Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Instant classic"

I have heard so much about Beyond Good and Evil and what a cult following it has garnered, so when I saw it on the Xbox Live Arcade for a reasonable 10 dollars price tag, I decided to get it. Like most, I have not played the original and now I feel bad about it because this game was very good. However, Ubisoft was too busy focusing on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, that BG&E got little advertising and because of this, the game was a huge flop.
With all this talk of a sequel, Ubisoft re-released this game in HD and thank god for that.

The story is very creative. You play as a woman named Jade who is next to Alyx Vance and Samus of how great a female lead can be. Jade's character can easily rewritten for her to be male and that is what I think they had in mind. She is just a normal person. She doesn't have breasts the size of Lara Croft and the camera does not zoom into her butt every 10 seconds. Jade is Jade and that why I love her. They don't turn her character around because she is a girl. She is perhaps the most realistic female character I have ever seen in a video game. She runs an orphanage and she too is an orphan. She and her uncle, Pey'j, who is some sort of man pig are reporters as well. They are struggling to make ends meet. One day, the city and Jade's orphanage is attack by a secret alien race, and Jade and Pey'j try to get to the bottom of this. Again, the story is very well written.

The gameplay mixes stealth, action and platforming which really work. There is also a lot of collecting and upgrading which can be addicting. You also need to take pictures of animals around the sandbox for money which is also very addicting. Also, the final boss is very creative. A certain thing happens to the controls of the game on purpose which complicates things which I found to be very creative.

I really have little complaints to say, but I do have a few. In the game, you get to drive this hoverboat and the camera gets jerky at times and makes certain levels very frustrating. I also wish the stealth elements were a bit more complex. They are a bit too simple.

I think that covers it. It really is a shame that I had to wait 8 years to play this gem. It really is a great game and very affordable. It lasted me about 10-12 hours I think. If you are still skeptical about buying it and not getting a refund if you don't like it, then by the original retail version. There isn't really any difference in the games besides the HD upgrade. Anyways, check this great game out.