Behold, the forefather of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, the game that started it all....
Story: The story of jade Empire resolves around the treacherous and deceitful Emperor who came to terms with the most cruel man in the land, the Death's Hand! You, as the only survivor from the monk stronghold (which held the dragon God imprisoned in it) slowly unwrap the story behind your origin, the powers that make you above other students of the academy and the destiny that still remains unclear and based on two paths - one of the Open Palm and the other of the Closed fist. Alot of twists, character respond selections, relationship building and companion management (with some other features which are overshaded by the former) make this game unique in every way imaginable. I gotta hand it to those script writers, they deserve the 10 I am planing to give them on the great story they came out with.
Gameplay: Now I have to separate gameplay elements into good and bad category because of better distinguishing between them separately to clear up the final score of this section.
-good: The action that revolves on the screen is great, everything runs fluidly, there are alot of styles you can use in combat - ranging from physical, weapon, magic, support, and finally the morphing styles. The opponents will try to puncture through any hole you left in your defense, and they will be without mercy. As for the general, more rpg-ish elements of gameplay, I can put up character conversations, exploring and building up your character as you see fit.
-bad: The game tends to fall from time to time into repetitive cycles of action and conversation in strictly timed intervals, ruining the slight feeling of non-linear gameplay that you may have experienced until you realized these flaws. Also, the lack of inventory really degrades the immersion into this game. I mean come on, your character cannot change his clothes, cannot use more than one weapon style, and the only real customization element is your Dragon Amulet. Yeah, call me a douche, but I don't like over-simplicity in a game which has so many potential; it just mares the game so much...
So the point is that, even though there are more "good" gameplay elements than the "bad" ones, I cannot convince myself to give it a grade higher than 7. Seriously, the over-simplicity makes me think that developers were aiming for some balanced line betwen the hardcore RP players and the Average Joe Casuals (which is understandable, as the game first came out on *cough*redneck*cough* XBOX). So 7 it is, sadly...
Graphics: Back when I first purchased this game I was really amazed at how beautiful the graph was: the lovely bloom, animations of everything around you (including thyself), models in the game (especially those of mythological creatures). It STILL is, in my honest opinion, one of the most beautiful games I ever played. And although there were some graphical glitches in the game now and then (the camera lock-ons after save games, the infamous Sir Roderick fight glitch, other minor glitches) the game still shines with its display of aesthetics. I am only giving it 9 because of the Bioware not being capable (?) of releasing just ONE patch to clear the glitches up.
Music: Whoever had written the OST is simply a genius! The music follows every change of pace on the screen, be it the change of scenery or the beginning of the battle. The calm tones of Eastern cultures sooth your senses, and when you prepare your fists for a clash of mights the music fires up to entirely new heights, pumping that much needed vigor into your character. As far as voice acting goes everything is done in the familiar fashion of Bioware - gifted voice actors, immersed into their respective roles, pull you into the fictive world on the screen, not planning to let go until you come to credits screen (but not from main menu ;)). Absolute 10, no doubts about that.
Summary: You owe it to yourself to play this game. Even if you aren't a fan of far Eastern mythology, martial arts and fantasy, I bet you will be attracted to this mind-blowing rpg experience, simply because it came from Bioware's kitchen, and we all know how much those guys rock when it comes to making a gaming equivalents of block-busters. Experience for yourself the game that started the new era of mind-blowing RPGs Bioware serves us today.