RetroSpective - Beyond Good and Evil

[Ganepark32]

Finished this early. So I feel it is a pleasure to give y'all this. Enjoy reading and reminising.

 

 

Beyond Good and Evil

 

Hailed as a success by critics, deemed a failure at retail but definitely a fan’s favourite. That is the easiest and best way to describe Beyond Good & Evil’s release. Developed by Ubisoft and released in staggered stages for all 3 major consoles, with the Gamecube receiving its version in early 2004, it told the story of Jade , a female reporter, who is tasked with taking down the evil alien DomZ forces which have been abducting the people of Hillys and either draining them of life or turning them into DomZ to work for them. When the Alpha Sections step in to help the people of Hillys, an underground group of journalists, known as the IRIS network, become suspicious. And with the help of Jade and her trusty camera they try to uncover the truth about the DomZ and the Alpha Sections. The game received rave reviews, with it still being highly regarded now by many game journalists as one of the best games to have been released, and sits comfortably with a Metacritic rating of 87% for both the Gamecube and Xbox versions. So, does the game still hold up today in the new generation of consoles? Or should it remain a gem in the Gamecube crown?

 

The game tackles many areas/genres of gaming. We get the action adventure styling, which is similar to Zelda, we get a stealth styling, akin to Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell, the vehicular sections and the sections where taking photographs is necessary to further uncover the truth of what is really happening. There’s a lot going on and you would think it wouldn’t gel well together. However, just as it was when it was released, it still gels incredibly well together now. None of these aspects ever feels tacked on. They each inhabit their own spectrums and the transition between them is seamless. The action/adventure area is where most of the time will be spent; walking around Hillys or the various mines or ‘dungeons’ and having to fend off against enemies. The action comes in small sections, almost drip fed to the player. It can feel slow on the action front because of this and some people may end up just not completing the game if they were expecting something in a similar vain to Zelda’s action. While it is slightly similar, you get a greater feeling of grandeur with Zelda than you do here. The stealth sections and the vehicle sections are used to transition the action bits, be it racing around Hillys in your hovercraft or sneaking through the corridors of the Slaughterhouses knowing that being detected will mean death. These all still work well today and in fact still hit the right spot compared with a few modern titles which have tried to tackle some of these elements. Incorporating in the midst of all of this is the ability to take out your camera at anytime and start taking pictures, be it of the various animals or taking pictures of things which will help in exposing the truth. The camera sections still work well on a conventional pad but you can’t help but think how well it’d work on using Wii controls for looking around, taking pictures and firing discs.

 

Like Zelda, there is always a lot happening in Hillys to check out, be it the races you can participate in or playing an air hockey type game in the bar to try and win a pearl. And there are always people to talk to as well. For the most part, you are free to explore Hillys at your own pace however you will be limited to some places until later in the game when you have upgraded your hovercraft, or for when you get the spaceship. This freedom to explore within the confines of the game allows you to go out and find the many creatures needed to fill up the animal database or to try and collect all of the pearls available in the game.

 

Graphically, the game still looks great. When Ubisoft showed the teaser for the sequel, people were quick to jump on the fact that the originals characteristic looks had been left behind in place of new age graphics. In my eyes, the original looks better than what was shown in the teaser and I can only hope they choose to continue the style. The character models are, for the most part, excellent with the only problems being with the children models which have a slightly more angular look to them. The various creatures all look great and there is a great variation in them. The locations are good but nothing spectacular. This merely refers to mines and ‘dungeons’ which you have to explore. Hillys, on the other hand, looks brilliant. From the outskirts, which are filled with ships and plane like vehicles, to the actual city itself it all looks great and feels very lived in. The water is especially good, allowing for real time reflections and although these reflections are low res and blocky, it still has something about it that stands out. It’s a small touch but it adds to the realism of the game. The texturing does look dated compared to today’s offerings but it is adequate enough to get the job done, and it does look better than some Wii games.

 

The score that accompanies the game is as beautiful now as it was on release. There are some generic electro-beat tunes in there for the fighting but it’s the more soulful offerings of tracks such as ‘Home Sweet Home’ and ‘Redemption’ which will really make you sit up and listen. The music sits well with the gameplay. When you go stealth, the music is appropriately paced for it. When you’re out in the hovercraft travelling around Hillys, it is again appropriately paced. The only downside to the music is the electro-beat tunes which appear in the fighting bits. You can tune them out when playing but it would have been nice to have some music for the fights that not only reflected the other scores in the game but also the atmosphere which Ubisoft have created.

 

The controls are your stock ones used through these kinds of action/adventure games. They work as you’d expect them and are still pretty good now. If something’s not broken there’s no need to fix it, right. The controls for using Jade’s camera feel a bit slow now playing with it, probably due to the use of pointer controls in Wii games something that this kind of thing would benefit from. However, everything works as it should and there are no real problems with them.

 

A special mention does have to go to the story of this game and Jade, herself. The story can find common ground in some of today’s real life scenarios and perhaps that is why it is still as engrossing now as it was when it was released. I am still genuinely enthralled by the story and its outcome whenever I play the game. Michael Ancel has done a fantastic job of creating not only a believable and engrossing story but such a commanding and endearing lead character in Jade. You genuinely feel for Jade at every moment in the story, for instance when Pey’j is captured and taken off to the Slaughterhouses. It’s as if you are there with her on the rollercoaster of a story. You feel like everything you do, every action you make, affect the story. The story telling here is some of the best there is in a game today. It really is that good. The downside to it being this good is that it is over relatively quickly.

 

So, while the game today does have some downsides they are mostly all overshadowed by a game that is still fantastic. Everything about it is great. It’s such a shame that it went down so badly at retail. It’s hard to put into words how great this game is. If you haven’t had the pleasure of playing this, then I suggest you hunt it down. You owe it to yourself and your collection to get hold of it. The game not only makes for a fantastic addition to a Gamecube collection but also to any Wii gamers collection who would like something to play. With a sequel in the works and this having done the best sale and review-wise on the Gamecube, Ubisoft hopefully won’t sit back and not give us the sequel on the Wii. It’s still a possibility at this stage so fingers crossed that they will give us it and give us a sequel worthy of the Beyond Good and Evil name.

[tapedeck]

BG&E is STILL one of my favourite games ever.

 

I played some of it and immediately loved it. So, I decided to put it on a shelf and then, when I knew I was gonna have a hard time in my life; I took it from that shelf and became lost in it for days.

And when I go in my game draw it still makes me feel good when I remember Jade and Co. today. I'd say the following about BG&E:

 

 

BG&E is an astoundingly beautiful, unique and altogether human title which is not only an example of how to bring a hybrid of entertainment forms together, but a wonderful example of how to tell a damn good, emotionally-involving yarn.

 

Get it, play it, love it.

[Ganepark32]

One bit I forgot to mention that is still great fun doing is near the end with the space battle bit. That was great fun. They could have made that into a separate game on it's own or extended it.

 

Good memories of a great game. Definitely up there as one of my favourite games of all time. Definitely been a highlight of this year going back and playing it again. I'm hopeful that Ubisoft will see the light and bring the sequel to the Wii although I'm not holding my breath based upon their output on the Wii so far.

[Fused King]

I finished this game recently and it truly is a shining gem in Ubisoft's diverse library of games.

 

I really like Jade as a character. I like her green look and her attitude yet she still remains sexy. A bit like Lara Croft.

I enjoy stealth games and this was no exception. The game was quite hard at times and it had a few areas where I got stuck because I didn't know what to do. I love me a good ol' brain scratcher like that from time to time, but in the end I had to look it up because I felt like I had tried everything. When you realise what you had to do though, you feel quite stupid

The atmosphere and world of the game lends itself really well for further exploration, and so I hope from the bottom of my heart that the sequel will come and that it will come in an artstyle kind of way and not like the last trailer we got to see. A hybrid of Mirror's Edge, Assassin's Creed and a good amount of stealth within the universe created would make for one hell of an awesome game.

 

Oh yeah, I loved the subtlety of this:

 

 

On a side note, this was the very first full-fledged game I playing in Dutch and that made for quite a chuckle

[Retro_Link]

Did you play the Gamecube original or the HD remake?

 

I'm constantly fighting with myself as to whether to give this game a full on go or not.

I downloaded the demo from PSN and the controls really seemed to put me off. The felt quite slow and floaty maybe, I can't quite remember now. But something was definitely weird about how Jade controlled compared to similar games like Starfox Adventures and Zelda.

 

The demo ended when you take the hovercraft out on the lake, but walking around the lighthouse had been a bit of a chore... I did quite enjoy the combat section.

 

I dunno it just didn't grab me straightaway like I hoped it would, maybe you need to get further into it?

[Fused King]

Played the GameCube original on my Wii.

 

Definitely give it another go, as a gamer it is your responsibility to get over any controller quirks and learn what the game wants from you.

Once you get used to it, it's really an enjoyable experience that isn't too long either.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Fused King

[nekunando]

I was making my way through Beyond Good & Evil last year (or perhaps even the previous year ) and was progressing relatively well without ever really feeling like it was reaching any great heights. It was OK, but I never felt particularly compelled to continue and having stopped somewhere around the half way mark, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back

[Jonnas]

This game is still on my wishlist, so many years later. Though with me going more for PC gaming these days, I'll probably get it on Gog or Steam at a sale.

 

Good thing too, since I never actually found the GC version for sale anywhere.

[nekunando]

This game is still on my wishlist, so many years later. Though with me going more for PC gaming these days, I'll probably get it on Gog or Steam at a sale.

 

Good thing too, since I never actually found the GC version for sale anywhere.

 

I would perhaps be willing to sell.. if the price is right