When Jade Empire was released on the original XBox in 2005, it was an almost instant hit for Bioware, and due to popular demand has now been released for the PC platform with updated graphics.

Jade Empire attains the holy grail of gaming in the form of an immersive story underpinned by some of the best voice acting I have ever come across. Without giving too much away, the story centres around your character’s search to understand his/her past and why the spirits of the dead will no longer rest; in the process, it seamlessly draws on martial arts lore, Eastern philosophy, animism and numerous other fortean subjects. The game space is breathtaking and you will be awestruck by the beauty all around. The story is one that delights in allowing you to put trust in the characters you encounter only to have them betray you (usually at the least convenient time).

This is primarily a Role Play fighting game, and to this end there are numerous fighting styles to learn as you progress, some pure martial arts styles, some weapon-based, and some that let you transform into various demons to wreak havoc on your foe. The fighting system is simple, and can be easily mapped to your 1–9 buttons on the keyboard for easy swapping mid-fight, as you will find some enemies are immune to certain styles. For killing monsters you gain experience which leads to levelling-up, unlocking points to spend on both your character’s attributes and the various fighting styles you have access to. Once you have completed the game it is possible to play it through again with a newly unlocked ‘Jade Master’ difficulty level... which is very difficult indeed.

Another nice feature is the in-game ethics system. Depending on your actions, usually dictated by your dialogue with other characters, you are awarded points towards one of two ethical paths. For example, if you choose to spare the Rat Demon who has just given you valuable information, then you gain points towards the path of the Open Palm (Good); if you slit the demon’s throat (well, he was a demon after all!) then you’ll be heading towards the path of the closed fist (Evil) – which isn’t, perhaps, so easy, given that many of the choices you need to make are at best dubious and at worst abhorrent. Certain fighting styles are available depending on your ethical alignment.

In all, it should take about 26 hours to play the game through once; it’s certainly enjoyable enough to return to, as I have done numerous times since.