STAYING CONNECTED FLAYED IN CHINA.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

I'VE ALWAYS thought of Chinese fantasy as one of the more special arenas within the entertainment world. It's the only place where kung fu, magic and storytelling can be seamlessly weaved together.

No game understands this better than ``Jade Empire.''

There aren't too many people jumping on branches or having aerial sword fights over lakes, but Bioware's latest epic firmly places its finger on the essence of Asian mythology. Beneath all the crazy stories and fantastic imagery, you'll see a title comfortable in its own skin.

Almost every facet of the game hints at how the culture has been chronicled in books, art and movies. The story itself features lots of time-tested elements of martial-arts legend.

You play an immensely talented student (you can give him or her a name after choosing from several character models) in an isolated school under the supervision of an ancient master who is more than he seems. This by itself is the basis for many kung-fu heroes.

In vintage martial-arts-flick fashion, your old master is kidnapped, the school is destroyed, and you embark on a vast adventure that goes all the way to the Imperial City.

This all may seem like charted waters for die-hard fans of this style of entertainment, but the game handles all of its material gracefully by standing in the gray area between two genres.

On one hand, ``Jade Empire'' is loaded with action, but doesn't have the breakneck pace of an action title, mostly because of its mission to include the character-building elements found in role-playing games.

Players command a multitude of kung-fu styles, each with names like Legendary Strike, Leaping Tiger and Heavenly Wave. Each style has a different set of effects in battle - Leaping Tiger is meant solely for offense, while Heavenly Wave is designed to slow down your opponent.

The game asks players to mix and match styles during battle, which adds a strategic element that most action games don't have.

Newer gamers shouldn't expect the sweeping combos and massive bloodletting one would find in ``God of War'' in this game. The combat wants to be a test of critical thinking, not reflexes (though those need to be sharp, too).

The game's true magic lies in its storytelling and depth. Like the movies ``Hero'' or ``House of Flying Daggers,'' ``Jade Empire'' gives players little information about the main characters at the beginning of the story. Instead, they are left to piece together who they are through their actions and the natural progression of their journey. This is where the game's role-playing side shows itself.

In addition to gaining experience and building up the powers of your martial artist, the game lets you craft your character's ``way'' through actions and dialogue.

Players can follow the Way of the Open Palm or the Way of the Closed Fist. It's not as simple as picking ``light side'' vs. ``dark side'' - an Open Palm person might use charm and words to do good, while a Closed Fist advocate would do good by trying to put a fist through every bad guy he or she sees.

Players get plenty of chances to swing one way or the other because of the litany of side quests faced in the game. The village of Tien's Landing alone will have you doing everything from killing bandits to finding a suitable husband for a female gang leader.

And it wouldn't be a martial-arts epic without a stable of diverse characters. In many tales of Chinese legend, each warrior has a deep (or at least interesting) story to tell, and the people in ``Jade Empire'' fit that bill.

You start out with Dawn Star, the definition of a faithful friend, and eventually meet people like the Black Whirlwind, an ax-wielding lush, and Henpecked Hou, a former guru of drunken boxing who stopped fighting because his wife disapproved - now he's an expert bun master.

``Jade Empire'' is another must-have game not just for Xbox owners, but for fans of Chinese mythos whose game selection seems to pale in comparison to the number of Japan-themed titles. Asia is pretty big, so its stories can't possibly be all covered.

JADE EMPIRE - Three and one half stars

Platform: Xbox.

Price: $49.99.

Rated: M for Mature.

In a nutshell: A blend of action and role-playing that delivers the grandeur of a Chinese martial-arts epic.

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Photo:

no caption (video game: ``Jade Empire'')

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