to "take" when i want them to, leaving me wide open
>for attack. aligning with objects to open or characters to talk to can
>sometimes be wobbly, as well.

I generally found the game to be pretty responsive, especially in
combat. Can you be more specific about what you mean by actions not
taking? Aligning with he right object or person can occasionally be
more trouble than it needs to be, but it helps if you remember that
you can use the left/right triggers to cycle through the interactive
objects in your area.

>
>but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
>load times. ugh. i'm just tired of games that take forever to load! in
>the four hours i put in playing this game last night, i think i spent a
>reality of two and a half in actual playtime. in fact, i was able to
>watch an entire one hour tv show between load times and gameplay, and
>not lose sense of the plot of the show. and believe me, i'm not rushing
>through Jade Empire, as i want to savor the experience.
>

Load times are annoying but they never really became an issue except
in the arena. I didn't really mind the zone loading but the loading
before and after every fight was down right aggravating. I stopped
playing the game once because I lost a particular fight a few times
and got extremely aggravated with the loading.

>Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
>realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
>10's... ???
>
>anyone feel differently about this?

I finished the game and I think a rating in the 8.5 to 9.5 range is
fair. I don't agree with those people who say the game is primarily
hype, but neither is it the second coming.

In my mind, there is no one single thing that I would call
outstanding about Jade Empire, except maybe the graphics. But JE is a
case of the sum of the parts adding up to something greater than any
of the individual parts. It kept me interested until the very end, and
that's a somewhat rare occurance these days.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

On 30 Apr 2005 10:53:51 -0700, "Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com>
wrote:

>but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
>load times. ugh.

Yeah, I actually mod'ed my XBox specifically for getting better load
times on Bioware games (i.e., I can run it off the hard drive).

>Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
>realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
>10's... ???

It's very over-rated. The combat feel/gameplay in particular is very
week. I'd actually rate it about a 7/10 because of this.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

okay, so i've put in some significant time with JE (about 8 hours so
far) and i have to say, things are shaping up nicely.

one thing i discovered (overlooked, i should say) is the ability to
change targets during combat. simply put, it changed the gameplay
entirely. now, instead of what i described as "actions not taking,"
like hitting A to attack and he just stands there, now i can focus
better on a specific target. once i figured this out, a lot of things
improved.

storywise, the game has become interesting, though i have very little
idea of what i'm doing. it's another game where it seems so vast or
deep, that you can actually get a bit lost. that would be me.

i'm in the caves now and finding the rating of 8.4 still seems
relevant, but i have to say, i now have a better feel for leveling up,
the items, and such, which gives me a sense that i'm more in control of
things than when i first began playing. my perspective on the rating is
likely to go higher as i go in deeper...

i'm really enjoying the game, but have to say it took a while to really
"catch."

thanks for the feedback! you all got me to stick with it longer! ;o)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com> wrote in message
news:1114883631.477923.205330@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> so i rented jade empire and began playing last night.
>
> i have to say, with all the fuss and the high scoring ratings i've read
> about this game, i wasn't all that blown away. mind you, i'm just in
> the early stages of the game, so i'm sure there's more coming along.
>
> the graphics are beautiful, no doubt. it's a great looking game. but as
> for the gameplay, there's a lot to be desired. some actions during
> combat don't seem to "take" when i want them to, leaving me wide open
> for attack. aligning with objects to open or characters to talk to can
> sometimes be wobbly, as well.
>
> but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
> load times. ugh. i'm just tired of games that take forever to load! in
> the four hours i put in playing this game last night, i think i spent a
> reality of two and a half in actual playtime. in fact, i was able to
> watch an entire one hour tv show between load times and gameplay, and
> not lose sense of the plot of the show. and believe me, i'm not rushing
> through Jade Empire, as i want to savor the experience.
>
> Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
> realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
> 10's... ???
>
> anyone feel differently about this?
>

I didn't like the scope (too small and linear), the load times, lack of
widescreen, or the quasi real-time fighting system...great story and good
graphics though...I'd definitely recommend it, but those expecting another
"KOTOR" may be disappointed...

 

[theone]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Khee Mao wrote:
> "Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com> wrote in message
> news:1114883631.477923.205330@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
>>so i rented jade empire and began playing last night.
>>
>>i have to say, with all the fuss and the high scoring ratings i've read
>>about this game, i wasn't all that blown away. mind you, i'm just in
>>the early stages of the game, so i'm sure there's more coming along.
>>
>>the graphics are beautiful, no doubt. it's a great looking game. but as
>>for the gameplay, there's a lot to be desired. some actions during
>>combat don't seem to "take" when i want them to, leaving me wide open
>>for attack. aligning with objects to open or characters to talk to can
>>sometimes be wobbly, as well.
>>
>>but the thing that really makes bothers me the most is the ferocious
>>load times. ugh. i'm just tired of games that take forever to load! in
>>the four hours i put in playing this game last night, i think i spent a
>>reality of two and a half in actual playtime. in fact, i was able to
>>watch an entire one hour tv show between load times and gameplay, and
>>not lose sense of the plot of the show. and believe me, i'm not rushing
>>through Jade Empire, as i want to savor the experience.
>>
>>Gamespot rated the game an 8.4... so far, it seems like it's the most
>>realistic rating i've seen. other sites are giving the game 9's and
>>10's... ???
>>
>>anyone feel differently about this?
>>
>
>
> I didn't like the scope (too small and linear), the load times, lack of
> widescreen, or the quasi real-time fighting system...great story and good
> graphics though...I'd definitely recommend it, but those expecting another
> "KOTOR" may be disappointed...
>
>
I'd fall into the satisfied category, even with my limited playtime of
this game. I absolutely hated KOTOR. IMHO, the sequel really has some
outdated graphics and the way the turn based is coupled with the
"investigate everything routine" just makes me feel like I could be
playing a WHOLE lot better games with my free time. But than I know my
brother loves KOTOR, so different strokes, different folks. I guess
KOTOR can be appreciated alot more with people that read the books/comics.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

It's funny you should say that, because I actually started reading the
novels after I played the KOTOR games (although I may soon give up,
because my introduction to the Star Wars extended universe was the
Thrawn Trilogy, and the others just aren't measuring up). It would
make sense though, to say that people that enjoy one will enjoy the
other.

Anyway, I agree that the load times were pretty bad, but no worse than
KOTOR. It felt like the areas were much larger between loads, too. I
really enjoy the combat, though. Even though it's not turn-based, it
still maintains that same kind of feel, which I enjoy much more than
the frenetic hack'n'slash-type action that some people prefer.

Aside from the load times, I was only bothered by a couple of things.
First, opening chests or casks and searching bones is too much trouble.
I think the original poster was referring to this. It seems like
there is only one direction from which you can open them, and the
character does an annoying little dance trying to open it from that
direction.

Second, and I'm nitpicking I guess, the use of a pair of asterisks to
denote emphasis. Call me old-fashioned, but what ever happened to
italics? I don't know, it just doesn't seem professional or something,
especially because the voice actors can just pronounce the emphasis
themselves. In the text it was just distracting, but as long as I
don't see LOL, LMAO, or ROFL anytime soon, I guess I can deal with it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"TheShujin" <ucphenom82@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1115145103.580961.52470@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

<snip>

> Second, and I'm nitpicking I guess, the use of a pair of asterisks
> to
> denote emphasis. Call me old-fashioned, but what ever happened to
> italics? I don't know, it just doesn't seem professional or
> something,
> especially because the voice actors can just pronounce the
> emphasis
> themselves. In the text it was just distracting, but as long as I
> don't see LOL, LMAO, or ROFL anytime soon, I guess I can deal with
> it.

I dunno; WTF might seem rather appropriate coming from Black
Whirlwind. B^)

---Stash

"Political Correctness is just inverted McCarthyism."
-- Dennis Miller

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