GAME REVIEW: Beyond Good and Evil HD

Fans loved the cult favourite Beyond Good and Evil but it was a commercial flop. Its recent re-release, now in pixel-rich HD, is a brilliant excuse to return to this beautiful near-masterpiece by Michel Ancel, creator of the Rayman-series.

The HD-version of Beyond Good and Evil (BGaE) should not be confused with remastered titles like the recent 3DS re-release of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which we will review shortly).  The game hasn’t changed a bit; it just looks better than ever (and trophy-support has been added; as usual you get trophies for just about everything you do; “You successfully pressed the x-button! Here have a trophy!”).

There was little to change about this truly charming game anyway. BGaE uses so many different gameplay elements that, despite being easy to play, it becomes inaccessible for many gamers. The disadvantage of this all-you-can-eat buffet of gameplay techniques is that certain elements can feel rather simplistic, especially in the area of combat. One advantage of this is that there are more storytelling possibilities unlocked by this game’s subtle combinations.

The game is set on the planet Hillys in the year 2435. The planet is uled by an military dictatorship called the Alpha Sections, who claim to protect the people of Hillys from the permanent onslaught of the DomZ, an evil alien race. The player takes the role of Jade, a young journalist and photographer.

Over time the game’s protagonist Jade uncovers a conspiracy, sparks a revolution with the help of an underground organisation of rebels  and finally realises she is more than a mere human and defeats the leader of the DomZ. The story is familiar and it doesn’t stray far from usual video game plots. The difference here is that the plot is streamlined and clear, without unnecessary plot-twists getting in the way. You’ll actually remember the story after playing the game. There are other stand-out aspects of the story-telling in BGaE – things that are quite common nowadays, but still rarely effectively used.

BGaE is, somewhat, an open-world game. With some restrictions, the player has the freedom to explore the planet. Like most current open-world games, a bonus-system kicks in if the player takes a closer look around. The refreshing difference here is that the objects hidden around the game world are really worth finding and make more sense than in other games (for example: Batman: Arkham Asylum; how did he manage to put statues in every goddamn vent of the building?; or those random crystal shards in Infamous?). BGaE’s protagonist gets paid to document the fauna of the planet, which means taking photos of rare and hidden species. So, you become a scientist to gain bonuses. Pretty cool.

This is one of the most intriguing parts of the game: with every beautifully-designed creature you capture on film, the player’s connection to the world around him grows. Suddenly – and this is rarely found in video games – there’s a real reason to save the planet you’re on. It brings on a passion to act and not just to finish the game. It’s a lot more fun than picking up statues from some dead-end vent too.

The game’s use of side characters is superb. Many games try to make the player care about characters by making them part of the combat or puzzle-solving options. BGaE  limits the number of  helpful characters to a chosen few, giving you enough time to bond with your combatants. By limiting the number, your attachment to them grows.

In the initial levels, your mentor Pey’j, a boar and mechanic, fights by your side until he gets abducted while helping you rescue the rebel Double H, who then becomes your new side-kick in your quest to free Pey’j. Additionally, you always carry around the artificial intelligence Segundo, who guides you through the game (and whose over the top Spanish accent will annoy even the greatest lover of country-chlichés). So you’re never really alone.

The characters are so well-written, they grow on you – and that’s a vital part of the storyline. In so many other  games they are merely weapons or tools with legs and arms.

The mixture of the cute-looking inhabitants of Hilly (most of them are anthropomorphic animals) and the rather dark storyline combined with the design of the DomZ might not appeal to all, but it places emphasis on the threat the planet’s population is facing. “Rastafarian Rhinos versus armoured soldiers and horrid aliens? Sounds like somebody needs a heroine.”

With BGaE, you might expect a combat heavy, fast paced RPG-game. That, it never is. It is an engaging story, set in a lovingly crafted world. The sum of all its gameplay parts are so much more than its whole – Beyond Good and Evil HD offers up a truly worthwhile video game narrative.