Beyond Good & Evil is a cinematic gameplay experience, an all-new 3D action/adventure game from Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman. The player is Jade, a young investigative reporter who free-lances for a local underground newspaper. Her mission is to capture proof of an alien conspiracy and expose governmental corruption. Players must utilize stealth tactics to avoid detection by deadly enemies who patrol the area. A combination of 3rd person action, combat and adventure elements as well as puzzle solving and stealth moves gives Beyond Good & Evil an engaging, varied gameplay style similar to other cinematic games such as Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider. Moreover, the game's storyline is told through both cinematics and in-game comments by various characters encountered throughout the game with no break in the gameplay.
Beyond Good & Evil is an action/adventure game set in a futuristic world. The player controls Jade, a young investigative reporter who free-lances for a local underground newspaper. Her mission is to capture proof of an alien conspiracy and expose governmental corruption. Players must utilize stealth tactics to avoid detection by deadly enemies who patrol the area. A combination of 3rd person action, combat and adventure elements as well as puzzle solving and stealth moves gives Beyond Good & Evil an engaging, varied gameplay style similar to other cinematic games such as Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider. Moreover, the game's storyline is told through both cinematics and in-game comments by various characters encountered throughout the game with no break in the gameplay.
50 hours of gameplay per playthrough
The game's replay value is very high.
The three difficulty settings present a nice variety of challenges and make for a total of six different playthroughs. However, you can only play the game on one difficulty setting at a time; it's not possible to change your mind mid-game. In addition, each difficulty setting has its own appearance: Easy mode is yellow, Normal mode is blue, and Hard mode is purple. So if you want to see all three colors in one playthrough (which I did), you'll have to do two of them on Easy and one on Normal or Hard!
It takes around 30 hours to complete the game at least once on Easy and 50 hours if you go through it three times on each of the other two difficulties (Normal being most recommended).
Two playable characters
The game features two playable characters, Jade and Pey'j. Jade is the main character, while Pey'j is an uncle to Jade, who is a pig and your sidekick throughout the game. He also serves as your mechanic, repairing the hovercrafts you use on missions and exploring areas of interest.
Pey'j has an interesting backstory that's revealed through flashbacks in cutscenes throughout the campaign. His past involves some shady dealings with corrupt officials; he was framed for crimes he didn't commit in order to get rid of him as competition for power within a company called IRIS Industries (the antagonists). This sets up his role as Jade's uncle—he cares about her deeply from both a familial and professional perspective—and shows why he wants to stay close by her side during this time period when she needs it most.
Large and varied environments
The game takes place in a large and varied series of environments, from the small village in which you begin, to a city, an alien planet and even a space station. Each has its own unique feel and atmosphere. The game is set in the future, so you'll find plenty of futuristic elements like flying cars and giant mechs.
Plenty of action, but also heavy on strategy and puzzles
In the game, you play as Jade, a young photojournalist who is trying to uncover the truth about what happened on her home planet. You'll have to solve puzzles and explore environments to help you along your way.
The gameplay in this game is a mix of stealth, action, adventure and puzzle solving—similar to other cinematic games like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider. The controls take some getting used to since there are so many different types of actions available depending on where you are in relation with an enemy (or not).
Cinematic story-driven adventure with top notch presentation
The story of Beyond Good & Evil is a cinematic one, which means that it's driven by the characters and their personalities rather than the plot. In this way, the game can be viewed as something akin to an interactive movie. And what a movie it is! The presentation in BG&E is top notch across the board: graphics are extremely detailed; voice acting is top notch; sound effects are crisp and clear.
This isn't to say that BG&E lacks a compelling narrative—it actually has some really interesting characters whose stories stand on their own merits even though they're not told in chronological order (which I always appreciate). But if you want something more traditional where your actions drive how events unfold, this isn't your game: there aren't any big decisions to make along those lines here. What you do get instead are memorable experiences with each main character along with some light puzzle solving sprinkled throughout.
Huge variety of weapons and vehicles
You have a wide variety of weapons and vehicles to choose from. Jade, the main character, has a stun gun for stealth kills, a camera for taking pictures of evidence (which can be sold or used to upgrade your equipment), a hovercraft that travels on land or water, and the jetbike—a motorcycle that flies. Pei also has access to these items plus his own jetbike. Jade's uncle possesses all these same tools except he doesn't have access to the camera and can only use two types of vehicles: one that travels on land and another that travels in water.
The Alpha Section leader has access to even more powerful weapons: guns with machineguns built into them as well as rocket launchers. He also has an assistant who helps him out with some tasks but doesn't control her own vehicle or weapon choices—she just rides around in whatever vehicle he gives her when they go somewhere together (and sometimes she gets stuck behind enemy lines while using said vehicle).
Beyond Good and Evil was one of the best games of 2003
If you've played the game, you know exactly what it's like. If you haven't, let me give you a quick rundown of the game's strengths and weaknesses.
The gameplay is solid for its time, with plenty of freedom for experimentation and exploration. The story is fairly average, but your character Jade's voice acting makes up for that shortcoming; she'll often crack jokes or make sarcastic remarks about her situation before getting back to work solving puzzles in an effort to save planet Hyllis from destruction by main antagonist DomZ aliens (and their human allies). There are also side quests—some mandatory—that flesh out the world around Jade and help develop her as an interesting character with complex motivations beyond saving her world from total destruction.
Beyond Good & Evil's presentation is great: everything looks nice without being overly flashy; there are a few technical glitches here and there (mostly related to camera movement), but they don't detract much from enjoyment of the game itself; cutscenes are well-animated; voice acting is top-notch across both major characters and supporting cast members alike; sound effects go above average too... basically everything about Beyond Good & Evil screams quality except maybe sound effects during combat scenarios which seem somewhat generic compared other elements such as music tracks that accompany each mission/quest vs actual combat itself
Conclusion
Beyond Good & Evil is a game that you shouldn't miss out on. It's one of those games that will be talked about for years to come and holds up today as one of the best titles in the action/adventure genre. The story is compelling, characters are memorable, gameplay is varied and challenging and most importantly it looks great on all platforms. If you haven't played it yet then what are you waiting for? Get off your butt and go buy this game now!