Fact Sheet – Jade Empire™ Special Edition

Product:	Jade Empire: Special Edition
Publisher:	2K Games
Developer:	BioWare® (www.bioware.com)
Format:	PC
Game Type:	Single player action-RPG
Availability:	Q1 2007
Price:	TBD

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Jade Empire: Special Edition is the award-winning martial arts action RPG created by BioWare, the commercially and critically acclaimed RPG developer of Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Neverwinter Nights™, and the Baldur's Gate™ series. Originally developed for the Xbox console system with a next-generation Xbox engine, Jade Empire: Special Edition will deliver an improved visual and gameplay experience. Jade Empire: Special Edition will be available Q1 2007. More information on Jade Empire: Special Edition is available at jade.bioware.com.

STORY OVERVIEW

In the ancient, mysterious world of the Jade Empire, you train under your master's watchful eye and learn powerful martial arts and mystical powers.

When danger threatens, you travel across the world, from the harsh mountains of the Land of Howling Spirits to the lush gardens of the Imperial City.

In your adventures you face powerful human and supernatural foes, learn exotic and magical martial arts, and discover the darkest secrets of the world.

Only by mastering the greatest fighting styles and defeating the most powerful enemies will you earn your place as a master of martial arts in the world of Jade Empire.

FEATURES

Key Numbers:

• 7 Combat styles, including the new Viper and Iron Palm
• 3 Support styles
• 4 Magic styles
• 4 Transformation styles
• 7 Playable characters, including Monk Zeng (now available at start)
• Over 70 areas to explore including swamps, big cities, mountain tops, floating palaces and more
• 10 Weapons to use, including the new Demon Sword and Staff
• Approximately 40 hours of gameplay
• 4 Difficulty levels, including the new "super hard" Jade Master difficulty level

New to Jade Empire: Special Edition:

Jade Empire has been recast as an entirely new experience fully optimized for the PC. The rich story remains intact and the detailed world of the Jade Empire is depicted in lush graphics and cinematics which are rendered in higher resolution than ever before, with new visual effects added to fighting styles and combat. The game controls and interface are redesigned specifically for maximum effect on the PC. New weapons, combat fighting styles, and items are added to enrich the game experience for PC fans, and the combats in the game have been rebalanced and redesigned to provide the deep levels of tactics and challenge sought by PC RPG fans.

All the award-winning content of the original Xbox version will be faithfully translated to the PC:

1. Epic story and compelling characters set in a graphically beautiful, fantastic new world inspired by the myths and legends of ancient China. Jade Empire: Special Edition immerses players in a deep, rich storyline in the tradition of the BioWare® developed Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™. Sinister events upset the peaceful harmony of an isolated martial arts school and draw the player into a story that unfolds with drama, action, and adventure. All characters are motion-captured to provide realistic and fluid movements. Detailed followers and other non-player characters enrich the adventure by providing comic relief, rivalries, flirtations, and hostility. Watch for special celebrity cameos by John Cleese (Shrek™ 2, Monty Python and the Holy Grail™) and Nathan Fillion (Serenity™, Firefly™). Stare in awe at the sweeping views of the lush environments, sheer vertical drops, and overpowering scale that provide the visual backdrop to the story. Confront wild outlaws, evil magicians, demonic incarnations, and other foul villains that protect the Jade Empire's darkest secrets.
2. Become a martial arts master! Using the knowledge gained in crafting multiple story-based role playing games, BioWare sends the player on a journey to become a martial arts master. Choose a character with a unique appearance, and a powerful combination of ability scores and fighting styles. You can choose to act for good or evil, and these decisions build the player's reputation, which precedes him or her throughout the land, changing the course of interaction with other characters and followers. Take the role of a master of martial arts, and recruit followers to your cause in an interactive, living world.
3. Innovative real-time fighting system: Combat in Jade Empire is fast-paced martial arts action which will appeal to action fans for its intensity, and RPG fans for its depth, and it is exciting and tactical as you rapidly switch fighting styles to meet diverse challenges. Master fighting styles and mystical powers; Jade Empire provides a gameplay experience with the tempo and fury normally found in Hong Kong cinema favorites such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon™, Hero™, House of Flying Daggers™, or the Jet Li, Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan classics. As you journey through Jade Empire, you can upgrade your combat styles and learn entirely new styles to tailor a character to your specific gameplay preferences. Select from dozens of fighting styles, including martial arts styles (e.g. Legendary Strike, Leaping Tiger), magic styles (e.g. Tempest, Dire Flame), transformation styles (e.g. Toad Demon, Horse Demon, Jade Golem), and weapon styles (e.g. Long sword, Twin Axes, Staff, improvised weapons like chairs). Each style has its own tactical roles and attacks that range from punches and kicks to weapon strikes, magical and mystical powers, and even transformations into supernatural monsters! You can focus on a narrow channel of styles and become dominant in these forms or broaden your area of study to include a wide variety of styles adaptable to many combat situations.
4. Enhanced graphics and gameplay specifically optimized for the PC. The PC version of Jade Empire includes high-resolution graphics and stunning new visual effects. Jade Empire: Special Edition is a silk painting come to life as hundreds of textures have been upgraded with hand-crafted detail. The power of the PC is fully utilized to bring gamers short load-times, smooth frame-rates and ultra-crisp visuals. Players take command with an intuitive PC control system for keyboard and mouse, and also have the option of defining their own controls, or using a gamepad.
5. Added content: The world of Jade Empire is enriched with new combat and weapon styles, monsters and items. BioWare introduces two new combat styles that were not offered in the original Xbox version: Iron Palm delivers slow but devastating damage, while Viper attacks with lethal poison that kills over time. Players will battle deadly new monsters, including the giant Rhino Demon. The Rhino Demon Transformation style is offered with a preorder from 2K Games.
6. Game balancing improves game difficulty. More varied encounters, revamped harmonic combos, improved A.I. and an improved system of Chi and Health drops lead to more dynamic fights, causing players to take advantage of more combat styles. For added challenge, players can complete the game once, then take their fully-developed character and play through the super-hard Jade Master difficulty level.

Selected Awards:

Jade Empire has already earned over 60 awards including:

• 2005 Game of the Year (IGN)
• 2005 Role-Playing Game of the Year (Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, MetaCritic.com, Team Xbox, IGN, GameSpy, Next Generation)
• Best Story (IGN, Xbox Users Group)
• Best Original Soundtrack Album (Game Audio Network Guild)
• Best Sound (Team Xbox)
• Best Artistic Design (IGN)

ABOUT BIOWARE

BioWare develops computer, console, handheld and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's best-selling titles including the award-winning Baldur's Gate™ and Neverwinter Nights™ series, and Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™. Original BioWare-created IPs include Jade Empire™ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect™. With studios in Edmonton, Canada, and Austin, Texas, BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy RPG, Dragon Age and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for the Nintendo DS™, as well as several unannounced projects including a massively multiplayer online game. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world’s leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com.

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The information contained in this fact sheet relates to a prerelease product that may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when first commercially released. This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only and Microsoft and BioWare make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the fact sheet or the information contained in it.

JADE EMPIRE © 2007 BioWare. Jade Empire, the Jade Empire logo, BioWare, the BioWare logo, and the BioWare hands logo are trademarks of BioWare. in the United States, Canada and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Microsoft, the Microsoft Game Studios logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.