Beyond Good & Evil

"So Good, and So Overlooked."

Man, is Ubisoft on a roll or what? Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, and Rainbow Six 3 were all great games, and Beyond Good & Evil continues that trend. The game comes from Michel Ancel, the creator of the Rayman franchise. Rarely does a game come along that is so polished and varied in game play as Beyond Good & Evil is. Everybody should try this game out, at least once...

Hilys is a planet currently under continuous attack by a horde of aliens known as the Domz. Thankfully, the Alpha Sections, a group focused on protecting Hilys and keeping the Domz at bay, is here to help. Or is that really their intent? As Jade, an action reporter running a lighthouse/orphanage/reporting company combo with your uncle, a pig man named Pey'j, you'll seek out the truth in a variety of ways, be it stealthy exploration, photography, or even winning a few games of air hockey. Along the way you'll meet new friends, like the folks at the IRIS Network, a rebel organization intent on revealing the wrongdoings of the Alpha Sections to the general public. Good thing too; the Alpha Sections are tough, and you'll need all the help you can get.

Beyond Good & Evil's game play is also magnificent, so it matches well with the wonderful story. Combat with your Dai-jo stick is quite simple -- the A button and analog stick are all you'll be pressing here. Despite the simplicity of the controls, the ways Jade attacks when you press the A button multiple times varies, and gives combat a very slick, cool look. Now, if all the game had was some stick fighting and the occasional chit-chats with some of the residents of Hilys, the game would feel pretty shallow. Of course, it isn't like that. There is SO much variety in the things you can do in this game, such as photography, hovercraft racing/exploring/combat, pearl collecting, stealth exploration, and the aforementioned melee combat and air hockey-like game, which is played with four discs. There's probably even more I'm forgetting, but you get the picture.

A game with a terrific story needs equally tremendous music to set the tone, as well as sound effects and voice acting to make it real and believable. Thankfully, Beyond Good & Evil has all three of these key elements that help round out a great game. For starters, the music in the game feels appropriate wherever it's played, and really enhances the atmosphere in certain areas. I personally liked the theme played at the entrance to the lighthouse. It had a 'home'-like feel to it.

The sound effects do the job and they do it right. The smack of your Dai-jo stick against enemies sounds about like what you'd expect if you've never heard one (which is probably the majority of us). Footsteps, electronic doors opening and closing, and the pressing of buttons all sound real and accurate.

Voice acting in games is usually hit or miss stuff, so I'm happy to report that Ubisoft found some great talent to fill the shoes of these characters. Jade's voice matches her personality and determination, and Pey'j sounds about like what you'd expect your pig/human hybrid uncle to sound like. The rest of the characters give okay to very good performances. Thankfully, I don't recall ever cringing when I heard somebody talk.

From the minute you see the cartoony characters, to the moment you notice that the black bars on the top and bottom are there even as you control the character, you know that Beyond Good & Evil has a unique style to it. It's kind of like watching an animated action/adventure movie, except that for the most part you're in control of it all. While it's obvious that the majority of the time spent on this game was focused on the game play element, the graphics were also given some TLC, and the results are pretty admirable. Technical things such as textures aren't anything to stop the presses for, but the designs and details in the game are incredible. Various symbols, from the ones associated with IRIS and the Alpha Sections, to the little pink piggy on your hovercraft are all imaginative. The designs that went into the characters and civilians of Hilys are also clever and inventive. Mainly there are your normal humans running about, but there are also pig, cat, rhinoceros, and many other human/animal hybrids inhabiting the city.

Now, despite my extremely positive review, there is one thing going against BG&E, and that is the overall length of the game. If you're serious about completing it, it'll probably only take you a few days to beat. With that said, you may think I'm going to recommend renting it. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Even if you're the type who can blast his or her way through a game in no time at all, you still owe it to yourself to have this gem in your collection. On top of that, due to poor sales thus far, Ubisoft has lowered the price to a measly twenty dollars! At that price, you can't afford NOT to have this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/04