Beyond Good & Evil

I can echo all of what was said above: Great art design, great music, and above all, great story -- very rare in video games, and indeed Beyond Good and Evil's story and characters have more "meat" than most sci-fi blockbuster films.

The reasons why this game was overlooked are simple. One, the game is mis-named; the title really doesn't describe the game in any meaningful way. The second and far more important reason is that, in the U.S. anyway, this game was released during the "Christmas Rush" that plagues the gaming industry. In an effort to capitalize on holiday sales, game publishers save every game they've spent any money on and then release them all during November and December. It's inevitable that some games -- often very good ones, and especially those that are left-of-center -- are going to get lost in the shuffle.

The director of this game, Michel Ancel (also the creator of Rayman, one of my favorite VG characters), is one of video gaming's true visionaries. Any of his games are at least worth a look, and BG&E is worth more than that.

One note of hope is the fact that it has happened in the past that games that didn't do well initially have gone on to become "cult classics" and actually spawned sequels! Maybe this can happen with this great, overlooked game.

Rating a game a 10/10 is a rare thing to do. But I believe Beyond Good and Evil deserves it. The story, characters, humor, and puzzles are all perfect. I didn't get to play this game back in the day, but that was because I had never heard of it. But I'm happy to have played it now. Beyond Good and Evil reminded me a lot of some animated movies I grew up watching like, Titan A.E., and, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Perhaps that was why I liked it so much. It's baffling at how underrated this game is considered to be. It's a classic, through and through, and should be more well known.

Overall, I highly recommend playing Beyond Good and Evil. It's truly one of the best games ever.

Released in 2003, Beyond Good & Evil is one of those hidden gems that flew under the radar for many gamers back in the day but has since developed a cult following. And rightfully so.

The gameplay strikes a nice balance between exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. You get to snap photos of wildlife for your journal (way before it became a common thing in gaming), which is surprisingly fun and adds a cool twist to the typical adventure formula. The story is engaging, with solid character development and plenty of twists to keep you hooked.

One of the standout features is the music-it's atmospheric and perfectly complements the game's various settings. The humor and dialogue are also on point, making you feel right at home with the characters.

That being said, some mechanics can feel a bit clunky, and the graphics, while distinct, show their age in 2024. But honestly, these are minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things.

The critics loved this game and so I thought I would buy it. In the end it was a rather good and original game. The only two problems I have with it is the fact it is too short and the ending is a bit lacking. The rest of the game is rather fun though and rather easy to pick up and varies as well. You control Jade, a gal who watches over these orphans at a lighthouse. Why are they orphans, well an alien race has come to this particular planet full of all sorts of weird aliens and is causing havoc by abducting its citizens and such. A military group is on the planet to protect it, but they seem to have issues as well. Well you must guide Jade through this planet searching for the truth and you even become a sort of photographer for a group committed to exposing the truth. So this for me was the best portion of the game as you must sneak in these facilities and take pictures. You are also awarded for taking pictures of the various alien life forms on the planet. You do some fighting, and it is rather easy to perform, but stealth also plays a key role in the game. You will also use a hovercraft to reach areas and win races and a spaceship late in the game. So there a various things to do. Still though it wraps up way to soon, and the ending doesn't really overwhelm. Still though, it is different from all the sequels and such that come massive waves.

The year is 2435. Not Earth. The planet Hillys. The peaceful population is under sustained attack by the alien Domz. Forcefields help, although only if you can pay your bill on time. The Alpha Section troops are always showing up too late. The media claim otherwise, asking the pertinent question: what do you do when faced with authorities who let awful things happen, when reporters refuse to spread that fact, and physical harm coming to you and your loved ones? There is a conspiracy going on, and you have to uncover it. As a photographer, you will document it. You're not Rambo, setting explosives and destroying entire bases. You're Jade(Forrest, determined). And you'll be sneaking in, snapping shots, and let the people know what's going on. Admittedly, the more you understand what's going on, the less sense it makes, and the ending is a clichéd, twist-laden mess. Still, there is some good drama there. This does realize that kids can handle that, and scary material, as well. Some will find it too child-friendly. It helps that there's so much substance here.

You almost always work with a companion. Cooperation and friendship are among the values this promotes. You can go places they can't and vice versa. The reasonable puzzles require you to work together – you won't get far without utilizing each others considerable talents. I do wish that there wasn't a pause between you telling them to help and them doing so. It can mess up the timing, when, really, this is something that could have easily been avoided. In addition, you gain the ability to throw discs great distances, and this can be used as an attack whether your presence is known or not, and activate those of the countless switches that are far off. You'll take pictures of all animal life. Including, if you have nerves of steel, those about to smack you with something. Every species once, and you'll be paid well. The rarer, the better. As long as they're of high quality: not too far away, etc. And it does aid you in ensuring that, telling you exactly what failed, and giving an indicator of when it's right, and when it's not, what's wrong about it. This includes the humanoid ones that you live among. You're encouraged to recognize that they look, sound and sometimes behave different from you, yet also that they're helpful, competent and, like you, they belong.

This mixes different types of addictive action-adventure gameplay well, each is fun, well-done, gradually increases in challenge and appropriate in amount. Don't get me wrong, the difficulty can be uneven, and spikes at bosses. The climax will seem impossible until you get the hang of it. While the accessible nature of this, and its easy-to-learn controls, do sometimes lead it to feel too simple, they make great use of all of these elements to keep throwing different situations at you that you can maneuver via your skills and tools. The minigames and racing can be annoying, yes. They can also be ignored, provided you do well enough elsewhere. The latter especially feels right out of a licensed title, much like the terrible third person camera. Ironically, when it locks your view and forces you to adapt the directional keys since they change with it, it's at its best. When you have to turn it yourself, it will try your patience. The platforming has you climbing and jumping ledges.

The stealth is line-of-sight based. You're waiting for soldiers to turn and/or move away, so you can pass unseen, behind them, blocking their view with crates on conveyor belts and the like. Them spotting you first due to poor design choices are the only real problem with this aspect. It's tremendously satisfying to clear an area, to finally be able to defeat the guards by breaking their air supply sending this previously very real threat pathetically floating off, etc. The only settings being factories and caves, particularly the former, do end up a tad boring. Some of these culminate in you running away, avoiding the dangers behind you, very thrilling.

Combat has been called the weakest element, pointing to how light it is. Hardly. I find the unreliable dodge function to be its biggest fault... not sending you in the right distance, direction, sometimes not launching you at all. It's a minimal version of that of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, based on the same engine. You'll be somersaulting between foes that are a bit apart from each other and you, can easily switch which one you're facing and hitting, and you have a radial charge. This is also where you not being alone, in this singleplayer piece, comes in very handy. With help, you can instakill, even using evil robots to disable electrical barriers in your path.

Your hovercraft will take you almost anywhere you can go in this, and when you've earned it, your interstellar spaceship will close that last gap. Fire at anything in front of you, either rapidly at the center of the screen, or hold down to automatically target. It does allow friendly fire, for some reason. And it tends to go for things that aren't close before the ones that are, which makes regenerating mine fields, further worsened by the seafaring vessels bouncy nature, an irritant. This can seem too open, given that the map does not list major areas of interest. You have to online for that, which shouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately you can't play on after completion, which would have fit the otherwise partial similarity to Grand Theft Auto, and given it replay value. Honestly, I do think I'll return to this. It took me 11 and a half hours, and I did not go for every collectible.

There is mild violence in this. I recommend it to any fan of the genres it covers, young and old alike. It will make you think, care, and it did not deserve to bomb. 6/10