Beyond Good & Evil

"Prince of Persia has some Competition"

When I first started playing Beyond Good and Evil, I had heard great things about the new adventure game from the makers of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I wondered how it would stack up to PoP, the current heavyweight in the adventure category. What I found was an excellent game, which more than excels in every aspect I could judge it on and could easily stand toe to toe with the best adventure games of all time.

The story of Beyond Good and Evil is simple at first. You play as Jade, a 20 year old woman, who takes a job photographing animals in order to help support a group of orphaned children that she and her adopted uncle, Pey'j look after. When Jade receives a mysterious email, she is unwittingly thrust into the forefront of a war with an alien race known as the Domz. From this simple beginning an excellent story is created filled with interesting characters, unexpected plot twists and exciting revelations. The only flaws with the story is the somewhat abrupt ending. Many of the questions built up through the game are left unanswered. Whether or not a sequel will answer the questions, too much is left unrevealed.

Gameplay is another category in which Beyond Good and Evil excels. The game is extremely fun. I found it nearly impossible to put it down once I started, always wanting to get to the next part. The controls are blissfully simple. Each command Jade can perform is a single button press, from swinging her staff to healing herself. Battles themselves are probably the best part of the game. Battle controls are reminiscent of those in Star Fox Adventures. Pushing the joystick in a direction and pushing the attack button causes Jade to attack in that direction.. Multiple presses of the attack button allow combos, which can be turned to hit various enemies around you without breaking the combo making battles both easy to control and fun to watch as Jade attacks enemies on all sides with spectacular moves.

The graphics in this game are another high point. While not the best graphics ever seen on the XBOX, the graphics are still extremely well done. Characters are beautifully drawn and smoothly animated. The character animations flow smoothly and the characters move realistically. In most areas the colours are vibrant and really fit the almost tropical feeling the planet of Hillys has. However the graphics are suitable dark in the Domz controlled areas of Hillys.

When it comes to the sound of Beyond Good and Evil I wish I could give a score higher than perfect. The voice acting is great, especially that of Double H and Secundo and the music, the music is bliss for lack of a better word. Every single song in Beyond Good and Evil is excellent. They fit the mood of the areas perfectly. The upbeat songs are unbelievably catchy. The slow songs are powerfully emotional. I was humming the songs for a week after I last played the game. I can honestly say of the 600+ video games I've played in my life, Beyond Good and Evil has the third best soundtrack I've ever heard.

I suppose my only real complaint about the game would be replay value. It's possible to beat the game with all the secrets in about 15 hours. I was able to do so in 9 hours using a guide. Once that's done there's nothing new to see. While the game is fun enough to maybe warrant a second play through, the lack of anything new hurts the replay value.

My final scores are:

Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Fun Factor: 10/10
Replay Value: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

If you like adventure games, this is definitely a game to buy especially since its price has recently been lowered to $24.99 Canadian. Even if your not a big fan of adventure games, Beyond Good and Evil is a game you should give a rent, its just that good.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/04