Beyond Good & Evil

"Expose the conspiracy, capture the truth"

Beyond Good and Evil is easily one of the most overlooked games of this generation. BGE was released around the holidays in 2003 with little to none advertising the previous months. With the huge rush of people coming, all the popular titles were quickly snatched up without anyone taking note of this one. I mean it only sold around 60,000 copies. It was quickly cut to $20 after poor sales. A price that should make everyone go out and buy it. But it still didn't sell well, it's very sad to hear. This game was originally planned to be an epic trilogy (watch the end and you'll know why) but with the poor sales of the game, the chances are slim. Hopefully, if EA continues to buy out every company, this game can be turned into the trilogy as it was originally meant to be.

There are many great aspects to the game; the graphics, gameplay and story. BGE plays like an action game. Think Zelda with a camera. They even borrowed the “pieces of heart” idea. You travel the lovely land of Hillys as you try to uncover the truth about a dangerous alien group known as the DomZ while you believe you are being protected by your local government agency, The Alpha Section. You soon realize something is up and begin to work with an underground movement to uncover the truth and expose the conspiracy. Equipped with a sleek and sexy camera, Jade is able to photograph anything and everything. And with her trusty fighting stick and kung fu moves you can bet no one is gonna try and stop this bad-ass. The world itself isn't the biggest place but there are many caves and underground areas that you can explore as you try to find out what's going on.

BGE has some of the coolest and prettiest looking visuals in any game to date. With a sort of cel-shading and realistic look combined you're given a more mature cartoony looking game. The results are just amazing and it's one of BGE's many features that draw you in to its atmosphere. The character models follow this same look which allows movements to follow along perfectly and not lag your movements. And thankfully you'll never try to move a character to grab something and have the game gltich and pick up something but not visually pick it up. One spectacular aspect of this game is the ability to recognize things at a huge distance away. While out looking the world, you can pick up what buildings are on the other side of the lake which is incredible to experience.

This game controls amazingly except for a couple of minor problems. When in battle you will automatically lock-on to your target.

What's bad about that you ask?

Well when you want to look away it pulls you back to what you should be fighting. There's also times where the game just feels sluggish, be it fighting or running around. You'll definitely notice it and it can be a nuisance at times. But other than that it can be controlled exceptionally well. From jumping, racing and traversing while taking pictures.

To go along with its great graphics, the voice acting is also superb. Every character has a voice that suits them perfectly. Jade has a sort of tom boyish voice that is sexy at times while her uncle Pey'J definitely will remind you of a friend would help you out and they even managed to throw in a Jamaican voice-over for comedic character where you get most of your repairs done. The music for every setting fits exactly right. A calm tune will fill the air as you walk around your house and the surrounding foresty area. Once you fall into some dangerous dungeon, a hellish sound will turn on and send chills up your back. But by far, the coolest beats kick in when you start fighting. A technoish kung fu fighting theme comes and while you bust out your judo. So sweet.

The absolute greatest part of BGE is its story. Words can only explain a certain level of the greatness that the story sucks you into. What starts off as a minor inconvenient threat quickly becomes so much more. And thankfully it builds up and changes in the right spots. You won't suddenly move from saving your refuge camp to somehow being the sole survivor to save the entire world. Everything starts off and moves in a realistic matter until you reach that particular point. Fortunately there are plenty of twists to throw off any cliché story that you may think you're experiencing.

One last complaint that may turn you away from the game is the difficulty. It starts out pretty easy but can quickly get a little tough towards the end of the game. But with a little practice and a whole lot of starkos (health), you'll be able to conquer the game. And since there are no difficulty settings you'll really need to think of strategies to beat the odds. But I wouldn't let this turn you away, every game has it's tough parts as the same with this one. Give it a go, I'm sure you'll conquer it.

The game doesn't give you much to do or a complete reason to replay the game except for the excellent story. A normal run through will take you around fifteen hours and then you're done. There's nothing to level up and there isn't anything to do after you've taken a picture of every species and collected all the orbs. I suppose after completing the game you can go back and play it and it'll still be great. In fact most people come up with new challenges like how fast they can beat it (there's a website that can track it) all while getting 100%. Ubisoft continues to host their site and they have codes and such that you can receive from the game to gain a few special features. Which can be a pain at times because some codes you receive are given to you in such a font that a lot of the letters look the same. Add in the fact that it takes forever to write something in and you've got an annoying problem.

Well, where can I get this?
Honestly, this game is rare. Production has stopped, it's hard to find. Try Gamestop, Gamecrazy or stores that still carry old games (Toys 'R Us). But if you do, you'll see it for around $20 or less and you should definitely pick it up. Otherwise, I seem to see it all the time at movie stores for you to rent so definitely pick it up as a lot of you would be able to beat it in that five day period. This will be a collector's game one of these days so try to find it or head to eBay or Amazon and get a copy. You won't be dissapointed if you're looking for a great adventure with a spectacular story.

The weak, the wimps and the woosies still have three seconds to get the hell outta here, and get back to their knitting!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/04, Updated 09/04/07

Game Release: Beyond Good & Evil (US, 11/11/03)