Games: Beyond Good And Evil

One part Zelda, one part Metal Gear Solid, one part Star Wars. This is quite possibly one of the most visionary and brilliant games ever created.

Beyond Good & Evil
Platform: Gamecube, PS2, XBox
Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure

I'm an avid and frequent patron of IGN. I loathe the fact that they have restricted access to 90% of the website's features to paying customers, but at the same time, can't help myself because they're honestly the best video game news group online. Hell, possibly offline as well.

For months I watched IGN, peeking at screenshots from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and reading previews for Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Titles such as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Final Fantasy X-2 saturated the main index updates on a daily basis.

However, every once in a while, I'd see an article focusing on a sure-to-be sleeper hit named Beyond Good & Evil. Now, the deal with sleepers is this: they are almost always fantastic games. They are always under-appreciated titles that are always lacking some specific element that keeps them from being a smash hit. Jet Force Gemini was a 3rd person shooter, which is a genre not frequented by many patrons. EarthBound was an RPG that used comedy and an unconventional graphics engine instead of a gripping dramatic storyline and a realistic, fantasy-based graphics engine.

Beyond Good & Evil lacks nothing. I can understand why people would shy away from a game like EarthBound or Jet Force Gemini. They were unconventional and their biggest qualities were a turn-off to many. Beyond Good & Evil is not only a nearly universally acceptable game, but it boasts monstrous production values, a gripping story, impeccable design and more charm and character than you can possibly understand.

Story

I'll begin here, since the plot is obviously the most prominent aspect of the game. You play Jade, a freelance photographer in her mid-twenties living on an alien world named Hyllis. For the last few years, Hyllis has been under constant threat from a race of mind-warping aliens named the DomZ. Since the DomZ threat first arose on Hyllis, a seemingly independant mercenary army name the Alpha Section has taken it upon themselves to defend Hyllis from the alien attacks. Problem is, they've been doing an awful job. They arrive late at the scene of an attack, save minimal lives and take undue credit for the successes. Plus, they've been keeping Hyllis under an almost constant state of martial law, locking the Hyllians in an iron grip. For the peaceful people of Hyllis, it's a lose-lose situation.

That's where Jade comes in. She's contacted by a rebellious media faction to assist them in uncovering the truth behind the DomZ nature and to simultaneously rid Hyllis of the Alpha Sections' cold-hearted and paralyzing stranglehold. Needless to say, the truth isn't quite as cut and dry as it may seem.

Gameplay

This is another big one. In the first paragraph, I described this game as being a mixture between Zelda, Metal Gear and Star Wars. So, with that in mind, that's how I'll segment this section.

Zelda - This is first and foremost, an adventure game. That said, it takes a lot of cues in the gameplay department from the Zelda franchise, particularly the newest installment, The Wind Waker. Jade controls very similarly, with full 360 degree control, a primary weapon (a telescoping energy staff) and a collection of extra weapons and items to use, ranging from a glove that fires discs of red energy to her trusty camera.

In combat, Jade handles similarly to Link, in that she can lock onto enemies, dodge their attacks and inflict her own brand of kick-assery onto her opponents. She has a plethora of stunning combo attacks and acrobatic techniques to unleash on the opposition as well as an upgradeable Super Attack to really level the playing field.

The world of Hyllis itself is fantastic. The overworld is mostly aquatic, and all "settlement" type areas are built on small islands scattered throughout the waters. Nowhere near as expansive or dramatic as the Great Sea from Wind Waker, but impressive nonetheless. Jade makes her way across the waters of Hyllis in her trusty hovercraft, equipped with rocket boosters and a laser cannon.

There are (as is to be expected) an assortment of "dungeons" that are some of the most creative I've ever seen. There are no "Fire Temples" or "Evil Towers" to conquer, but more fitting locales, such as a monstrous industrial factory and a refurbished slaughterhouse turned war base. It quickly becomes apparent to the player, however, that the focus and purpose of these dungeons is very different from those found in a Zelda game. Instead of making your way through a labyrinthine "Fire Temple" in order to defeat a giant guardian creature and acquire an elemental crystal, Jade must infiltrate an enemy base and snap photos of genetics experiments or delve deep into a abandoned mine and retrieve evidence of a DomZ beast lurking about. All of the "dungeons" in the game have a realistic and logical function, and thus, conquering them is a more rewarding experience.

Metal Gear Solid - This one will be significantly shorter. Beyond Good & Evil takes much from the Metal Gear Solid franchise, in that the story revolves around governmental conspiracy, and much of the gameplay focuses on stealth. Jade can certainly kick an unholy amount of ass, but the fanciest energy-staff in the universe won't save her hide when an Alpha Section security alarm is sounded and an automatic "kill everything in the world" laser-turret crams a heat ray through her midsection. Jade is hardcore, but if she can't learn the nuances of stealth, she won't last very long.

Star Wars - Not so much gameplay-related, but I'll stick it here anyway. The world of Hyllis is simply incredible. I, personally, believe that George Lucas should induct Hyllis into the Star Wars galaxy, because that's where it honestly belongs. The entire planet is crawling with throngs of people from various alien races, and coagulating in a very Star Warsian fashion. For example, early in the game, Jade must take her hovercraft to a nearby garage run by a family of strange rhinocerous-like people with rastafarian accents. Later in the game, Jade and her sidekick Pey'J (who happens to be a short, pig-man type of creature) visit a bar in a populous city, which will instantly recall memories of the Mos Eisley bar from the original Star Wars.

Graphics

Jaw-dropping. The water effects used in the Hyllis overworld are staggering, with refractions and ripple effect galore. The lighting is simply unparallelled, with real-time shadow effects and startling contrasts. The colors are vibrant and practically pulsating with life. The animations are, for lack of a better term (I'm really grasping here) fuckin' great. Jade displays an enormous amount of emotion through facial expression without beating you over the head with it. Everything about this game is a visual marvel.

Sound

My God. Honestly, one of the best original video game scores I've ever heard. To illustrate this point as bluntly as I can I will use two words: Chrono Trigger. Anyone that is a fan of the game already understands the kind of comparison I'm making, and is probably activating their skepticism shields as I speak. trust me on this, from one CT nerd to another, BG&E's score is nearly parallel in magnificence.

For those of you who don't know what I'm saying, this game features an amazing classical-piano driven soundtrack, with a number of industrial-themed pieces and synthesized works as well. Easily one of the best scores I've ever heard in a video game, and being a fan of the Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda series, that's a huge statement.

The voice acting is top-notch as well. Every character, from the laugh-out-loud funny Pey'J to the commanding Alpha Section Master, each character is impeccably represented through the voicework. Lots of points here.

Flaws

Honestly, I've been sitting here, trying to figure one out, and I honestly can't. I guess if I had to name one it would be that the "dungeon" selection is slightly uniform, considering that two of the earlier ones are very similar (rusty, industrial areas). But even that is a stretch.

Honestly, aside from that, I can't think of anything else.

Overall

I haven't even beaten this game yet. Normally, I would wait until I'd finished it before putting up my final analysis, but unless everything in the game simultaneously falls apart an hour from the last place I saved, I honestly can't see this game becoming less stellar. This game can only get better and better, and I'm going to enjoy every last second of it. Like I said, I would normally wait, but I just couldn't help myself. Everyone must know what a masterpiece of a game this is, and considering that it's on all platforms and priced at 20 bucks, I don't see how a single one of you can refuse to purchase it. Buy it, play it, love it, play it again, sell your soul to Ubisoft. Beyond Good & Evil is one of the greatest games ever concieved, and to deny yourself the experience would be a more foolish act than I can describe.

Score: 9.8/10

You know, from the outside it doesn't look like much. But, from people who have played it, I have not yet heard a negative review.

I might check it out once I'm not really fucking poor.

Yeah, but it's a really fucking cheap game. If you've got a PS2, Circuit City is selling the PS2 version for ten bucks. The XBox and GC versions go for about twenty, pretty much everywhere.

And yeah, James, I said the same thing. I was interested in it because of how phenomenal the reviews have been, but no collection of words, regardless of how intricate or detailed the explanation is, could do it justice. Lately, I haven't been much into the idea of staying up all night playing the same game, but BG&E kept me up for nearly twelve hours straight. It's that good.

Correction, the game does exist for PC too. I only played the demo though, and it's pretty nifty although my computer isn't good enough to run the game with a decent frame rate.

Dammit, I totally forgot that it was on PC as well. Although, apparently your PC has to be capable of launching into orbit around the moon in order to run it with a steady framerate. I'd recommend going with either the GC or XBox versions, considering that apparently the PS2 version suffers the same framerate issues.