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Beyond Good & Evil Review
Derek dela Fuente
20/11/2003
A stylish adventure, action game, with stealthy moves and plenty of puzzlers from the creative hands of Michel Ancel, the chap that created the Rayman games...
Beyond Good and Evil (BG&E) is a sort of amalgam of part cartoon interactive show, with some wonderfully created characters and animations, and part adventure/action game, with all the tasks and activities you would associate with this genre!
A fabulous intro sequence pulls you straight into BG&E, giving the background story and atmosphere. A sense of affinity with Jade, who is the central character you play, and her motley group of friends, who come in the strangest forms, is instantly achieved. The problem with lots of adventure come action games is the feeling of well-being and familiarity can take too long. It is not until you are at ease with the surroundings, the plot, and are au fait with the kind of interaction and actions that are required, do you know if you are going to like what you are being offered and want to play on.
The fact that after only 5 minutes of play you are immersed in the world, not so much story line, bodes well. You are placed on the not so peaceful planet of Hyllis, which has fallen under siege by a relentless alien race. After a desperate struggle to defend her island, Jade collapses in exhaustion - only to be tormented by disturbing visions. Despite public assurances that the planet has been secured, Jade begins to suspect that there's more to these invasions than the government has disclosed. When a rebel organization reinforces her doubts, Jade begins a harrowing journey to get to the core of the conspiracy.
Although the fact that you are thrust in this mystical world where creatures of incalculable forms are eyeball to eyeball in your face you somehow feel in total control!
Jade, the star of this ambitious foray, (must have taken some tips from Lara Croft in the fashion stakes as well as remodelling some of her moves), can rely for help on her set of pals, although they are not that pro active in the action stakes early on, to keep her sanity. Being able to chat to them gives her a platform to talk and interact, which seamlessly moves the storyline along.
Armed with her camera, aikido staff, and resolute investigative skills, Jade sets out to expose the truth and to liberate the minds of her deceived people. Pushed to the very edge of her physical and spiritual will, she soon discovers that even these limits are not what they seem ... Her quest for the truth knows no bounds.
Much of the game is taken up with puzzle solving, with your piggy companion, taking photos â“ very specific ones, plus some light projectile fighting, as well as finding objects and using them appropriately.
Keeping your âpeepersâ peeled and alert and being inquisitive will reap rewards. This may sound mundane and repetitive, and in some instances it is, but - and a big but - the constant fix of some superbly created interiors and settings and the incessant audio bombardment, which is a delight in itself, keeps you satisfied and somewhat intrigued.
The sneaking around, not wishing to be seen and spotted, is also well implemented.
It also needs to be highlighted, and it manifest itself early on, that the gameâs intuitive interface and cleverly designed storyline allows you to learn the moves and skills required â“ to take, and use objects, with the minimum amount of fuss! The enemy might not be that smart or well tooled but they donât go without a good skirmish!
In many instances it did appear that the CPU was actually overriding what to do and it appeared that I was merely a passive onlooker but the instinctive way the game had been set up, meant that you appeared to do things almost by second nature!
Like we mentioned before, basically gameplay is all about: Fighting, stealth, a certain amount of force, and using your wits. The interchange of these ideas is presented in the right quantity so that focus on one aspect is never too overbearing! Add to that some other cool actions, like hover racing, plus we are sure more diverse elements we have not got to yet, and there is enough to please anyone.
The full frontal presentation is the overriding factor for GBE and if you feel that too much emphasis is being placed on its importance and that of its quality and the inordinate amount of audio that is packed into it, which is superb, then you would be wrong. The storyline, as well as tasks in hand, all work in perfect synergy, which gives this game its uniqueness. The puzzles in themselves may not be overly taxing, nor some of the stealthy actions, but as far as pure unabated storytelling and immersive interaction goes this works a treat!
Does GBE present any real negatives? It would be incongruous to comment that the elements that go into making what is good and compelling about this game in most cases in other titles would leave them open for plenty of criticism. The use of NPCs and even the central feature of game storyline, in having to take photos â“ a mere point and click, would look weak and insubstantial but UBI Soft has pulled it off remarkably well. Whether this is through luck or sheer graft it is hard to say.
Many will complete the game in a relatively short time and this may disappoint but it will surely have many wanting more!
A number of clever twists in the storyline, along with changes in the pace of the âactionâ, make BGE less predictable. The amount of detail on every single screen viewed also adds substance to the game.
Anonymous
Date Added:Mon 6th Nov 2006 10:13