Review - Beyond Good & Evil HD

Review - Beyond Good & Evil HD

Most of you probably know the almost tragic story that is Beyond Good & Evil by now. The brainchild of Rayman creator Michel Ancel was intended to be a trilogy when it was released for the Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 consoles back in 2003. Despite garnering almost universal critical praise from the press, the game was largely ignored by the gaming public (yes, including me) and has since become recognized as one of the industry’s most notable commercial failures. Fortunately, BG&E’s small but persistent cult following has somehow coerced Ubisoft into giving the franchise a new lease on life. While the long-awaited sequel remains under development (allegedly), Ubisoft is offering gamers a second chance to experience the forgotten classic in the form of Beyond Good & Evil HD. While it certainly isn’t the genre-defining adventure that it was eight years ago, I am pleased to say that the title has aged remarkably well. For a measly $10, this is a journey well worth taking for veterans and newcomers alike.

The planet Hillys takes centre stage for the events of Beyond Good & Evil, a serene world populated by both humans and anthropomorphic animals (humanoids), among a variety of other species of creatures. The planet is under siege from an aggressive alien force called the DomZ, who have been abducting Hillys’ inhabitants at will. The people rely on a military group known as the Alpha Sections as their sole line of defence against the invasion. Our protagonist Jade and her “uncle” Pey’j (who is a talking pig) have set up a refuge for orphaned children in an island lighthouse. While she is on one of her freelance photography excursions, Jade is recruited by a secret organization called IRIS, who is attempting to expose an alleged crooked allegiance between the Alpha Sections and the DomZ. They ask Jade to infiltrate the Alpha Sections’ operation and gather incriminating photographic evidence that will uncover the conspiracy in order to rally support from the populace and lead a revolt against their oppressors.

Jade? Why didn't they just name her "Green"? Actually nevermind, Jade is better...

What makes Beyond Good & Evil special is how well it manages to mesh a variety of different genres into one game. The combat is perhaps overly simplistic, amounting to little more than mashing the X button to pull off combos, which will take care of most enemies. The boss fights are much more imaginative though, often requiring a very Zelda-esque sequence of strategically placed and timed attacks in order to defeat them. While engaging enemies to remove them from your path forward is an attractive option, using stealth to sneak through rooms filled with baddies is often the safer route. Stealth requires acute timing and smart planning to establish a safe path that will ensure Jade will remain undetected. Failure sometimes means instant death, so plan your moves carefully. The entire progression through each level is also clearly inspired by Zelda games. Each section of the level acts as a sort of puzzle, where Jade will need to hit switches, strategically place crates and other objects, direct her companions, or use enemies to her tactical advantage in order to generate a safe path through or around otherwise impassable obstacles. It is rarely, if ever, as complex or satisfying as in Zelda, but these sections are clever and satisfying nonetheless. The industry has had eight years to perfect and expand upon the gameplay concepts in BG&E, so there are certainly some elements here that feel outdated. The camera is particularly frustrating at times, all too often positioning itself poorly or twitching uncontrollably, especially in tight quarters and during stealth scenarios where precision is most important. The inventory, menus, and maps are also a bit clunky and difficult to navigate, and the levels and enemies lack variety and imagination. These gripes may have been acceptable for a triple-A title back in 2003, but they tend to stick out more in 2011. That being said, these issues are only relatively minor shortcomings and the overall experience still feels fun and remarkably high in quality.

Best to sneak around these guys: they can't be beaten one-on-one.

Beyond the core dungeon exploration gameplay is the hub world. Jade has a hovercraft that is used to navigate around Hillys, a world that is almost entirely covered in water and dotted by numerous islands. Here players can cruise around freely, explore islands and the hub city, search for hidden areas containing valuable items, compete in races, interact with NPCs, or take photos of animals. Photography plays a central role in BG&E, as Jade can, at any time, pull out her camera to take photos of the various species of creatures inhabiting Hillys, or to gather photographic evidence during missions. Doing so rewards her with currency to purchase items with, as well as pearls, the most valuable commodity in the game. These pearls are the only currency that is accepted to purchase upgrades for Jade’s hovercraft, which are required to access vital areas of the game. Don’t expect Grand Theft Auto-level depth to the open world exploration, but there are a number activities to keep you distracted for a few minutes between missions. Completionists will be tempted to find all of the game’s 88 pearls and photograph all of the more than 50 species of animals, but such achievements are not required to finish the game.

For an eight-year old game, BG&E actually looks and sounds fantastic in HD. Ubisoft has improved some of the textures and character models, and the whole world is so bright and colourful and well-designed that you will hardly notice that it was an Xbox 1 game. Of course it doesn’t stand up to today’s current-gen technical marvels by any means: the lip-syncing is poorly executed and the level of detail can’t compare to modern games, but the environments and chracters still look remarkably sharp in glossy high definition. The sound design has aged even better: the voice acting is solid and the characters are really charming, but the soundtrack is where the game really shines. There is a unique variety of outstanding tunes, ranging from piano numbers to orchestral scores to some quirky contemporary beats that will most assuredly have you humming along.

Boss battles are fun. Too bad there aren't more of them.

I was surprised to find in later stages of the game that the story takes on a fairly serious tone. It doesn’t have quite the impact of today’s precedents for storytelling, but it is unexpectedly impactful for what begins as more of a light-hearted affair. The whole experience clocks in at around 10 hours, which is respectable for an XBLA title, but it seems like only a sampler for what should have been a much longer and more developed experience. Nothing has been added or changed in terms of gameplay from the original, so if you’ve played it before you will only be coming back for the upgraded visuals and for the nostalgia experience. For everyone else who hasn’t played it, I highly recommend you find some time to experience a criminally overlooked classic. Sure, it won’t have the impact that it did in 2003, but as a downloadable game, it still ranks among the best titles available. At roughly $10, there’s no excuse this time.

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