When it was announced last year that BioWare was not going to be developing the sequel to their game of the year smash hit Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, more than a few gamers took some worried notice. Fortunately, KOTOR II turned out to be a great game that more than did justice to its predecessor. When it was revealed that BioWare was instead going to work on an ancient China themed action-RPG, many more gamers began to worry whether or not the game would be up to snuff and expectations were running quite high. However, Jade Empire is finally here and the results are nothing short of astounding. The game takes a simple to learn yet difficult to master combat system and couples it with an incredible sense of atmosphere and a gripping storyline thrown into a deep and complex universe. Jade Empire is a fantastic game that not only improves upon the high bar that BioWare set with the first Knights of the Old Republic, but also sets a new standard for which all other console RPGs will be judged for years to come.