Excessive hype has long been kryptonite to sensible gamers, many of whom still bear the scars of being burned by the long-promised likes of Atari 2600 Pac-Man, Daikatana, and Enter the Matrix. Even so, when RPG behemoth BioWare passed on the lucrative chance to make a sequel to their much-beloved Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in favor of developing their own martial arts franchise, much preemptive drool was emitted. Now that their chop-socky Xbox-exclusive opus Jade Empire has finally been released, wary players may find themselves in the confounding situation of encountering a product that equals the buzz. Just ridiculously polished from top to bottom, this is one of the all-too-few cases where the early sizzle justifies the steak. Honest.

Set in an imaginary, drought-ridden feudal land of bald masters, ax-wielding ronin, and female ninjas, the plot initially follows the standard RPG template: Orphan with mysterious past stumbles onto quest, attracts weirdo followers, meets destiny as either Chosen savior or Bad-Ass conqueror. Behind the scenes, however, it's a different story. Honoring the ludicrously full-contact, badly dubbed physicality of their source material, the developers have toned down the dice-rolling aspects of their earlier games for a more involving, fully player-controlled fighting system. Which isn't to say that the company has entirely abandoned the tactical side of combat; here, the ability to switch seamlessly between more than a dozen different styles (via on-the-fly d-pad shifting) keeps things lively beyond the standard action-game button mashing. With BioWare's trademarked intelligent scripting, well-chosen voice acting, and a sense of morality that actually stings (even the most jaded Grand Thefters will likely be taken aback by the dark path, which, among other acts of debauchery, includes the opportunity to deliver the freshly severed head of an elderly orphanage worker to the vengeful ghost of a drowned child), this is a game destined to make even the most levelheaded player swiftly swear off sleep, shaving, and unprocessed food.

Okay, so it isn't totally perfect; there's a lack of customizable costumes, the secondary optional quests occasionally take on a maddening jump-through-hoops backtracking quality, and the second half focuses on an increasingly streamlined, all-action aspect. Still, for every mild annoyance, there's legions of neat stuff to be experienced, both small and large, all of which should act as crack to the average kung fu theater enthusiast. Topped off with a fully orchestrated (and damned hummable) soundtrack, beautifully varied backgrounds, and the genuinely progressive ability to initiate same-sex (or even three-way) romances with your followers, the result is a fully developed world, with replayability options out the wazoo. Not to overstate matters, but softening up a murderously boozy sailor with a bo-staff assault, shifting in mid-smack to a drunken master beatdown, and finally finishing him off with a broken table leg is one of the most wonderful things in the entire universe. Rest easy, grasshopper, the Master's honor is intact.