"An adventure you won't forget quickly"

Looking for a new game, you ask around for good games. When I saw Beyond Good & Evil I thought it'd be another 'ZOMG Aliens attack out city!!1' game. But because it got so many good reviews, I decided to check it out.

Gameplay: 8/10

Free roaming around and exploring, very nice. A bit of stealth and combat, everything was done very good. The combat system wasn't very deep but luckily it wasn't button mashing either, you needed skill. Even the stealth was fun, it wasn't too hard but luckily it wasn't like Splinter Cell either. Just crouch past as the guard looks the other way. And if you get spotted, well, you could always try to fight your way out, which isn't really a good idea unless you are pretty skilled in battle. The game was much fun, it didn't get boring, there were no endless fillers between missions to make the game longer, the game is short but every minute is fun, you won't let it go quickly.

Story: 7.5/10

So, your planet is in a war with another planet, the government hired some kind of guard force for your planet(the Alpha Sections) but they seem useless. Only more people keep disappearing, strange things are going on, and it's your task to find out what's happening, what the connection is between your government and the DomZ(the 'tribe' you're in war with). And all the while your president keeps broadcasting his propaganda on all the screens in the city. There are a few little twists in the plot which keep you curious and keep you playing, because you too want to know what exactly is happening. The story isn't too deep but it is done well enough to keep you playing and it's actually very interesting.

Sound: 8/10

The voice acting wasn't great but I had the Dutch version(with Dutch voice acting -_-) so I can't really blame the game for that, neither can I say much about it since most gamers will probably have an English version, but for those who don't: the Dutch voice acting is absolutely no reason to leave it alone, because even that's done quite good. The sound was very clear. Also a great soundtrack, this game had really good music, something that's highly underrated but music sets an atmosphere, and it's done very well in this game. When something sad happened, the music just added to it, and the music that played at your home just gave a good feeling, like a safe haven. A great job.

Graphics: 8/10

It all looks very smooth, some areas look really detailed and the nature looks great too. The characters looked absolutely great too. The graphics are cartoon-style but especially in the cutscenes everything looked detailed, but the in-game graphics were almost as good. Character movement wasn't really special, but it looked realistic. But, like I said, it's cartoon style so I guess it shouldn't have to be too realistic. The camera was sometimes a bit odd but it wasn't like that could give you problems. The game never slowed down in battles with many foes. This game is eye candy. Thumbs up for this.

Replay Value: 7/10

There are some things you can do besides the basic storyline. Get all the pictures, get all pearls, explore all the optional areas, this game could keep you busy for a few days if you want to get everything. But the world isn't too much so unfortunately there's not much exploring to do. I guess it'd take about 2 extra days to get everything in this game done. But besides the sidequests, it'd be just as fun to play it again for the storyline!

Pros and Cons:

+Fun gameplay
+Interesting story
+Great graphics
+Clear sound
+Short(the game doesn't drag on, the story stays interesting because it goes quick)

-Looks like every version has its own voice acting(I'd rather have the original American voice acting)
-Small world

It was a surprise, I never thought BG&E would be this good. You should really get it, it's cheap anyway. I finished it in 2 days, playing almost non-stop. I guess the storyline covers 10-15 hours of gameplay. Short, but fun, and you won't forget it it quickly.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/06