Battle of Bioware
Jade Empire (Xbox): This is one of those titles that made the xbox a must own console. Jade Empire is an action RPG, based in ancient China. I can’t really divulge much of the story – the reason for that I’ll get to in a moment.
Actual gameplay is kind of a mixed bag. The combat is incredibly simplified; however, given the genre, there’s a reason why it’s toned down. You have a block button, which doubles as a dodge when you push a direction; you have a focus button which is somewhat like bullet time; there’s regular attack and strong attack.
Along the way you learn different styles of fighting, which is a definite highlight of the game. The initial styles you learn are pretty rote and are serviceable to beat the game, but lack flair.
The story is what makes this game. As per most Bioware games, you have an option to lead the good life, or choose the path of evil. In this game, how people interact with you is affected by your deeds (or misdeeds) and how the game ends varies dramatically.
Therein lies the rub: you can roleplay six different characters, which changes the usual interactions a bit, and then the path you take affects what kind of styles you learn and the… future of China, essentially. I’ve always looked to Deus Ex for alternate story endings as the pillar of comparison; this game may be the new standard.
The game takes only twenty hours or so to finish, which is on the short end but given the level of replayability, you’re looking at least forty hours. While some of the missions stay the same the interactions definitely do not.
Mass Effect (360): This is one of the very few games that I wanted a 360 for, and I was not disappointed. Mass Effect is also an action RPG, but this time set in space, well into the future. Here you have the option of creating your own character as well, but the back story is relatively the same for all characters.
The story here is relatively mundane sci-fi fare: evil person trying to take over the galaxy. You are the only one that can stop them. *Yawn*
Bioware is the master of story telling, and they even make this poor storyline seem fresh. Same rules apply as before, you can choose the path you take. However, throughout the game, you’re given hard choices to make which affect the story in the next iteration which is yet to be released.
Combat is pretty weak here, too. Lots of gun-kata, nothing too difficult. There’s an interesting playing style called ‘biotic’, which basically gives powers to levitate and suspend the environment. I played the standard soldier, so the first time I played with a biotic on my team I was hooked.
Unlike Jade Empire, whose story is pretty much given to you as you go along, this game has a massive backstory. If you expend the energy to search each planet in the far reaches of the galaxy you uncover a significantly detailed story about the creation of the universe, the intricate dealings between societies, relevant (and irrelevant technologies) and the like. This alone is quite engrossing. It took twenty five hours to beat this game, completing less than half of the side missions.
Finally, also unlike Jade Empire, it’s pretty clear the game the game was going to have a sequel. Jade Empire neatly tied up loose ends. Mass Effect sits, waiting for the sequel. Ostensibly, the path of good (or evil) that you’ve chosen only bears out in the next game. The ending of Mass Effect doesn’t change substantially (and I had the good fortune of playing through both)… because it can’t.
Results
Jade Empire had an incredibly satisfying and involving story. The secondary characters had deep, intricate back stories that actually made you care about the characters. In comparison to Mass Effect, Jade Empire’s main story was very short, and lacking on details. On the flip side, Mass Effect’s side missions weren’t nearly as interesting or varied, and the secondary character’s backstories weren’t all that involving.
Mass Effect didn’t have the plodding feel of Jade Empire. Mass Effect kept you gripped to the controller constantly, the action was fast, and main story was enthralling. Unlike Jade Empire, the ending was a wash. Jade Empire’s venues were highly varied, interesting and teeming with all sorts of different NPCs; Mass Effect’s hubs seemed devoid of life, and Bioware was guilty of reusing venues for side missions (though enemy and item placements were different). The reuse was actually a big letdown the first time I played through.
Gun-kata is a bit more fun that martial arts, especially how Bioware chose to design combat. Managing inventory becomes a pretty interesting (involving? annoying?) side quest in Mass Effect. There’s very little character management in Jade Empire.
The games are incredibly similar, but only on the face. Between the two, I’d say Jade Empire edges out Mass Effect by a hair, but that’s probably because I’m a big fan of kung fu movies. Who knows.
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One Comment
All of these games look alike to me. Meaning, I walk into the room and see you kicking/shooting/otherwise beating the crap out of someone.
Clearly I’m not a video game connaisseur.