For what ever reason, whether it was because I was too young or perhaps not 'cultured' enough, I never got around to playing Beyond Good and Evil. And then for the subsequent years I heard people constantly pay reference to it, compare other games to it etc. And slowly I became interested.  

People seemed to make it out to be a Zelda- style game with a great story and fantastic characters- which seems like my ideal type of game. 
So now I've been given a reprieve, a second-chance to play the cult classic and...I'm kinda disappointed. The controls aren't great, the camera is often terrible and it seems the game is infamous for it's stealth sections for good reason.  

I can definitely see where the game shines though- from what I've played the characters and story seem great and very sophisticated, particularly for it's time. But then I have to try and sneak past five guards and my love for the experience is quickly ruined. 
 
So I was wondering how fellow new comers are finding it. Is it me taking a modern-game players view on a dated game, or is it just not living up to expectations? Equally, if you did play the original release, is going back and replaying it a fond experience or a bit of an eye-opener?

I played it for the first time in 2010 on the PC and I loved it. I did two consecutive playthroughs with the second being 100%. The game had it's flaws(it's a 2003 game duh) but it's nothing that broke the game for me or anything. I loved it and I hope enough people buy the HD version so Ubisoft decides to work on the sequel fro realzies :)

I was playing through it on my PC until some graphical glitches came up. And then got busy with newer games. 
 
I don't think the Zelda comparison really fits with this game. It feels like a lot of those PS2 3rd Person Adventure games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter etc. 
 
While they all have some similarities to Zelda, being a 3rd person Adventure game and all, I don't think it's so close that they are clones or even clone-like.

It had a cult following and you know how that tends to go.  Those who are into it are inclined to exaggerate its quality in order to make themselves seem more cultured.  If it hadn't flopped so hard commercially it wouldn't be held in such high regard today I assure you.  Same deal with Psychonauts.

" I was playing through it on my PC until some graphical glitches came up. And then got busy with newer games.  I don't think the Zelda comparison really fits with this game. It feels like a lot of those PS2 3rd Person Adventure games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter etc.  While they all have some similarities to Zelda, being a 3rd person Adventure game and all, I don't think it's so close that they are clones or even clone-like. "

" @animateria said:

" I was playing through it on my PC until some graphical glitches came up. And then got busy with newer games.  I don't think the Zelda comparison really fits with this game. It feels like a lot of those PS2 3rd Person Adventure games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter etc.  While they all have some similarities to Zelda, being a 3rd person Adventure game and all, I don't think it's so close that they are clones or even clone-like. "

I think it definitely has clear Zelda influences. Levels are basically dungeons, you have very Zelda-esque maps, you get a new item or weapon with each dungeon that you subsquently use to solve puzzles and normally have to use in order to defeat the boss- I think these are the cues people pick up on. "

I like the game, though I'm only a couple of hours into it.

I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game.

I didn't know what kind of game it was before watching the Quick Look, actually. And though I had heard people praising it a lot, I was never really interested. 
After the QL though, I thought it looked like a really fun game, so I downloaded the trial, and when I reached the end of it I immediately bought the full game. 
 
I don't really know what it is, but something about it just makes me love it.  
The world in which it takes place is really wierd with all the creatures you see, your uncle is a pig-man for christs sake!  But the wierdness of it makes it much more interesting to explore and find out more about. 
The combat is pretty simple so far, but it controls fairly well and looks pretty cool. 
I also think the game doesn't look dated at all graphically, well maybe a little, but it has that kind of half-stylised art-style which hides much of the flaws. 
 
The characters also look great, especially Jade which, I think, has some impressive facial animation considering the games age.
 
So far I haven't really had any problems with the controls or the camera, but I also hasn't gotten to any of the stealth missions yet, so... You never know if that's going to change... 
 
All in all, an interesting and fun game, and, from what I've played so far, I think it holds up pretty well to todays standards.

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

" @paradox121 said:

" @animateria said:

" I was playing through it on my PC until some graphical glitches came up. And then got busy with newer games.  I don't think the Zelda comparison really fits with this game. It feels like a lot of those PS2 3rd Person Adventure games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter etc.  While they all have some similarities to Zelda, being a 3rd person Adventure game and all, I don't think it's so close that they are clones or even clone-like. "

I think it definitely has clear Zelda influences. Levels are basically dungeons, you have very Zelda-esque maps, you get a new item or weapon with each dungeon that you subsquently use to solve puzzles and normally have to use in order to defeat the boss- I think these are the cues people pick up on. "

I don't think that's enough to say it's Zelda-styled game anymore, it's been a staple of any 3rd Person Adventure game for a long time. Almost all levels in the latter stages require a lot of stealth too, which isn't in the veins of Zelda.  It's like saying Magicka is Diablo inspired, it has the top down view like Diablo but the contents within the game aren't Diablo at all. "

I was quite a lot of fun with it.... until I hit a gamebreaking bug that is :(

" I also think the game doesn't look dated at all graphically, well maybe a little, but it has that kind of half-stylised art-style which hides much of the flaws. "

I don't quite get why people hate the sneaking parts so much, I really enjoyed them. I guess loving the Thief series kinda helps.

" It had a cult following and you know how that tends to go.  Those who are into it are inclined to exaggerate its quality in order to make themselves seem more cultured.  If it hadn't flopped so hard commercially it wouldn't be held in such high regard today I assure you.  Same deal with Psychonauts. "

I first rented it when I came out, think I was probably 11 or something back then. For some reason I didn't get very far into the game, so I picked it up this week to finish it. Man, this is a video game. I'm not sure if I just hit a slow patch, but at five hours in it's starting to feel like a grind. Certain segments of it have held up really well, others not. At worst it's an interesting look back at a piece of history.

I played it when I was younger, but never finished it. I bought the HD version the other day and I'm enjoying it, but you can tell its an old game. The stealth sections aren't great and the camera is a pile of shit (like how it randomly goes inverted in certain hallways?). It still has a lot of charm though and I intend to finish it, mainly because I've heard the ending is mad.

Anyone 100% the game yet? Does it unlock a teaser for the sequel, as I predicted?

So I bought the game years ago for the PS2 after hearing all the hype over it.  I got about an hour in and never went back.  Not saying anything bad about the game--I enjoyed what I played--I just lost the desire and moved on.   
 
I decided to buy it as soon as it hit the marketplace and give it another shot.  Determined to beat it this time I've been putting about an hour in every day.  I have to say I enjoy the game BUT the age shows a lot.  Any adventure game like this where you're traveling to multiple areas, hitting several loading screens, and constantly earning items and finishing objectives NEEDS an autosave feature of some sort especially if it's a port of an older game. 
 
The porting job was weak.  They updated the visuals and that's it.  This game could have easily done with some minor improvements (e.g.: reworked camera, autosaving, controls, and perhaps some sort of HUD display during stealth sections to indicate if a gaurd is nearby or watching).
 
Yes, the game froze on me and I lost a lot of progress.  However, and perhaps this truly speaks to the quality of the product, I see myself replaying those hours very soon.

So far I really enjoy it. I'm not far at all, but there's a certain charm that I haven't gotten from any modern games.

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

@CH3BURASKA
 
I've 100% it and you don't get a teaser for the sequel. 

It is fine. 
A bad port but the game its self still holds up.  
I get this feeling of Zelda by way of Insomniac and Naughty Dog's platformers.

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

This is exactly how I feel.  Then it will be a matter of which of us waits for the other! -_- "

I'm new to this game and I Just finished it.  I feel It's a good game, not great.  The camera is a pain some times, the combat is a tad shallow and the stealth is weak.  The dungeons and presentation really carry this game.  While the story is decent I wouldn't say it's great, the characters are good.  The bad guys are cartoonishly evil though.  The leader of the alpha section's last words is just hilariously bad.  Were it not for the fact that the game was ten dollars I'd be disapointed at how short it is.   I'd have likely been very disapointed last gen if I had actually bought this at launch for fifty dollars.   It took me about ten hours to beat and I only missed about six pearls.   Towards the end the game really feels like it was rushed to completion.  Normally theres some story and dungeon(s) between each vehicle upgrade.  There was none between the last two upgrades and the ending...  It just doesn't come together.  The second phase of the final boss fight was just lazy on the dev's part.

 
It's a good game though it has plenty of missed opprotunity and it could have used more polish.  I'd like a sequel though.  Fun game with a lot of potential.

Alright, I hadn't played this before either, but having beaten it now I think it was a great game overall. I'll just list some specific dislikes and likes.
 
Disliked:

• They translated the game text and audio into my language. This is probably great for younger players, but I much prefer to play games in English, and do you think they put the option in there to change it? No they didn't. I had to go back to the 360 system settings to change my locale to United Kingdom in order to play the game in English. Come on Ubisoft... this is the same crap you pulled with AC:Brotherhood. Not cool.
• You can only navigate the menus with the analogue stick. This may seem nitpicky, but to someone who always navigates menus with the D-pad it was kind of weird. I mean I got used to it eventually, but why wouldn't they just let people use the D-pad like in every other game?
• You can only choose the camera axes to either both be normal or both be inverted, which for me means that in either case I'm playing with one axis that's going the wrong way. I managed to get used to horizontally inverted, but seriously, not putting just Y inverted as an option is inexplicable.
• Speaking of camera, it sometimes very much works against you in the stealth sections. Plenty has been said about this already, so I won't go into more detail.
• Something is wrong with the Hovercraft achievement. When I played the trial and powered up the hovercraft, I got a message saying 'You've unlocked an achievement, please unlock the full game to keep it' or something along those lines. I later bought the game and started over from the beginning, and when I got to the hovercraft point, guess what, no achievement. I kept on playing hoping it would eventually still unlock, but it didn't. I then started a separate save file to try and get it, and again, didn't work. I proceeded to complete the rest of the game, and after I did, I made yet another save file to try and get this now final achievement, retracing the steps I took in the trial version as literally as possible, and lo and behold I finally got it. Apparently what worked was taking a picture of one of the Vorax before the shield makes them disappear and exhausting the Pey'j dialogue before pushing the generator. Both of these events seem highly specific, but they eventually worked for me.
  
• At one point, during the save process, the game got stuck. Weird thing is, it didn't actually freeze because the cogs on the save screen kept rotating, it just never finished saving (I let it go for about ten minutes). I eventually quit out to the dashboard, causing me to lose the progress I had made because it obviously hadn't saved. I should note that this only happened once (at the save point in Mammago's garage) but it was still quite a pain.
• The reflections of those catfish things in the open water are just messed up.
• SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

  Final part of the final boss fight. Not very fun at all.

• Just walking around town and finding hidden mini dungeons and other little side quests.
• The developers went out of their way to make sure no creature is miss-able (for picture taking purposes). How they made it that you could still take pictures of the bosses after you beat them I thought was really well done.
• I actually liked the stealth sections (aside from the before mentioned camera). Sneaking around and taking out the guards one by one I thought was highly rewarding.
• Game generally just looks and plays great for something that's essentially just a polished version of a game that's eight years old.
• SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

  Implementation of internet mini game to get the final 2%. Pretty neat, and still worked well eight years after it was probably originally created. Also, dude, top secret picture?

" @DrPockets000 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

This is exactly how I feel.  Then it will be a matter of which of us waits for the other! -_- "

Let's both buy it at the same exact time. Maybe that'll open a portal to the Meat Dimension. "

I'm enjoying what i have played of it so far.  I went in with an open mind knowing that it is going to have flaws and dated controls and so far i think its well worth the money,

" So far I really enjoy it. I'm not far at all, but there's a certain charm that I haven't gotten from any modern games. "

Never played it before but am enjoying it quite a bit, although the camera, the sneaking areas and the fact that it's crashed on me 3 times now are lowering my enjoyment a fair deal.

" @CrazyBagMan said:

" So far I really enjoy it. I'm not far at all, but there's a certain charm that I haven't gotten from any modern games. "

I feel the exact same way, I've only played a little bit of the game so far, and I'm not trying to sound like on of those people who are like "OLD GAMES ARE THE BEST GAMES EVER OMG GAMES SUCK NOW!" but I'm feeling a sense of charm and fun that I haven't felt from games since playing the Jak/ Ratchet games years ago. "

" @JJWeatherman said:

" @DrPockets000 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

This is exactly how I feel.  Then it will be a matter of which of us waits for the other! -_- "

Let's both buy it at the same exact time. Maybe that'll open a portal to the Meat Dimension. "

Sounds like a science experiment to me! "

" @DrPockets000 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" @DrPockets000 said:

" @JJWeatherman said:

" I'm right on the fence when it comes to getting this game. I guess if enough of you reply with positive results, I'll give it a go. Seems like a super interesting game. "

This is exactly how I feel.  Then it will be a matter of which of us waits for the other! -_- "

Let's both buy it at the same exact time. Maybe that'll open a portal to the Meat Dimension. "

Sounds like a science experiment to me! "

I bought it. Just thought I'd let you know.  =P "

ARRrrrrrrrrgghh... raging because of losing all my progress in the factory. Fell through the bottom of the map, and of course there's no way to suicide or take damage in the void.
Save early save OFTEN, kids. The glitch happened immediately after a save spot I should have used.
 
For those prepared to be on the lookout, you don't need to read the spoilers:
on the Factory's 5th floor...