10 Severely Underrated RPGs You Need To Check Out

3. Jade Empire

When you think of BioWare, then Mass Effect or Dragon Age will immediately spring to mind, depending on whether your geeky dispositions are towards sci-fi or high fantasy. The simple fact is that many more people have geeky dispositions to those two genres than to Ancient China, which is probably a big part of why the excellent Jade Empire was widely overlooked.

Released in 2005, Jade Empire was the game that kicked off many of the tropes that define Bioware RPGs of today. So expect plenty of romance opportunities, meaningful character relationships and dialogue options that impact on characters' opinions of you. The game features a real-time combat system in which you can pause to change fighting styles or line up certain combos that you're itching to try out. It's relatively simple compared to the Bioware games of old, which subsequently makes it much more accessible than their previous games.

Jade Empire was the beginning of a glorious new era for Bioware, but it was also a fine game in itself, offering a story and world completely unlike any other. It's a forgotten gem that deserves to be unearthed. You can grab the Special Edition of Jade Empire at GOG.com.

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Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.