By Joshua Bender on January 14th, 2004

Genre: Adventure
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
# of Players: 1
Memory: N/A
ERSB: Teen
Released On: November 11, 2003
Supports: N/A
MSRP: $19.99
Also On: XBOX, GC, & PC
Website: www.beyondgoodevil.com

As an artist, a high level of creativity within a game pulls me in like a moth to a flame. If say, I were a wee little moth, then Beyond Good & Evil would be a towering inferno (not unlike the Burning Man Ritual, only without the naked old white guys, and orgies). BG&E is one of those rare games whose world gives you the feeling of completeness, almost as if it could actually exists somewhere, in some alternate universe. And it leaves you feeling that you might perhaps want to at least visit it, if not live there.

Designed by Michel Ancel, the same creative genius behind the awesome Rayman series (particularly Rayman 2), the level of artistic and creative integrity in the game is truly remarkable, and a testament to his talent. Though the game does have a few problems, I can without a doubt highly recommend this to almost anyone. While I can’t see everyone purchasing this game, everyone who thinks of themselves as a gamer should at the very least rent this awesome game, and give it one good play through. No matter you’re particular gaming tastes, if BG&E doesn’t tickle your fancy to at least play through it once, then IMO you need to open your mind a little.

Presentation/Story
In BG&E you play as a reporter named Jade. Jade appears Asian in ethnicity, and is quite attractive for a cartoonish character (not that I have any weird fantasies about her. I’m too old for that.) One of her most appealing attributes is that she looks real. Yes she’s pretty, but not unrealistically pretty (as in she has a normal cup size), and this actually makes her much more attractive as a character, as it makes her seem more approachable, more human if you will. With her baggy jeans, sneakers, white tank top, and headband, she looks like someone you might actually run into, instead of some over blown male fantasy, where in the designer was thinking more with his little head, than his big one.

The world (at least the planet the game takes place on) of BG&E is a mix of Star Wars and Venice Italy. Star Wars, because of it’s futuristic settings and technology, and Venice because all of your overworld travel between locations takes place in a hovercraft. While this may seem somewhat gimmicky, I assure you it’s not, and definitely adds to the feeling of Hillys (the name of the planet the game takes place on, pronounced Hillis) being a real place.

The Hillians are made up of many different races, which are basically animals in humanoid form. These range from pigs, to cats, to moles, and there’s even a family of Rasta Rhinos. While there are normal looking humans on Hillys, most of them are working for the enemy, which is another thing that reminds me of Star Wars. Animals in humanoid form have of course been done many times before, but that doesn’t take away from the level creativiy that makes up the races on Hillys, which is right up there with some of the creations from Disney. There’s even a holographic AI that seems to have been inspired by Hank Azaria’s role in The Birdcage (in case you didn’t know, he’s also the guy who does the voice for Apu in The Simpsons)

As Jade is a reporter, I’m sure you’re wondering, just what is she reporting on? Well, without giving too much away she’s helping a secret society of other reporters, that is trying to find out the true role of a group dubbed The Alpha Section, which is supposed to be protecting Hillys from a group of invading aliens know as the DomZ. But, are they really helping, or are they instead bad at their job and just hindering the freedom of Hillys, or are they even in league with the DomZ in these unwarranted attacks? You’ll just have to play the game to find out. Not to sound too political, but this part of the story certainly has deep reflections to what is going on around the world at the moment, with concerns to the varying opinions towards America’s involvment in Iraq.

There is more to the story though, other than what some might view as a slightly clichéd liberal witch hunt toward the military, and this has to do with Jade and her origins. Again, without giving too much away, Jade lost her parents at a young age. This, though it is unspoken, has given her a large place in her heart for caring for other orphans. This aspect of the story/world was one of my favorites. You start out the game in a lighthouse, which is Jade’s home as well as the location of the orphanage. The lighthouse is absolutely beautiful in design. It’s tough to explain in words, other than to say I needlessly spent the first hour or so of gameplay just exploring the lighthouse and its surrounding landscape, simply because of the beauty of it. If you take the time to notice, you’ll see the orphans walking around to various locations both inside and out, sitting down, resting, or sometimes just going to listen to the radio. When it gets dark, some of them will even go back upstairs and go to sleep, while others will bed down by the big tree outside. Magical, is probably the best word to describe it. Of course, other than the orphans she takes care of, there is much more to Jade than meets the green eye, but I’ll leave you to figure that out for yourself.

All in all, certain aspects of the story are a bit simplistic and predictable, but still entertaining. These aspects of the story don’t affect the enjoyment of the game at all though, so don’t worry about. One really cool thing about the world that has been built within BG&E’s universe, is that it can and most certainly will lend itself to sequels very easily. The stars are the limit with this one.

Gameplay
BG&E is broken up into several different modes of play, which give it a very Zelda: The Wind Waker like feel. It’s got a vast over world (though not nearly as big a Zelda: WW), it’s got a fairly in-depth fighting engine, it’s got stealth action, it’s got a town to run around in and townsfolk to talk to, it’s got travel over water (in a hovercraft, not a boat), and yes, it’s even got picture taking. But to simply call BG&E a Zelda: WW clone would be foolish. While the two games share many gameplay elements, BG&E is a creation unto itself. Basically, they just feel like very different games while you’re playing them.

Here are the four main gameplay elements, broken down.

FIGHTING: Fighting in BG&E is done in two basic ways, both in which you are armed with only your wits, and your power staff. First off there is solo fighting, as in you vs one or more enemies. This is usually fairly simple button mashing type fighting, in which the more successive hits you can score, the more vicious the combo Jade will unleash. Jade also has the ability to quickly dodge out of the way, and with some enemies, like the Alpha Section troops who happen to be armed with shields, dodging an attack is required to score a hit. Lastly Jade has a super attack that is preformed by holding down the attack button for a few seconds. While the attack looks great, for the most part it’s fairly useless, since it takes too long to charge up, and usually doesn’t end up killing them anyway. Not only that, but 3/4 of the time I tried to pull it off, I ended up getting hit out of it first. Still though, at least it’s there to add some flavor, and that’s always a good thing.

The second form of combat is with a team member. Throughout a large portion of the game you’ll have a team member fighting along side you. They’ll whack enemies around just as you do, and in many cases better, since whomever I was teamed up with seemed to take fewer hits, though they also don’t seem to score as many kills. The main reason they’re tagging along is because at any given time you can, with the push of a button, order them to perform a special attack (which is always some form of ground smash), which results in all the enemies getting knocked a few feet off the ground. While airborne, Jade can then perform a slow motion attack (think Matrix), in which she spins around and knocks a near by enemy into a wall, which in most cases results in death. While slowly twirling, you can aim where or what you want the enemy to smack into, using a green alien looking target that you’ll suddenly see floating in front of you. In short, this Duo attack is a quick way to open up a six-pack-o-whoop’ass. But, it also serves as a way to open up new locations and solve puzzles, by knocking something into a switch, or by knocking a bridge into place.

STEALTH: Though she’s no Sam Fisher, Jade certainly does a good job at not being seen. For the first half of the game, to sneak or not to sneak, is an optional question. Some areas require you to just go around whacking everything in sight, while others give you the choice. Of course it goes without saying that a girl armed only with a stick will probably find life less of a migraine if she doesn’t make her presence known to armored guards any more than is absolutely required. Later on, things get a bit tougher, and you’re required to ninja about, since if seen you’re odds of survival are nada.

Though I found most of the stealth gameplay to be a bit too easy or the majority of the game, overall I certainly enjoyed it, and it didn’t seem like it was something that was just added in so as to make the game more marketable, by cashing in on the Metal Gear/Splinter Cell craze that many game developers try to do.

OVERWORLD: The overworld consists of two main parts. Zipping around in your rocket powered hovercraft, and walking around places like the city, the lighthouse, and the Mammago Brothers garage (and let it be known, as characters, I love those Rasta Rhinos). As I mentioned before, BG&E shares many elements with Zelda: TWW, and getting around is no exception. At first, you have very limited access to most of the Hillys’s (sp?) locations, but as time goes on, you’ll acquire objects and upgrades that allow you more freedom to explore. Having said that, zipping around in the hovercraft is a blast, and was just as enjoyable as sneaking around and fighting through levels.

On foot though, it’s a different story. While the various locations are certainly beautiful (and in the case of the lighthouse, gorgeous), they sometimes lack depth, and at times are too easily figured out. That’s not to say they’re boring, they just seem somewhat shallow, as if more needed to be added. In fact, as much of a great game BG&E is, it’s world, once you have full access, is quite small, and feels as if it should be at least twice the size. Still though, what is there is nothing short of awesome. Please understand that this fault in no way means that BG&E shouldn’t be played. Plus, part of the problem may just be that since Zelda: WW’s world was so expansive, I’m subconsciously expecting BG&E’s to be as well.

PHOTOGRAPHY: I hate to beat a dead horse, but also like in Zelda: TWW, you have the ability to take photos. But unlike Zelda: WW, taking pictures is a required part of gameplay a great deal of the time. Seeing as Jade is a reporter, this of course makes sense. Snapping photos is broken into two categories. There’s taking wildlife photos, and then there’s gathering proof of a secret Alpha Section conspiracy. Concerning the former, early on you’re hired by a local scientist to document all the various forms of biological life that live on Hillys, by taking a picture of each. Each photo has a different monetary value placed on it, with some netting quite a rich reward. The various humanoid life forms, like your pork chop companion Pey’j, count as well. And in case you’re getting any sneaky ideas, only one photo of each creature can be sold. When you acquire enough pictures to fill a roll, you’ll receive a special prize, usually a pearl, which can be used to purchase upgrades for you’re hovercraft at the Mammago garage.

The latter form of photography, uncovering the conspiracy, while interesting and fun, doesn’t feel fleshed out enough. This though, has more to do with the games unfortunate short length, more than the gameplay element itself. Like the overworld, I was left with the feeling that twice as much was needed.

The only real complaint that I can think of gameplay-wise other than the overall length of the game, is that the enemy AI is dumb as a brick. This is mainly noticeable with the Alpha Section troops. That’s not to say that they aren’t quite deadly at times, but if you’re in trouble, all that is needed is to go to another room and wait a few seconds, and you’ll be in the clear. Chalk this up to the initial gameplay design that requires most enemies to stay within a particular zone because you’re sometimes required to move through a particular area with stealth, not unlike a puzzle of sorts. Also, since the games design has a cartoonish flair to it, a more realistic AI would probably be out of place (though, it did work in Mark of Kri).

Graphics
Not to sound like a broken record, but BG&E is beautiful. The effects, the textures, the models, the backgrounds, are all top notch, and reek of talent and TLC. If you’ve played Rayman 2, you’ll see a lot of things that remind you of that game, at least on a visual/artistic level. While out in your hovercraft, the reflection effects on the water are breath taking. Everything is reflected perfectly in what is IMO one of the best water reflection effects I’ve seen in a game. Some people might find a few of the character models, like for instance the children, to be a bit simplistic, and while that may be so they’re still well done, and more than meet the level of excellence that is established throughout the rest of this game. Aside from that, the majority of the character models are worth taking an up close look at.

BG&E is the type of game that’s filled with many moments that will cause one to stop playing, and just take some time to gaze around at the scenery. I found myself doing this so many times I lost count.

Sound
The music in BG&E is VERY well done. Without going into it too much, it has a very cinematic feel, without being over done. There weren’t any times throughout the entire game where the music annoyed me, or I even disliked it. I have to say though, my favorite tunes are the more atmospheric/serene ones that take place during the more quite moments (like while you’re in the Lighthouse.) As for the action sequences, the music has a techno slant, without relying too much on the beat alone. If it’s any indication as to how good BG&E’s music is, I plan on getting the mp3’s ASAP!

The voice acting in BG&E, like most games of late, is superb. Voice acting in videogames has really come a long way since the Resident Evil “Master of Unlocking” cheesiness. There were no moments (at least none I noticed) in which the acting seemed dull, over done, or sub-par. Jade’s voice acting in particular (done by Jodie Forest) is a real treat for the ears, both acoustically and dialog wise (she says some pretty funny, and sincere sounding things at times). Also, the guy they got do the leader of the Alpha Sections has the perfect military propaganda voice.

In case you’re wondering, the sound effects are expectantly top notch. Nothing more needs to be said in that area. Basically, like just about every other aspect of this game, they’re great.

Final Thoughts
So, should you buy BG&E? If you’re into highly creative games that have great gameplay, then without a doubt, yes! I know that some time in the future, I’ll be going through this game at least a few more times. I recommend that everyone at least give the game a rent, and then decide from there. Great games like BG&E deserve to be supported with a purchase.

The only people I can really see not liking BG&E are people with no creative inclinations whatsoever (yes, people like this do actually exist….too many of them I’m noticing as of late), or people who really only like one game-type or genre (like sports games, or FPS’s) Other than that, BG&E is a safe, and most importantly, very rewarding experience.

BG&E was obviously designed to be a series, and I can’t wait till the next one. Michel Ancel, pat yourself on the back.

Lastly as to BG&E’s length, I’m noticing that a lot of games that came out this year seemed too short (even Zelda: TWW had only 5 dungeons, which was a major blunder IMO). Usually, this can simply be labeled as a game design flaw. But, I can’t help but wonder if certain games (like BG&E, Prince of Persia, Max Payne) would have been longer, if the developers had concentrated on only one platform at a time. What I’m saying is that I think that developing a game for multiple platforms simultaneously, might be eating into time that would better be spent in making the initial game, then later on porting it around once you know it’s solid (like the first Splinter Cell). Perhaps I’m wrong, but if I’m not, I’d rather wait a few extra months for a port, than to get the game when everyone else does, only to feel that it should have been almost twice as long.

Having said that, I’m still glad I own BG&E, and still think it’s a great game, by a great game designer.