![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Beyond Good And Evil (very mild spoilers)
Apr. 5th, 2008 04:30 pmThis had a nice central theme - reporter exposing a conspiracy - and a decent heroine. I would recommend it, but with a few caveats.
I picked this game up last year for the PC (it's also available on most consoles) and loaded it up. Then I put it down at New Year and didn't pick it up again until last weekend. However I then re-started and played through to the end within the week.
I would say this game is well-known for not being well enough known. It was poorly marketed (IMO) although this was partly down to any description of the game being something of a spoiler (not to mention having a vague, undescriptive title). Beyond Good and Evil has got a cult following and I first came across it through its music which was played at the Video Game Live concert.
Its main concept is perhaps its best point. Beyond Good And Evil is all about exposing a government conspiracy by taking photographs in their secret bases. Much of the game is spent crawling around trying to get good camera angles. It's very satisfying to take a picture and later see it published in the rebel magazine.
The gameplay itself primarily involves timing-critical puzzles which are really you working out how and when to sneak your reporter character around. This means you have to have some quick reflexes (although I just about managed and I'm not really a first-person shooter player). It's got a bit of combat in there as well. Plus there's a photography mini-game which I personally found a lot of fun (take pictures of every new animal/monster you find).
I thought that the gameplay was nicely thought out as, whilst your character had fairly limited equipment and moves, it is all used to very good effect and in different ways in different scenarios. Also ordering your secondary character about works well too, particularly in giving some of the strategies a new twist. I equally thought that the puzzle-angle was put together nicely as each sneak-through-a-room is a bit different to the previous room and you have to judge when to fight and when to hide.
There are three main characters - Jade, Pey'J and Double H. Jade is the female heroine and has things in common with Lara Croft. However her chest size is much smaller, she dresses much more sensibly (green trousers, green jacket) and wears her hair short. I liked her a lot. Pey'J is a human-pig and a handyman who adopted Jade. He's the sarcastic one. Double H is Buzz Lightyear; although he never actually says "To infinity and beyond!". You only play Jade, but get to give instructions to the other two.
The plot is nice, as far as it goes. I found out after I'd completed it that it was supposed to be the first of a trilogy, which explains a lot as you don't really get any story development until the end (although they do, at least, provide some closure - assuming you ignore the post-credits scene). It's possible that they'll produce a sequel (or both); but Ubisoft weren't too impressed by the original sales.
It's a pretty short game (particularly if you can handle a controller better than I can) and doesn't have much replay value. It does have a few side-bits though (for example there's a racing game you can play on four tracks). Various people have said that they really should have made the whole trilogy as one game - and I can see their point.
Overall - I'd recommend it and, if anyone fancies playing the PC version, I'm happy to lend it out. However I'd stay away if you don't like timing critical stuff.
I picked this game up last year for the PC (it's also available on most consoles) and loaded it up. Then I put it down at New Year and didn't pick it up again until last weekend. However I then re-started and played through to the end within the week.
I would say this game is well-known for not being well enough known. It was poorly marketed (IMO) although this was partly down to any description of the game being something of a spoiler (not to mention having a vague, undescriptive title). Beyond Good and Evil has got a cult following and I first came across it through its music which was played at the Video Game Live concert.
Its main concept is perhaps its best point. Beyond Good And Evil is all about exposing a government conspiracy by taking photographs in their secret bases. Much of the game is spent crawling around trying to get good camera angles. It's very satisfying to take a picture and later see it published in the rebel magazine.
The gameplay itself primarily involves timing-critical puzzles which are really you working out how and when to sneak your reporter character around. This means you have to have some quick reflexes (although I just about managed and I'm not really a first-person shooter player). It's got a bit of combat in there as well. Plus there's a photography mini-game which I personally found a lot of fun (take pictures of every new animal/monster you find).
I thought that the gameplay was nicely thought out as, whilst your character had fairly limited equipment and moves, it is all used to very good effect and in different ways in different scenarios. Also ordering your secondary character about works well too, particularly in giving some of the strategies a new twist. I equally thought that the puzzle-angle was put together nicely as each sneak-through-a-room is a bit different to the previous room and you have to judge when to fight and when to hide.
There are three main characters - Jade, Pey'J and Double H. Jade is the female heroine and has things in common with Lara Croft. However her chest size is much smaller, she dresses much more sensibly (green trousers, green jacket) and wears her hair short. I liked her a lot. Pey'J is a human-pig and a handyman who adopted Jade. He's the sarcastic one. Double H is Buzz Lightyear; although he never actually says "To infinity and beyond!". You only play Jade, but get to give instructions to the other two.
The plot is nice, as far as it goes. I found out after I'd completed it that it was supposed to be the first of a trilogy, which explains a lot as you don't really get any story development until the end (although they do, at least, provide some closure - assuming you ignore the post-credits scene). It's possible that they'll produce a sequel (or both); but Ubisoft weren't too impressed by the original sales.
It's a pretty short game (particularly if you can handle a controller better than I can) and doesn't have much replay value. It does have a few side-bits though (for example there's a racing game you can play on four tracks). Various people have said that they really should have made the whole trilogy as one game - and I can see their point.
Overall - I'd recommend it and, if anyone fancies playing the PC version, I'm happy to lend it out. However I'd stay away if you don't like timing critical stuff.
