One of the few truly stellar games of all time -- it's insane to think BioWare would be wasting effort on Mass Effect
Since Jade Empire was released exactly four years ago--around the time that I had played it--it is, needless to say, difficult to summarize everything from memory so I will do my best with a Pro and Con entitlement to the game's qualities:
Pros:
*---The storyline is incredibly embracive with entertaining side-stories around every turn of your head that add hours upon hours of replay value that even attest your moral preferences at the same time -- you may respond/act in a benevolent or considerate manner, act neutral, or pose yourself as a villain in society
*---There is an incredible amount of voice acted dialogue that adds individuality and depth to the characters in the game, each of who strongly denote their own personalities
*---The environments you take part in are beautifully rendered and there's practically no one you are not able to socialize with in the overall interface of the game
*---The fighting mechanics allow for an incredible degree of variety, ranging from myriads of different magic techniques to secondary taijutsu attacks and stances -- it virtually allows you to be as original as you want to be
*---Your moral preference will dictate how your story will branch off in many instances, whether it may be assisting an unscrupulous dojo leader to kill his rival so that he may gain more grounds and higher reputation across his estate or assisting in the escape of an innocent scholar who has been falsely proclaimed a criminal by convincing those around you that he deserves freedom
*---You are able to summon multiple familiars at will to fight alongside you to expand your success ratio in tight situations along with the backing of your story-based comrades, each with their own unique techniques
*---The A.I. is brilliant and leaves you with many stark challenges
*---There are a good number of pivotal moments in the story in which you may choose to right your wrongs or wrong your rights to a specific extent, which adds a very strong element of realism that receives one of my loudest applauds yet
*---The character models look great and their expressions are vast
*---The sound effects and music tend to be highly accurate to their narratives
Cons:
*---If I recall I don't believe their is a multiplayer mode at all; online would have also been great and highly competitive
*---There are six characters to choose from, each of which share the same storyline
*---You cannot customize your character's clothing throughout the story; I don't see why they didn't let you do so
*---Jade Empire 2 still hasn't been released even after four years -- quit wasting your time with that crappy Mass Effect game and make a sequel to this epic title instead, BioWare. Jeez.
Conclusion:
If you want to play a game that is even on a higher scale than Fallout 3 and Fable II in terms of your moral capacities then Jade Empire is definitely a right choice for a purchase. I have personally never yet experienced anything else as embracive as Jade Empire so far in my life, which isn't surprising since there isn't any other game more consequential. Let's all petition for Jade Empire 2 to stop being a rumor and convince the brainwashed developers, BioWare, to prioritize a sequel to this masterpiece already.