Beyond Good & Evil (PC, 2003)

I can say with total honesty that this is one of the most pitch-perfect games I've played, ever. The gameplay is simple but varied and elegant, the controls are intuitive and cleverly utilized, the world is compact and rich, the voice-acting is flawless and a complete joy to listen to, the character models are as animatable as anything that ever came out of Disney, and--best of all--this last point is used to great effect throughout. These character do not merely move: they ACT. The cinematographic direction, both in-game and in the beautifully pixel-shaded cutscenes, always flows perfectly and intelligently, with nice close shots of our leads to catch their reactions, emotions, and thoughts. Is Jade nervous? suspicious? broken-hearted? It's all there in the subtle movements of her wide green eyes.

The story is simple but solid, usually matching the world's light-hearted, colorful and cheery tone, but pulling no punches when things need to get grim. Jade's camera (her primary tool) is, like every element of the game, perfectly integrated but also simple to use. Some may call the game too short (it took me 20 hours to do everything, however), but it really is just right for the story, and nothing ever feels either rushed or padded.

Essentially the only negative point about this title is that it didn't do well enough in the stores to get a sequel (probably). The bright side of this is that you can pick it up for almost nothing on eBay. Do so at once.

I'd say this game is a good first time play. The graphics are nice, but just about all games now have good visuals, that alone don't make for a good game. The concept of taking pictures to reveal a conspiracy was cool, the character's voice overs and personalities were very good. Other than that, BGE was a pretty typical game. It had a combat system and used a shealth factor (too much). It had vehicles to ride in a so forth...all elements thay have been seen before, just presented in a different way. I liked some parts of the game's sound track as well. This title does have glitches, I mean errors that will stop you from finishing the game!! You better know what they are before you play!! Programmers and designers did a poor job with some things. Over all, I'd say the title is worth buying, but if you can get someone with the game to let you play through it, then borrow the game instead....or just wait unti Origins Of Fang release for the PC hopefully by mid to late 2007.

hjjr1978@aol.com

It is becoming more difficult to find a game that doesn't splash blood all over the place or is truely rated for Teens. This Beyond Good and Evil met all of my standards of a clean game that was exciting and at times, intense. I experienced no glitches or errors.
If you are looking for a fun game with a story line that will take you to the moon, this is it. I would think trying to complete the story by fighting your way through would be nearly impossible. So hiding and timing are critical. There was one scene that reminded me of an old arcade game, which demoted the score to a 4 of 5.
The character interactions are fun as well as the characters themselves. It promotes reading, puzzle solving, and strategy. I highly recommend for a teen and a mature pre-teen. Too complicated for younger children. Also, recommend for adult that doesn't like shooting games.

Super graphics and scenery, great story lines and characters are cool. Photo control is neat, a real photo takers delight. The start off fight scene is a great way to start the game with an adrenalin rush. Character interaction is fun and keeps building on the story. Only played an hour and love it so far. RGS

This game is like Zelda. . .Great game the difference is you don't need a strategy guide to completely beat the game.