Jade Empire is a great game.
The game is epic.
It starts out in the tiny town of Two Rivers, but will take you to the heart of the Empire with lots of twists and turns along the way. The story is not the best I've seen, but there can only be one best, and the story here is downright awesome! :)
I guarantee that on your second play through, you'll pick up on things you missed the first time around, and probably find more side-quests you overlooked before. I always love that.
The characters are interesting and unique. Some are more down-to-earth, others are totally out of their minds. Just like real life :)
Minister Sheng was pretty amazing, and the Black Whirlwind was fun.
When I was feeling more serious, Zu and Dawn Star were two of my favorites.
The graphics are good. Better than KOTOR (granted it's a few years newer). The music was very enjoyable. Like I said, I'm a sucker for the Chinese thing.
Let's see...The sound effects were good as well, and I really enjoyed the character voices.
The combat gameplay is real-time. I found this SO refreshing! Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed many a turn-based game, but it does get old.
There are also many different martial, weapon, and magic styles to learn throughout the course of the game.
The wrap-up:
Story: Engaging and fun. Not predictable like most games. I really liked it. - 9.0
Gameplay: Fun. Just plain fun - 9.0
Sound: Good. I saw nothing wrong with it, and I can't remember any sounds annoying me. And the music was great! - 9.0
Replayability: Med-High 9.0 - I'd say I'll get through this at least 2-3 times. Maybe 4-5. Very fun, lots to discover, and tons of different decisions to make along the way that can change the course of the entire story.
Overall: 9.0 - Another excellent game from Bioware.