Beyond Good & Evil there is simply the truth.
This game is famous among quite a few of the game community though sadly for all the wrong reasons. It isn't known for unbelievable graphics, breaking selling records or innovation, no BG&E is simply known for being an amazing critically acclaimed game that nobody bought.
This game doesn't do anything special to push itself above the crowd, what it does have is personality, and one that makes you feel as if you are right there with it. The game is brimming with emotion and imagination that just immerses you into the universe that Ubisoft created, and few games have I played that can make them feel so personal.
The game focus's on a female reporter called Jade. She is a reporter struggling to get by in a war between her planet Hillys and an alien invader known as the DomZ that are tearing her planet apart. Taking a job to fund herself Jade gets taken into a bizarre series of events that lead her working for the IRIS network, a resistance of sorts that fight beyond sides, beyond good & evil, they fight for...the truth.
The story and characters to this game are wonderful, not to mention unique, full of emotion and humor to accompany Jade on her journey. I mean where else can you fight a pig with rocket powered flatulence boots?
The gameplay is similarly well crafted with just as much variation. The game for the most part plays like a 3rd person action adventure game. Jade can sneak, and hide behind walls to avoid unwanted attention in Metal Gear stealth like sections, but she can also fight using her staff should it come to that with some basic combos and a charge attack.
Jade and whoever happens to be with her as part of the story have a life bar of hearts that can be increased or decreased upon finding items up for the task, these items must be held by the character to be in effect. This includes gaining her life back as everyone knows eating nachos mid battle heals all your wounds :P
What kind of a reporter would she be if she didn't take pictures? So of course there are plenty of sections in the game requiring pictures to be taken, as well as plenty of optional photos in registering the planets wildlife for a lab which I thought was a really nice touch, and a lucrative one as there are camera upgrades and items to be gained for finding them.
The planet Hillys is formed of many islands over a sea so traveling on foot between areas is not an option. Instead for most of the game Jade and her pig uncle Pej will use a hovercraft. This vehicle is however quite versatile as it can jump as well as fire weapons outside of it's obvious "point A to point B" design.
These abilities allow for some of the games more thrilling events such as fighting a huge DomZ alien leviathan creature as well as some optional fast space pirate cave chases, the variation of things to do in this game never allow for a dull moment.
Throughout the game there are plenty of mini games to take part in from hovercraft racing to air hockey all of which can get you rewards such as pearls or money which allow Jade to buy a bigger life bar, healing items, one use speed boosters and hovercraft upgrades to get her though her story. The game is chocked full of various gameplay mechanics and despite this the controls are always simple and comfortable to play with no matter what the situation which impressed me greatly.
Graphically BG&E is a pretty good looking game for it's time though it won't blow anyone away. However the character and wildlife design are fantastic with all types of cat people, bull people, shark people as well as birds, penguins, space whales and plants to look at on Jades adventure.
Once again the sound is great with some terrific voice acting that really brings the characters to life, especially Pej the pig (have I mentioned he's awesome? XD ). The sound effects and music are also excellent though I admit outside of one great battle theme they don't really stand out either.
There are so many generic games that just don't aspire to be more then they are now days and Ubisoft have long stopped making games like this or taking risks. If you are reading this, buy this game and give it a whirl, this is a game that everyone can enjoy, and should.
+ Interesting characters.
+ Nice variety of gameplay mechanics.
+ Nice art design.
This game is famous among quite a few of the game community though sadly for all the wrong reasons. It isn't known for unbelievable graphics, breaking selling records or innovation, no BG&E is simply known for being an amazing critically acclaimed game that nobody bought.
This game doesn't do anything special to push itself above the crowd, what it does have is personality, and one that makes you feel as if you are right there with it. The game is brimming with emotion and imagination that just immerses you into the universe that Ubisoft created, and few games have I played that can make them feel so personal.
The game focus's on a female reporter called Jade. She is a reporter struggling to get by in a war between her planet Hillys and an alien invader known as the DomZ that are tearing her planet apart. Taking a job to fund herself Jade gets taken into a bizarre series of events that lead her working for the IRIS network, a resistance of sorts that fight beyond sides, beyond good & evil, they fight for...the truth.
The story and characters to this game are wonderful, not to mention unique, full of emotion and humor to accompany Jade on her journey. I mean where else can you fight a pig with rocket powered flatulence boots?
The gameplay is similarly well crafted with just as much variation. The game for the most part plays like a 3rd person action adventure game. Jade can sneak, and hide behind walls to avoid unwanted attention in Metal Gear stealth like sections, but she can also fight using her staff should it come to that with some basic combos and a charge attack.
Jade and whoever happens to be with her as part of the story have a life bar of hearts that can be increased or decreased upon finding items up for the task, these items must be held by the character to be in effect. This includes gaining her life back as everyone knows eating nachos mid battle heals all your wounds :P
What kind of a reporter would she be if she didn't take pictures? So of course there are plenty of sections in the game requiring pictures to be taken, as well as plenty of optional photos in registering the planets wildlife for a lab which I thought was a really nice touch, and a lucrative one as there are camera upgrades and items to be gained for finding them.
The planet Hillys is formed of many islands over a sea so traveling on foot between areas is not an option. Instead for most of the game Jade and her pig uncle Pej will use a hovercraft. This vehicle is however quite versatile as it can jump as well as fire weapons outside of it's obvious "point A to point B" design.
These abilities allow for some of the games more thrilling events such as fighting a huge DomZ alien leviathan creature as well as some optional fast space pirate cave chases, the variation of things to do in this game never allow for a dull moment.
Throughout the game there are plenty of mini games to take part in from hovercraft racing to air hockey all of which can get you rewards such as pearls or money which allow Jade to buy a bigger life bar, healing items, one use speed boosters and hovercraft upgrades to get her though her story. The game is chocked full of various gameplay mechanics and despite this the controls are always simple and comfortable to play with no matter what the situation which impressed me greatly.
Graphically BG&E is a pretty good looking game for it's time though it won't blow anyone away. However the character and wildlife design are fantastic with all types of cat people, bull people, shark people as well as birds, penguins, space whales and plants to look at on Jades adventure.
Once again the sound is great with some terrific voice acting that really brings the characters to life, especially Pej the pig (have I mentioned he's awesome? XD ). The sound effects and music are also excellent though I admit outside of one great battle theme they don't really stand out either.
There are so many generic games that just don't aspire to be more then they are now days and Ubisoft have long stopped making games like this or taking risks. If you are reading this, buy this game and give it a whirl, this is a game that everyone can enjoy, and should.
+ Interesting characters.
+ Nice variety of gameplay mechanics.
+ Nice art design.