Ranking Every Bioware Game From Worst To Best
3. Jade Empire
After years spent exploring high-fantasy worlds in hardcore RPGs inspired by tabletop games, Jade Empire was a chance for Bioware to do something a bit new.
Sticking with a historical setting but moving the action to a period inspired by Imperial China, Jade Empire maintained the studio's signature storytelling focus while tackling a subject that was entirely alien to them.
Riffing on the Wuxia genre, players could hone their martial arts abilities by improving various different stats and learning new techniques while on their journey through the heart of the Chinese Empire. The combat itself was pretty simplistic and marked a move away from the more complex dice-roll systems found in previous games, but it was indicative of the more accessible route that the developers would continue on with future releases.
Structurally very similar to KOTOR, the game didn't boast the same wealth of content that the studio's previous RPGs enjoyed, but the shorter length actually made for a tighter and more enjoyable experience overall.
One of Bioware's best, it remains criminal that Jade Empire was never revisited in the years following its release.