Beyond Good & Evil

The Good
Rayman creator Michel Ancel has realised an ambitious vision of the futuristic world of Hylis - a central city (think Star Wars) with islands of varying sizes dotted around a huge lake (don't think The Wind Waker). His green-lipsticked photographer heroine, Jade, is unquestionably cool, undoubtedly French and makes a welcome addition to the growing list of noteworthy female gaming characters. Her companions (a Buzz Lightyear type and a Mr. Fix-It pig), with whom teamwork is key, are also well thought out and acted with admirable humour.

The game is very playable; whizzing around the lake on your hovercraft, which handles very well, is a joy. The game's puzzles, whilst mostly of the lock and key type, are logical and usually interesting although not always particularly taxing, often requiring Jade to make use of one of her companions (e.g. one character pressing a switch whilst another goes through a door). There are some excellent stealth sections, requiring Jade to creep past guards and sneakily take out their air supplies with her wrist-mounted disk shooter. The camera works very well too, rarely obstructing the player's view of the action as so often happens in modern games. The photography aspect is cool - Jade is a freelance photographer working on an assignment for the local underground newspaper. As well as her mission to uncover the secrets of the Alpha Sections and the DomZ, Jade can photograph the local wildlife. This is a great aside from the rest of the game, and the sight of the enormous whale in the lake is truly awesome. The lush graphics, interesting plot, characters and mini-games make this one to get hold of.

The Bad
Some players may feel that the game is too short for an action/adventure game at around 10 hours - and also that there's little warning of when the end is coming. It is quite possible to have gone straight from mission to mission without really exploring the whole world, which is regrettable. Having mentioned this, it's also worth pointing out that it's a shame that there aren't more places to explore. On first sight of the city, it seems huge. In reality, most of it is for show. Perhaps Beyond Good & Evil 2, if there is a sequel (and there are hints that this may be the case), will expand the universe a little and give the player more distractions from the main thread of the game.

The Bottom Line
BG&E deserves a hearty recommendation for anyone who enjoys action/adventure games in the mould of Starfox Adventures, the Zelda series, etc.

The Good
The peaceful planet of Hillys is under attack by the vicious DomZ. Luckily the Alpha Section has established a base on Hillys and defends the aquatic world, but who are the IRIS network and why are they trying to discredit the Alphas? Are they DomZ collaborators or are they tied in to a deeper truth about the Alphas?

Enter Jade, a freelance photojournalist and foster parent to children orphaned by the conflict. Together with her “Uncle” Pey’j (a gruff, but lovable boar) they travel around Hillys on a hovercraft taking pictures in locations most people can’t get to. But as the game begins, the war comes to their island home, forcing them to take a more active role in the conflict.

Hillys is a typical one-planet, one-city, sci-fi world, but it is incredibly alive. Apart from the aerial and naval vehicle traffic, Hillys’s seas, skies and lands swim, fly and crawl with life. Jade’s first assignment (and one that will follow her throughout the game) is to create a photographic catalog of all the life on the planet. Using her camera, Jade will have to learn how to take a photo using the zoom feature and proper framing. This is key to the game and quite easy (unlike Bounty Hunter’s similar bounty marking system). For each animal photographed, Jade receives credits and once a roll of film is taken she earns a reward, often a Pearl.

Credits and Pearls make up Hillys’s economic system. Vending machines and conventional sellers accept credits, but the garage that services the hovercraft only accepts the more expensive (and much rarer) Pearls. Taking pictures is the easiest way for Jade to make money, but there are two ways to gamble (which work much better than Pazaak—take notes, George) and hovercraft races Jade can enter.

In addition to taking pictures and piloting a hovercraft, Jade is also an energetic explorer and skilled martial artist—the two go hand-in-hand. Often to get to where the pictures are, Jade will have to find her way through a “dungeon”—be it a cave or military complex, doing the tradition button pushing, inventory finding type things—and fighting a variety of enemies. Jade has a Daï-jo fighting stick (3rd person combat) and later attains a glove mounted disk-launcher (FPS-type action). She also fights in concert with her companions, utilizing a super-attack that they can perform.

Beyond Good & Evil has stealth portions. There are some challenging areas, but nothing I found impossible. Also, many of the stealth levels are pseudo-stealth, meaning that stealth is simply used to avoid combat. If you are detected, then you fight your way out.

Much of Beyond Good & Evil's open-ended design makes it feel like a role-playing game rather than a typical 3rd person action/adventure game. There is great emphasis on character development; Jade is emotionally invested in the story (as opposed to some videogame characters who seem disinterested in what’s going on around them) and the supporting characters acknowledge Jade and relate to their environments.

Beyond Good & Evil has stellar graphics with very fluid, distinctive animation. The game also has a wonderful soundtrack that had me hanging around in the bar just to listen to the “Buddy Holly – Propaganda” songs. Did I mention that I love this game?

The Bad
Beyond Good & Evil took me around 12 hours to complete; it seems short, but good games often do. Most of the game is very open-ended, letting you explore as much of Hillys as possible, but there’s a certain point where the game becomes linear until the end. I would have appreciated knowing that there was a point of no return.

Some of the stealth areas can be frustrating, but I personally felt a high level of accomplishment when I got through them.

And the dumbest complaint I heard about the game is that it ends on a cliff-hanger. It doesn’t. Finishing the game is completely satisfying, BUT the designers (perhaps too optimistically) left an opening for a sequel.

The Bottom Line
Here’s the biggest thing Beyond Good & Evil has going against it: a female protagonist and bloodless combat. Sales tanked, but gamers missed out on something great. Carlson & Peeters!

The Good
Beyond Good and Evil, created by Rayman supremo Michael Ancel, is possibly the most charming platformer on the PS2 system, and really makes you feel part of a living world. Forget GTA's bland sandbox or the boring skateparks of Tony Hawk's, here's a game that really puts you right into a world that you'd actually want to spend time in.

The sense of atmosphere is palpable and really quite beautiful. Strong words for a mere game, but BG&E is without doubt one of those games, like Ico, that starts to transcend the barriers between gaming a genuine cinematic experience. We're not there yet, but this is a step in the right direction. The plot is neat, petite and melodramatic in all the right ways - its a lot better than your standard 'alien menace' fps plots although it does find itself on the wrong end of a few naff moments. The game is also a basic satire on the role of media governing our lives, intelligent stuff for a game, even if this territory has been covered a bit in film.

The peaceful world of Hillys suffers under alien attacks constantly, but it is thankful for the Alpha Force, an elite force of soldiers championed by the media as our salvation. Although many civilians still go missing mysteriously, the Alpha Force are heroes, an example to all in the idyllic world of Hillys. Or are they? Okay, so the whole 'undercovering a conspiracy' plot has been done to death, but it hasn't been covered in games that much, certainly not in platformers. And the story is good fun, with enough twists and funny moments to keep you playing, even if you feel you know where the story is ultimately heading.

As photographer and orphanage owner Jade you sneak into a variety of locations, helping the Iris Network, a galaxy-wide resistance force, to unveil the truth to the population of Hillys. Again, very predictable, but the feeling of revolution and liberation as you start to reach the public is one of those terrific feelgood moments that you remember forever, and that only games can really muster. 'See those revolting citizens - I did that!'

The feeling of being part of an actual resistance movement is excellently recreated, with enough death and sad moments to feel like you are really battling against an almighty corporation. Sneaking through the cracks in the scenery or using your ship to blast your way in makes you feel like you are really up against it, and really makes the stealth tense (more on that later).

After entering a base, which take the form of everything from a drug factory to a slaughterhouse, your mission is to photograph all the nasty stuff going on. And its nasty - not blood and guts nasty but a real contrast with the stunning aesthetics of Hillys' scenery. The photographs are then sent out to Iris, who distribute them among the population. Seeing your report, complete with the photos you took, is really quite an ego boost, and then seeing people talk about what you discovered when just a few hours of gametime ago they seemed like lambs to the Domz slaughter - that's really cool.

The reason all these basic actions make you feel so great is because the actual world is so well realised. Lovingly designed characters walk the streets, hovercars whizz around the roads and even the mechanics are Jamaican rhinos with their own (excellent) reggae theme song! Even the giant Domz monsters are works of art. And the game world, especially the open sea, is simply stunning - especially as you upgrade your ship and discover more and more glorious countryside.

Another factor that makes the game so compelling is the dialogue and personality of the characters that inhabit the game world. The characters are very charming, and the dialogue is, compared with most games anyway, sparkling, fresh and very well acted. The leads are compelling, and even the bit-parts have their own quirks and eccentricities. The warm characters allow the game to move from light humour to bleak sadness in the blink of an eye. An event near the end of the game where Jade nearly gives up is beautifully done, and not anywhere near as naff as it really should have been.

Jade is an excellent lead, thankfully a bit deeper than the Lara Croft 'breasts and ass' stereotype while remaining clear of the forced 'feisty' cut-out she could have been. She's sassy, funny and genuinely seems like a fully-fleshed character. The sidekicks are more eccentric but steer clear of annoying for the most part.

Jade's step-father and loyal friend Pey'j is a pig, but only in the literal sense! When I first played this game, I couldn't quite believe I was adventuring with a talking pig, but you'd be surprised how this feeling disappears and he becomes good old uncle Pey'j - he's the game's key humour character, and his natural charm makes him a trusted ally.

Your other companion is Double H, a bizarre, military-tradition obsessed solider who you rescue from the Domz. It takes a little longer for you to get used to his sheer oddness, but after an hour or so you start to see just what a cool guy he is really. He's a lot deeper than he first appears!

Its odd that I've written so much without commenting upon the actual gameplay. The game has a rich variety of styles, but the main ones are adventury platformer bits (technical term!), with some stunning set-pieces, stealth sections, which are simple but satisfying, and driving sections, which are terrific fun.

As a straight platformer, BG&E is a disappointment - there aren't any jumps, as every gap is leaped across by simply pointing Jade in the right direction like you would Link. Really, the exploration sections are classic adventure, with puzzling and a fair amount of combat, like a very French Zelda.

The combat is quite simple, but looks so lovely you won't mind too much. Really all you're doing is bashing 'x' while pointing the analogue stick in the direction of an enemy and watching Jade leap into some quite stunning animation. If you're struggling to imagine it, try thinking of an arcade-heavy Prince of Persia combat system. A special attack (which becomes quite valuable after upgrading it at the game's store) and simple teamplay commands add a bit of variety, but really combat is a bit one note.

The bosses are stunning however. They look incredible, and although the method of dispatchment is always simple, it still feels very satisfying. Also of note are some frantic chase sections with you running through city streets crawling with guards baying for your lovely green lipstick. These are excellently handled, with cinematography that simply beggars belief.

The stealth is also quite simple, but the tense atmosphere and sense of danger make the sneaky moments work. You'll be skulking a lot more than you would expect upon first glance, but thankfully the game offers a good enough system to entertain, with lots of baddies to dodge and the occasional set piece that entertains (staying out of sight by hiding behind a moving crate for instance).

The driving sections are wonderful. They are perfectly done, with simple but satisfying shooting with a lovely lock-on cannon and again some wonderful set pieces that have you luring homing mines into crates to stay alive or stuck in the tractor beam of an enemy ship. The handling of Jade's hovercraft is simple but very controllable, and the upgrades that let you lock-on, jump and eventually fly make you feel really quite brilliant.

Special mention has to go to the subquests that pad out the admittedly rather small adventure. There are loads, from hovercraft racing, to an addictive tabletop game called pearl hockey, to desperately trying to find secret areas to find extra pearls (the game's black market currency), to trying to take a picture of every animal in the world! These diversions are terrific, particularly the animal photography one that makes the adventure sections work much better as you constantly scan the area to find a new species. The rewards for quest completion are excellent too, with a two-player pearl hockey game to be found and a fun little concentration mini-game for finding all the pearls.

To finish this bit I'd also like to comment upon the music. The score is again streets ahead of most gaming fodder, and I actually have bits of it on my PSP music collection. The little phrases are deftly composed and the music that comes in at moments of emotion or action are perfectly judged. I can still remember a nasty twist coupled with a stunning minimalist violin melody that just captured the moment.

To conclude this rather lengthy monologue, Beyond Good and Evil does everything right in terms of atmosphere, and is great fun to play.

The Bad
The game does have its weaknesses. You probably noticed that I didn't spend all that long on the actual gameplay mechanics, and when I did I used the word 'simple' an awful lot. This is because a lot of the game is actually very basic and comfortably easy. This doesn't matter for me as I love the atmosphere and the characters and the sub-quests - if you find you don't warm to the game immediately, you won't at all. The game is also rather short, especially if you aren't interested in side quests and secrets. Again, I loved it so much I found it endlessly replayable, but again that may not apply to you. I would try renting the game first to see if you really like it. My other complaint is with the stealth sections. Here the rather one-dimensional gameplay holds it back. Sneaking behind a guard and kicking his air tank to kill him rather melodramatically is great the first time, but the fiftieth? Also, too much is reliant upon trial and error, with a lot of deaths and restarts. Really, BG&E is a very unique game with its own charm - if that charm doesn't appeal to you, chances are you won't enjoy it.

The Bottom Line
Beyond Good and Evil is certainly among the top drawer of platformers this generation. I personally liked it better than genre standards like Super Mario Sunshine, but this all depends on just how much you like the world of Hillys and the characters that populate it. Technically, is it better than Ratchet and Clank 3 or Psychonauts? No, not really. But is it just as enjoyable, heartwarming and fun? Without a doubt. It might be short, it might be quirky and it might not be for you, but Beyond Good and Evil is an experience and a game that does not come along very often. Overlooked upon release, I expect you could find this for near nothing now - what have you got to loose by picking it up? Nothing at all.