JADE EMPIRE
Platform: Xbox
Backward-Compatible: Yes
Price: $10 used

Stoked for Mass Effect? Kill the time before the game’s release with BioWare’s last epic role-player, Jade Empire. As the follow-up to Knights of the Old Republic, Jade uses an alternate version of the “good/bad” morality system, but wraps it into an Eastern consciousness appropriate for the game’s feudal-China setting. A soul at one with the universe will gravitate toward the path of the Open Palm, but those who like to kick puppies will naturally follow the way of the Closed Fist. (And yes, the truly evil really can kick puppies in Imperial City.) The combat also evolves from KOTOR’s semi–turn-based method to a real-time system, giving the game plenty of action for a hybrid action/RPG.

Fran gave Jade Empire 9.4 out of 10 in OXM’s April 2005 issue, describing it as “a tale of revenge, kung-fu martial-arts fi ghting, and silk hotpants.” (Those hotpants are now backward-compatible.) A huge world, tons of player quests, and incredibly detailed visuals should give you plenty to see and do while you count the days until you meet Commander Shepard.

You can get the Limited Edition of Jade Empire for $10 used on Amazon, while some places still sell sealed copies for closer to $20. If you don’t care about the extra character and fi ghting style in the LE and just want the regular box used, you’re well into sub-$10 territory.