Perhaps more meaningful are the tweaks to the enemy AI. Foes - particularly at the higher difficulty levels - are much tougher and smarter, requiring a more tactical approach to combat. In the higher difficulty settings, the high level, "harmonic" combos are practically necessary for success (as opposed to the Xbox version where they were cool, but not needed).
Using a customary mouse-and-keyboard setup, the game seems to control very well. The mouse movements make it easy to switch between targets, while you can assign hot key shortcuts to your heart's content with the keyboard. Which enables you to spend less time mucking around in menus and more time playing the game, which is obviously a good thing.
Of course you'll be able to stick with a standard gamepad if that's your preference. You can also use a gamepad-and-keyboard combination to have the best of both worlds - the tight feel of a gamepad and the hot-key madness of a keyboard.
From our first look, Jade Empire for PC looks like a brilliant translation. It takes one of the best Xbox games and makes it even better. The new additions are more than superficial and all of them seem solid. Keep you eye out for a hands-on preview of this hot game in the near future.
