I'll have to say that Jade Empire is worthy of a 9.5/10, that I'm glad I bought it, and that I'll probably keep it around for awhile. While I agree that there are forever improvements that could be made, this is the case for any game, IMHO. This is only true because life isn't about perfection, life is about perfecting.
I think Bioware has presented a well-rounded product with features and storyline that summarily, IMHO, far-surpassed those of Fable. Maybe it's just that the fantasy of Eastern culture and principle attracts me more than that of a purely fantasy-medieval genre. IMHO, Bioware took a risk by engaging the development of this game, and that risk has paid great rewards - both to gamers and to Bioware. Kudos to their team.
Jade Empire is rare in that, much like KOTOR I/II, will tell a story with a subtext of spiritual principle. While many gamers might view this as wasted effort, or just plain "lame", there are many of us who react warmly to such a pretext. In the bigger picture, there is so much more than meets the "I".
I'm now in my 30's and am willing to be patient while game developers hone their craft. I believe that the improvements and strides being made in R&D and production are immense. After all, my childhood friends and I blew hundreds of hours glued to the TV (black and white) with ONLY Pong. We were raised on games that literally consisted of a single line of code. Remember?
Younger gamers today, for the most part, can't even conceive of a B/W TV, or a single-ROM game machine that connects with a signal converter that attaches to a "rabbit ear" input. I can hear groans for the memories and squeaked out questions of "What's a rabbit ear?" C'mon laugh with me!
In summary then, lest I digress further, Jade Empire was everything I realistically expected it to be. Did I want more? Sure I did, we all did. Was I disappointed? Not the least bit. JE took a leap of faith in the quasi-RPG genre, and we're all better for it.
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