'Nice' game who's childlike outlook belies the seriousness hidden underneath.
Beyond Good and Evil(short : Beyond) is not a remarkable game in the way the basic story develops. Basically we find our hero in a happy environment that suddenly is threatened by an evil. This starts a journey through the story in which the hero travels from one lesser evil to a greater evil and then to an even greater evil until our hero will confront that mother of all evils that is hiding behind it all. Nothing new in this regard.
What is rather new is all the little things around this story. For one thing Beyond has no levelling system. Instead one gathers money(called credits) and pearls to buy improvements and necessities like healing potions. And what is truly remarkable is that the game actually offers the ability to earn money by choosing other then direct violence. One rather novel idea is that the hero can collect credits and pearls by taking pictures of the fauna and flora. And while some pictures are easy to take, others are rather difficult as some of the critters won't sit around in nice postures waiting for you to take that picture.
An interesting feature is that the game offers the ability to coordinate tasks with companions. For instance at some points in the game you can order one companion to jump up and down, which forces a gas bubble to pop up from a plant, which then can be used by you to smash, with a bold stroke, into a bridge thus forcing the bridge to lower and allowing you and your companion to cross. This same feature can also be used in combat against some monsters who are otherwise difficult to beat.
Next to full frontal combat there are also options at certain moments, notably in the middle, to engage an enemy by sneaky means or to bypass them all together. Not all battles are required, although there are battles which are unavoidable.
What I found striking about the game is that the game first gives an impression to be a children's game but then gradually develops into a serious game with bad people, evil beings and a dark sad undercurrent.
This might look like a child's game but it isn't and it is at some point more serious then the average shooter.
The game is good and enjoyable, but there are some reasons I can't give it a nine or higher. First the game has no replay value. Of course there are some moments that you can choose to fight the enemy instead of sneaking past him, but this is hardly enough to make you want to play the game again.
In addition the game lacks a distinct integrated style to make it truly stand out. Of course the outlook has graphic novel like quality, but that isn't enough as there is nothing that connect's with it. The music and sounds rate from the unintruisive to adequate but are hardly support the graphic style. Dialogs are adequate, but again have nothing remarkable to make the game stand out.
In a nutshell a nice game that is just one notch short of the truly great. With a more integrated style and with replay value it would have been a outstanding game.
Post-mortem
Beyond good and evil is an article written by Friedrich Nietzsche in which he attacks the western philosophers of his day in that they are too much assuming that christian morals are eternal truths. What this has to do with the game I don't quite follow and my guess is that it was a catchy phrase to market the game with and that is all.