Thursday, July 15, 2004
And you thought Taft was evil
Now that I have finally finished Beyond Good and Evil I can safely say this is not only one of the greatest games made this generation, but everyone who does not own a copy is an evil person who is ruining the video game industry. And yes, I am aware that I do not actually own a copy of this game. So what makes BG&E so amazing that, years from now when I am forced to lie in bed all day as punishment for eating too much fast food in my youth, a creepy smile will spread across my greasy, hamburger like face when the word “Jade” is mentioned in my presence? There are many things, but at the top of the list is Beyond Good and Evil’s unprecedented ability to create a game with an emphasis on stealth gameplay and story that I actually enjoyed.
Beyond Good and Evil pretty much plays like Zelda or Star Fox Adventures or any of those games that urge you to explore a giant world without the luxury of a jump button. The story revolves around Jade – a video game heroine who is good looking without having her own programmed breast physics – and her attempt to uncover a huge government conspiracy with only her trusty camera and a stick of war by her side. You should know, her best friend is a pig sapien and orphans are prominently involved.
If that little nugget didn’t sell you, picture this – a game with stealth missions that are not unforgivably hard. In Splinter Cell, the worst stealth game ever made, you can slowly walk down a ledge and then drop noiselessly to the ground as you roll behind a bush. Then you slink through the shadows, carefully timing your movement so the passing guard doesn’t see you. You go through this boring routine for an hour or two, we’ll round it down to a nice, even week, and then you’re spotted. Oh no! The enemy kills you quickly and you have to replay the whole damn thing. This is “fun” in normal stealth games.
In BG&E, if you get caught in a stealth mission, you go back a whole minute. Each room in the enemy compound presents a new challenge; if you fail you are only sent back to the beginning of the room. It makes the game much less frustrating, and it actually encourages you to try different ways to pass obstacles. The game is a little easy because of this, but a lot more fun than other stealth games.
The story is something I could blabber on about about for paragraph upon tasty paragraph, but for respect of those that have not yet completed the game I will leave out the details. What makes this story so engaging is the emphasis on character. The game creates very real personalities for each person present. There is no cookie cutter reluctant hero in this, nor is there the loudmouth companion who cracks horrible joke after horrible joke. These characters feel very real, with feelings and emotions you can relate to.
The story is seamlessly integrated with the action, so you never feel as if you are a passive participant. The story does take a turn towards the unbelievable near the end of the game, but the rest of the story is so solid, you can’t help but be caught up in Jade’s plight for the truth.
In addition to the standard quests in the game, there are enough side missions to keep the action from getting stale. As mentioned earlier, Jade is equipped with a camera. The main purpose of the camera is to expose what the government is hiding from the public. But, you can also take pictures of animals. I know this doesn’t sound that fun, but it actually is. Most of the animals are right in the open. You can take a picture of your orphans or pig friend and send them to a scientist for documentation. But, you have to track down some of the animals too. For instance, in one situation you place a peace of cheese down and quickly snap a photograph as a mouse like animal takes its food. You get money for taking picture, so those who don’t necessarily like to keep a scrap book of all the animals in the game will still have incentive to take pictures. It’s a great diversion and surprisingly fun.
The game does have some flaws. The camera system is kind of crappy at time. On a scale of Cory Feldman to Jeff Goldbloom, the computer controlled partner who is with you throughout most of the games is just a notch above Christopher Burk on the Celebrity Retard Scale. And there are one or two huge bugs present that make it so you can never actually finish the game if you encounter them. Other than those minor quirks, Beyond Good and Evil is pure candy and should be consumed as quickly as possible.
Beyond Good and Evil pretty much plays like Zelda or Star Fox Adventures or any of those games that urge you to explore a giant world without the luxury of a jump button. The story revolves around Jade – a video game heroine who is good looking without having her own programmed breast physics – and her attempt to uncover a huge government conspiracy with only her trusty camera and a stick of war by her side. You should know, her best friend is a pig sapien and orphans are prominently involved.
If that little nugget didn’t sell you, picture this – a game with stealth missions that are not unforgivably hard. In Splinter Cell, the worst stealth game ever made, you can slowly walk down a ledge and then drop noiselessly to the ground as you roll behind a bush. Then you slink through the shadows, carefully timing your movement so the passing guard doesn’t see you. You go through this boring routine for an hour or two, we’ll round it down to a nice, even week, and then you’re spotted. Oh no! The enemy kills you quickly and you have to replay the whole damn thing. This is “fun” in normal stealth games.
In BG&E, if you get caught in a stealth mission, you go back a whole minute. Each room in the enemy compound presents a new challenge; if you fail you are only sent back to the beginning of the room. It makes the game much less frustrating, and it actually encourages you to try different ways to pass obstacles. The game is a little easy because of this, but a lot more fun than other stealth games.
The story is something I could blabber on about about for paragraph upon tasty paragraph, but for respect of those that have not yet completed the game I will leave out the details. What makes this story so engaging is the emphasis on character. The game creates very real personalities for each person present. There is no cookie cutter reluctant hero in this, nor is there the loudmouth companion who cracks horrible joke after horrible joke. These characters feel very real, with feelings and emotions you can relate to.
The story is seamlessly integrated with the action, so you never feel as if you are a passive participant. The story does take a turn towards the unbelievable near the end of the game, but the rest of the story is so solid, you can’t help but be caught up in Jade’s plight for the truth.
In addition to the standard quests in the game, there are enough side missions to keep the action from getting stale. As mentioned earlier, Jade is equipped with a camera. The main purpose of the camera is to expose what the government is hiding from the public. But, you can also take pictures of animals. I know this doesn’t sound that fun, but it actually is. Most of the animals are right in the open. You can take a picture of your orphans or pig friend and send them to a scientist for documentation. But, you have to track down some of the animals too. For instance, in one situation you place a peace of cheese down and quickly snap a photograph as a mouse like animal takes its food. You get money for taking picture, so those who don’t necessarily like to keep a scrap book of all the animals in the game will still have incentive to take pictures. It’s a great diversion and surprisingly fun.
The game does have some flaws. The camera system is kind of crappy at time. On a scale of Cory Feldman to Jeff Goldbloom, the computer controlled partner who is with you throughout most of the games is just a notch above Christopher Burk on the Celebrity Retard Scale. And there are one or two huge bugs present that make it so you can never actually finish the game if you encounter them. Other than those minor quirks, Beyond Good and Evil is pure candy and should be consumed as quickly as possible.
// posted by Tom @ 10:14 AM 
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