Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic topped just about every Best Games of 2003 list that came out (including my own). Fantastic story, gorgeous graphics, innovative combat…KOTOR had it all. When I first heard the rumblings about Bioware’s follow up project, Jade Empire, I was intrigued. I pretty much expected Jade to follow the Knights blueprint of excellence, just shifting the setting from a galaxy far, far away to ancient China. That, however, is not what I got. Let me put it this way: Jade Empire is not the kind of game you buy on the day of release. It’s the type of game for which you track down the truck carrying the shipment from Bioware, hijack it, and grab your copy so that you don’t have to waste precious hours while the folks at Best Buy or EB unpack it.

Yeah, it’s that good.