Rumorang: Jade Empire sequel in the works
by Jason Dobson 
{ Dec 31st 2007 at 10:35AM }
Despite any official confirmation, we presumed the game to be in development ages ago, though since that time there has been little to go on. Now, however, San Jose Mercury News game journo Dean Takahashi has taken a break from sipping eggnog long enough to mention that he has spoken with "someone" who has actually been in the presence of "code for Jade Empire 2." While the rumored confirmation ends there, we believe it's only a matter of time before Jade Empire's successor becomes a reality. Our only request is that BioWare leave the project in the oven until it's done, unlike the studio's last serving of 'Shepard's' pie.
[Thanks, Kyle]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ten Dolla Bill @ Dec 31st 2007 10:42AM
Loved this game back on the Xbox, hopefully the rumours come to fruition because this would make an awesome game on the 360 and PS3.
INCH75 Vocals @ Dec 31st 2007 10:45AM
Bioware+RPG=win. I hope this is true. I had a good time with the first game, even though it was basically KOTOR in a different setting.
ballistic3188 @ Dec 31st 2007 10:50AM
they better revamp the combat system. cause the whole rock paper scissors system was bad. they really need to hire people that make action games cause there first two outing in A-RPG (jade empire and mass effect) have good story but combat has been subpar so far.
Mike-453 @ Dec 31st 2007 11:42AM
I think Mass Effect is a good start in shooter combat for Bioware. In need of improvements in nearly every area though.
Jade Empire, it was a simplistic, but worked well.
rdj75 @ Dec 31st 2007 11:05AM
@ballistic
First I would like to say that I enjoyed both mass effect and jade empire, including the combat system. We all have different tastes but to say that the combat was subpar is kind of stupid. If I don't like something then thats my opinion but that doesn't neccessarily means that it sucked.
Patrick @ Dec 31st 2007 12:25PM
i thought for what mass affect shot for it was a great game, needs some revision but not much
ballistic3188 @ Dec 31st 2007 12:38PM
i tire of arguements of "it is only your opinion, therefore i can disregard it". If your require an arguement. I will substantiate my claim of sub par combat
jade empire's combat lack depth. it was a rock paper scissor system. the problem was that quick attack was over powered. the counter ,shield, did nothing and the power attack were too slow. the next problem was that the dodge ability. especially the flip behind the enemy. as it would stun the person so you could throwing the quick attack. the basic strategy was you basically leaped over behind the guy then used your 3 hit combo and leaped behind him again til the guy died.
the fact that most encounters could be defeated with this simple set of moves made it bored and bland. this became more so with the inclusion of paralysing palm and closed fist which made it even eaiser. area attack harmonic combo and your done.
i considered the combat subpar as when i compare it to other action rpgs such as tale of syphonia or sudeki and find them better than jade empire. I am not the only one that stated this as gamespot (if you still trust them back then) follows my OP as well.
combat has been my only caveat of jade empire as everything else was great (except load screens...). Once they improved the combat it can go down as one of bioware's best
jovin6 @ Dec 31st 2007 6:07PM
@ballistic
I'm behind you 100%. There are way too many posters here that are after nothing more than 3 full hearts and that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when everyone is sucking everyone else's dick. Yes, it is an opinion. However, many opinions are based on observations of fact, which can be more or less astute. So if you don't agree with it, argue against the actual claim being made or shut the fuck up.
More on topic, I think you captured the problem with the game perfectly. I watched several friends play through it, and after seeing them do that exact combo over and over again for hours on end, I never even gave it a try. In addition, I also felt the art direction was terrible, with a boring, brown color palette and nothing but forgettable, repeatable environs.
Kamalot @ Dec 31st 2007 11:31AM
Jade Empire was a very different enterprise from Bioware and deserves a great sequel. Sadly, if the PS3 port is anything like the vast majority of Electronic Arts' other PS3 efforts, it will be a shoddy piece of shovelware. :(
Mike-453 @ Dec 31st 2007 11:47AM
Yea it was, but so is Mass Effect, I guess Bioware are just trying new thing with combat. Will only improve over sequels too, hopefully...
PhrawzT @ Dec 31st 2007 11:36AM
I tried to get into Jade Empire, but the combat system just did not do it for me. I loved the Knights games and Mass Effect, but gave up on Jade Empire after about 10 hours.
Gregorius @ Dec 31st 2007 11:48AM
The thing I hated most about Jade Empire was the lack of customization. You were stuck with your choice of a few characters. That was half the fun of KOTOR, making your Jedi look bad ass.
phuink @ Dec 31st 2007 11:52AM
Put this off to the side, make ME-2 please.
phuink @ Dec 31st 2007 11:52AM
and make it longer.
Mike-453 @ Dec 31st 2007 12:04PM
And put more effort into side missions.
Jerk Face @ Dec 31st 2007 3:57PM
And add more dude on dude alien lovin' scenes.
...
...
...
...
...
...
Wait, what?
AZN Tina Cheng @ Dec 31st 2007 12:14PM
Oh great, just what we need. Another racists sequel.
A bunch of white (or caucasian) dudes shouldn't make games about asians or any other minority,IMO. I alot of my friends (who are asian) were offended by this game. Heck, even my non - asian friends thought the game was racist.
We all just sat there, amazed by what we were seeing on the TV screen. The first thoughts that popped into my head were, "How an the hell do they think this is ok" and "I can't believe this game was created"
I know they didn't plan to make a racist game. but that's how it turned out. IMO
Bad BioWare, you guys need a good spanking.
Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 31st 2007 12:18PM
Hmmm... how was the game racist? I played the first one, but not very far (not my thing). But I never saw anything that I thought was racist.
ThornedVenom @ Dec 31st 2007 12:54PM
Please tell me how it was racist: I'm Asian too.
ThornedVenom @ Dec 31st 2007 1:05PM
Sorry Tina for completely missing the point in my previous comment: how can I really trust you for denouncing racism if you already consider that these "white" developers shouldn't make Asian-themed games, under the pretext that their caucasian side would be a handicap?
Last time I checked, Bioware was Canadian, and unlike in your world, nationality has nothing to do with skin color. Those are my two cents from a proud Frenchman who happens to be Asian.
Mike-453 @ Dec 31st 2007 1:15PM
lol wut?
It was fantasy inspired by certain asian cultures, architecture, etc. No matter what, it is just fiction. To get explanations of why people found this racist would be interesting.
Batzarro @ Dec 31st 2007 1:23PM
Oh, great, another person that diregards the definition of racism. Racism means to apply atributes or characteristics, good or bad, on account of race, or to otherwise discriminate on a person on account of race. Wich leads to the questionaire:
Does Jade Empire show asian people as being better or worst than other races instinctly because of etnicity?
Does Jade Empire show all asian people having negative characteristics?
I think what you and your friends actually mean is that Jade Empire is not an accurate representation of asian myth, culture, or hystory. That much I would understand. After all, the game is a fantasy, and not a hystorical sim like Romance of the 3 kingdoms, or Onimusha. It doesn't even clearly state where IS the Jade Empire. It takes a western view of eastern myth. Make of that what you will, but it doesn't sound racist to me.
zuburi @ Dec 31st 2007 1:30PM
Kenneth Eng, is that you? (look it up)
Mike-453 @ Dec 31st 2007 1:30PM
And since it's created by westerners and directed to westerners, it would only make sense it would be from a western perpective of eastern culture. Some may call that racist, but fuck 'em.
All parts of the world have innacurate views of different cultures, just how it is.
Geist @ Dec 31st 2007 5:22PM
Did you see the one European in that game? He was a ridiculous stereotype that drank tea and shot his trebuchet, wanted to kill everything and thought himself better than everyone in the entire land.
The game is just a larger-than-life fantastical approach to the ancient world.
exavier126 @ Dec 31st 2007 12:16PM
I love the original Jade Empire (in fact I like it even more than Mass Effect), I really hope this is true!
LiK @ Dec 31st 2007 12:24PM
the first Jade Empire was somewhat disappointing, imo. they should just focus on Mass Effect 2 instead...
PhrawzT @ Dec 31st 2007 12:39PM
Bioware has already announced many times that Mass Effect was planned to be a trilogy. I am sure that they are already working on that as well as Jade Empire if the rumor it true.
Hater234 @ Dec 31st 2007 1:47PM
I never play this game. Was it a good game?
is this game worth playing?
Jeff @ Dec 31st 2007 12:59PM
When the hell are they going to make Dragon Age? Or the Mass Effect PC port...
Geist @ Dec 31st 2007 5:23PM
I wants me some ME PC. At least the loading times will be drastically cut down.
joemoemino @ Dec 31st 2007 1:23PM
I really did not like Jade Empire. Loved KoTOR and Mass Effect, but Jade Empire just seemed like a big joke. No one sounded Asian, the horse/toad/fox demon things were retarded, the Galaga mini-game deal was stupid, combat was lame, and it was just no fun.
Hopefully BioWare will just forget about it and continue working on the Mass Effect trilogy.
Easo @ Dec 31st 2007 1:25PM
Putting AZN before your name automatically means you are not allowed to comment on racism. Sorry.
I just had a thought. What if some of the Bioware devs are of russian descent. That would technically make then both white and asian. If that were the case, would that make your irrational calm more or less valid?
RankHypocrisy @ Dec 31st 2007 2:33PM
This is exactly why the whole politically correct label of 'Asian' is stupid and imprecise. Technically speaking, a Russian, an Indian, and a Chinese are all 'Asian'. How much do they have in common, besides inhabiting the largest landmass in the world?
What was wrong with the old word 'Oriental' anyway? There is nothing disparaging about it. That is the term we used when I was a child. It just seemed like everyone woke up one day and the Sensitivity Police had decided it was hateful, and that we would all say 'Asian' for evermore.
I still don't understand this.
GRANTED @ Dec 31st 2007 5:06PM
because colloquial "asian" refers to east asian, not russian or indian. the russian argument is just as stupid as the initial comment by AZN.
anyway, other races (blacks and hispanics) are marginalized more in movies, video games, and other popular media than asians are, because there are fewer blacks and hispanics in these industries. sorry we don't live in a colorblind world: deal with it. there are more important things to argue about that video games.
Will @ Dec 31st 2007 2:27PM
W-wh-what?! This is blasphemy, I tell ya! I need Knights of the Old Republic 3 first!!! I'll even settle for Mass Effect 2, but NOT a Jade Empire sequel.
Geist @ Dec 31st 2007 5:24PM
Frankly, after how they pooped all over the KOTOR sequel, I'm worried about how they handle a sequel to any of their other titles, especially if they handle it in-house or get another developer to work on it.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 31st 2007 6:30PM
wow. Geist. There is so much fail in your post.
Bioware had nothing to do with the sequel. Absolutely nothing.
MegaSnort @ Dec 31st 2007 5:24PM
needs to be longer, have more places to explore, and balanced combat that allows for creative approaches that are reminiscent of classic kung fu movies rather than whoring out transformations in what seems like a bad anime. Jade Empire was the worst Bioware title; not a bad game just the worst one they developed.
Mike @ Dec 31st 2007 6:24PM
I'm still waiting for Dragon Age. I'd rather didn't start another Jade Empire until that's out.
We need a return to the glory days of Baldur's Gate!
Mike @ Dec 31st 2007 6:26PM
Blast.
I'd rather they didn't start^
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 31st 2007 6:27PM
Awesome.
also there's a surprising amount of people who don't like this game. I thought it was pretty awesome. Hopefully this time it'll be as epic as Mass Effect.
Cyro @ Dec 31st 2007 6:56PM
I need Mass Effect 2 !!!! They should not do this now. They should make ME-2 First. I am not a RPG Fan but Mass Effect just blew me out of the water. I loved every single aspect of the game. It was Awsome.
Easo @ Dec 31st 2007 8:24PM
GRANTED
Your right, in the US the word asian is used to refer to people from china and japan. But in other countries, asian is commonly used to refer to people from India or south asian in general.
As for my statement about russia, that was ment to show how silly it was to say that only asians should portray asians culture, when asia is clearly the largest land mass in the world and includes groupes that wouldnt be considered asian by her definition.