Beyond Good & Evil™

I'm not really sure what to say about it. I didn't actually enjoy playing the game -- I was actually quite bored throughout, I didn't find the gameplay engaging, the plot seemed cliched, and any attempt at drama was laughable with the art style presented. But for some reason I finished it anyway. It wasn't that short, either. I almost never actually finish the games I play, including games I really enjoy, so that's actually pretty remarkable.

A masterful blend of exploration, discovery, humor, story, and action all wrapped in a well designed world full of fantastic environments and characters. There isn't anything about this game I didn't like.

If Ubisoft could ever pretend to a AAA developer, this was their best chance to do that. Creative enviroments, various gameplay sections, engaging storyline and likeable characters and a nice difficulty curve from simple puzzle and exploration to sneaking through instant death situations. Jade's tale will entail a lot of diffrent activities - Taking pictures, fighting monsters, jumping and avoiding traps, solving puzzles, racing in your Hovercraft, fighting in said vechicle and listen to one iconin soundtrack, of particular notes "Mammago Garrage" and "Propaganda". If you never before played this game - Do yourself a favor and do it right now. It's one of thoose games that will keep you interested from begining to end.

Awesome for everything... but the story could be a little bit better.

Beyond Good and Evil is a game that stands as one of the greats because of its majestic and memorable world. Hillys is a beautiful world under attack by the alien DomZ. Luckily, Hillys has the Alpha Sections to protect them, or do they? The Alpha Sections always seem to arrive too late and wield a strong control the media. Soon Jade finds herself a key member in the search to find the truth concerning both the DomZ and the Alpha Sections. Most video game plots simply create ways in which to justify gameplay elements, but in Beyond Good and Evil the world and gameplay mesh, creating situations where one would not exist without the other. For instance, the fact that Jade is a photojournalist is not only simply a way to introduce the photography game mechanic, but also creates a believable character motivation. Her background in photojournalism has created a desire to know the truth. Jade's quest for truth is not simply a personal quest that simply affects Jade, but a quest that impacts the world. Throughout the game you see the direct results of you actions as you walk the streets of Hillys and overhear the conversations of the population. And speaking of the population, Beyond Good and Evil has a colorful cast of characters that inhabit its world. There is, of course, Jade, who is a soft, maternal figure to the orphans but also a strong woman when she needs to be. Alongside her is Pey'j, a stocky anthropomorphic boar who has raised Jade after her parents died. The game focuses on the cheeky father-daughter relationship between the two. Pey'j sounds like the aging father while Jade in turn plays as the snarky teen. The simplest exchanges between the two are funny, sarcastic and heartwarming. This relationship itself shows the amount of energy and creativity that went into creating the world of Beyond Good and Evil, a world brimming with personality. It's the richness of this world that brings me back time and time again. The world of Beyond Good and Evil is not simply a backdrop for the action, but a world that has sprung to life as its own character. And this fantastic world is free for you to explore. Not straight at the beginning--the game has some clever ways of keeping you from exploring certain pockets too early--but gradually every nook and cranny of the world is open. Some of the best gameplay moments are gotten out of finding some hidden nook or cranny. This is where the game is most exciting because you are never sure what you will find around the next corner.