Wanted to play something "meaty" and since I can't seem to find Virtual Steel Wang on XBLA, I decided to try my first Games on Demand download:

Yep, that's an old-school BioWare game! I am utterly shocked that I started DL'ing at 8:09AM and at 9:15AM I am 90% finished! Why is this so astounding? I am using Optimum Online cable with Wi-Fi and the game is a HEFTY 6.17 GIGS!

I don't know how many or --IF-- anyone here has ever played it, but the idea of a multiple character, multiple path, good or evil, ACTION RPG from the makers of Mass Effect and KOTOR seems just like something I could use right now to take my mind off of other things! I'll post impressions as I start this really, really LttP (2005) masterpiece!

Done! Just under an hour and twenty minutes to DL a 6.17 Gig game! Not too bad at all!

I used to be intimidated by the size of the GoD games, but now I know it's not that bad at all!

Impressions coming later today!

SteelAttack said:

Jade Empire is good stuff, but the combat is poop.

So far it seems like typical BioWare fare. Almost like a Pre-Cursor to Dragon Age 2. I like the balancing of Health, Chi and Focus. Focus is the meter for your weapons. Chi powers your strikes or your magic and heals your health. Health is obvious. Balancing the three seems to be key in combat.

Switching between styles is also key in combat. I tried fighting with the weapon alone, but quickly ran out of Focus and was overwhelmed. The Martial Skill is a good back up, but is weaker compared to the Weapons. Using the Chi Style, I was able to Slow all of my enemies at once, then switch back to Weapon, then make more precise strikes to avoid wasting Focus. When switching back to Martial after this I was able to fight better too, collecting enough Focus orbs to then use my Weapon once again. Everything is a balance here!

Having back-up and/or support characters that will either Fight along side you or Support you (boosting your Chi, for example) also adds a good amount of depth to the Fighting System. Not bad for a game from 2005!

I absolutely --LOVE-- the attention to Eastern Philosophy here!! The Ways of the Open Fist of Closed Fist represent BioWares Omni-present Good vs. Evil system --BUT-- this game seems to give compelling reasons why you may want to consider both!

I love the action battles here and don't find them too bad at all! Even in a 6 year old game, I can see how this game's influence is still used today (DA2). I cannot wait to see the further styles that will be introduced and how they will play out in combat! I am particularly interested in Transformation and am looking forward to it!

Best 1200 points I've spent, I must say!

I am also happy that the Games on Demand download didn't take as long as I thought it would! This opens up the possibility of DL'ing Fable 1 or Psychonauts, or a number of other titles available there! Very satisfied!!

*This is the character I am playing, Can't wait to get some Elemental Skills!*

Cool! That means "replayability" to me these days!

Couldn't get into Gears 2?

I'm still playing Jade Empire, but my interest in the 360 and console gaming in general is waning with the nice weather. All the games I compeleted carried me through the fall, winter, and rainy spring, but I'm finding it harder and harder to sit in front of a TV screen these days.

phantom_leo said:

Gave up on Gears 2. The one thing I HATE more than anything else when it comes to the Gears games is the imprecise aiming. You have your reticle and when you fire, it kinda, sorta fires in that area. Maybe the Sniper Rifle is more precise, but everything else is not. I got up to the part where you have to kill that tentacled monster in the underground lake. I tried probably 2 dozen times. Poor hit detection got me killed when trying to get the tentaces off the raft. When I would finally get IN the monsters mouth, the imprecise grenade throwing and the constant movement of the monster made it too annoyingly impossible to kill the damn thing. Get one in, get spit out, repeat the process... Hope you don't run out of grenades! Make one mistake, repeat the ENTIRE sequence again and again and again! I watched that DAMN raft get dragged under sooo many times, I am shocked I didn't throw my controller through the TV screen!

One 360 game I will never finish!

Kinda turns me off for Gears 3 now too...

  I was looking forward to some Gears 3 co-op with the VGpressers.  Oh well, there's always Archie, Steel and Bear.

I didn't play Gears 2 that long to be aware of aiming imprecisions, but I have to say, in Gears 3 the aiming in quite steady. Almost to the point of being unnaturally accurate. You can spray the shit out of your enemies with minimal recoil or accuracy loss. Not sure I liked that, but it's definitely very steady.