Lovable characters, and varied gameplay turn this game into an instant classic
As the game begins, on year 2435, you are presented to the world of Hillys, a beautiful planet in a far away galaxy where many islands are connected by a big body of water filled with ships while space shuttles fly overhead. In this planet humans, robots and other animal-like species live in a society that is more often than not attacked by DomZ, evil aliens with an unknown purpose. Thankfully, the planet is apparently protected by a group of military forces dubbed Alpha Sections, which always shows up on attack scenes right after the occurrence in order to protect the population and fight the DomZ. Jade, a human orphan and the game's star, lives with her uncle Pey'j, a pig-like humanoid with great knowledge in mechanics, on a lighthouse taking care of Hillys' children that have been orphaned by DomZ's attacks. One day, while going through financial woes, Jade receives a mysterious message that will end up leading her to an investigation group, the IRIS Network, that searches for proofs of a possible conspiracy inside the government. The search reveals a shocking reality, and the brave Jade decides to lead the IRIS Network in their fight against it.
The plot is extremely original as not only does it deal with propaganda and underground battles between a dirty government and its suppressed opposition, but it also sets the basis for an equally distinct gameplay. However, its execution has issues that diminish the value of its concept, and prowesses that highlight it. The voice acting is great, and so are the lines punctually delivered by the actors, and as a consequence Beyond Good and Evil's characters are charismatic and easy to fall in love with, naturally increasing players' interest in what happens during the adventure. The same positive remarks apply to the development of the core group of characters, which is handled with a lot of care, mixing drama, comedy and some nice surprises along the way. Sadly, the same can't be said about the way on which the story unfolds. Through the first four hours of the title players will be extremely compelled to uncover the schemes of the planet's leaders, but the truth is unveiled so quickly that the game's second half feels a little bit lacking, since the story's core will already be exposed by then. That ends up leaving players with a gameplay-focused experience from that point onwards. And while the gameplay is good, the complementary tension provided by being on the verge of a nice discovery is gone, taking away a little bit of the game's fantastic charm.
The game features a vast overworld composed by a small number of islands and locations to be explored, including a big city that serves both as your main point for resupplying and the secret base of your organization. The city, influenced by the game's fantastic songs and terrific voice acting feels extremely alive and the changes in character's behaviors are pretty blatant as you complete your missions and the truth begins to go from mouth to mouth. In order to travel between those distant locations Jade will use a fast modern ship that controls very well and streamlines the process of going from one place to another. In fact, controlling the ship feels so good and is so much fun that a nice portion of the game will be spent on it since some of the places you will have to visit are heavily guarded by enemies, barricades and other obstacles that can only be surpassed by using the ship. Besides, there are also a few amusing races to participate and other small side missions that involve driving your ship as fast as you can without running out of energy.
Once Jade steps out of her vehicle things take a less-frantic turn. Most of the gameplay consists of exploring large and dark environments where the government is potentially performing not-so-pleasant activities, and since the character's main goal is to take revealing pictures in a location that is heavily guarded she will have to sneak through lots and lots of bots that will act in the sign of any small noticeable movement. There is a lot of stealth going on here as Jade will crawl, hide and surprise the guards by attacking their weak spots when they least expect it. In order to advance players will have to carefully scan their surroundings and look for a route that is best suitable for sneaking around, in a big puzzle that involves stealth. Those sequences are particularly impressive as they build up enormous amounts of excitement and tension, while looking visually stunning with camera angles that bring perspectives that border on cinematic.
The game does a fantastic job in balancing out gameplay, though, as although there is a lot of sidling, there is also plenty of puzzle solving and combat. The former involves some Zelda-like solutions to problems stopping you from going further into your investigation, overcoming those obstacles usually involves using the skills of Jade's partner by pressing the Y-button that works as a context sensitive command to those characters. The latter consists of a good collection of baddies ready to be beaten down. It is worth noting that the game's combat isn't exactly deep, as most regular enemies can be brought down in a hack and slash fashion, but it is entertaining and does its job in changing the game's pace a little bit. Bosses battles, on the other hand, are pretty creative even if there aren't many of those throughout the game. All battles happen in a fixed-camera system and it is extremely accurate, even if the automatic lock may bother some players.
Overall, Beyond Good and Evil is not a masterpiece, but it is certainly one of the most creative adventure games of the decade. Some of its features feel a little bit rushed, and the very clever plot seems like a lost opportunity due to the way it was developed. Still, not being enchanted by the fantastic world of Hillys and the astounding characters you will encounter during your adventure is impossible, especially given the heartwarming moments the writers of this game were able to create. When it is all said and done, Beyond Good and Evil is short – the adventure lasts between 10 and 12 hours – and while there are some extras like taking pictures of all animal species in the world, and collecting all pearls scattered across the land, those are pretty easy to accomplish and won't demand a lot of your time. Despite all of those flaws, the thrilling and varied gameplay and the lovable characters are able to turn the game into an unforgettable tale.
Actual Score: 8.2