Beyond Good & Evil

Overview

Title Screen

Plot

Off the lighthouse, off the pimp car, nothin but...are you getting this?

Pey'j's shoe looks just like my camera...

If only I had a cardboard box.

Gameplay

Beyond Good & Evil combines aspects of a number of game genres for various styles of play. These include sneaking, fighting, racing, photo-snapping, and shooting.

Jade will spend the majority of the game sneaking around the various Alpha Section facilities, avoiding the heavily armed Alpha Sections guards. She can press herself up against walls, crawl through gaps, and roll to quickly avoid being detected. If needed, Jade can "quietly" take out the armed Alpha Sections soldiers by sneaking behind them and kicking their large air tanks. One hit to the tanks will cause green smoke to rupture from their helmets. As the soldiers begin to run around and restore the proper air pressure, a second hit will cause the soldiers gas tank to burst, rocketing them to the sky before they explode.

In the game's boss fights (as well as any battles with specific creatures, and a few battles with Alpha Section) Jade will pull out her "Dai-Jo" staff to battle with the enemies. Jade doesn't lock onto enemies, but can very easily switch the target of her attacks by pointing the analog stick towards a different opponent. Actual battle, often compared to combat in the 3-D Legend of Zelda games, has Jade dodging around attacks and attacking enemies when an opening appears. There are also other items that Jade can use in and out of combat that are collected througout the game such as the disc shooter.

Jade often enters combat alongside Pey'j and Double H. These A.I controlled companions will help Jade find openings against targets.

The key goal of Jade's missions are taking pictures of any suspicious activity inside the Alpha Section bases and exposing the conspiarcy.

Since Jade is a photographer, much of the game takes place behind a camera lens. Like the N64 game Pokémon Snap and the upcoming PS3 game Afrika, Jade can take pictures of various animals. Taking a picture of one of these animals results in financial reward which used for purchase of new items.

Pearls are another form of currency found throughout the world. They can be obtained by defeating bosses, winning races and finding secret caves and sections of the city. Pearls are mainly used to upgrade Jades hovercraft giving it new capabilities that open up new sections of the world.

The actual game world of Hillys is a large Ocean (divided into several “maps" by loading screens), filled with tiny islands and alcoves for Jade to explore via hovercraft for new upgrades and finding new species of animal to photograph. There is also the main city of Hillys which is often returned to for mission updates and item purchase.

Towards the end of the game, the hovercraft merges with a large spacecraft - the Beluga. This allows Jade to fly into space for the final mission of the game.

Soundtrack

Ubisoft officially released these soundtracks, allowing it to be legal to download them for free.

01. In The Beginning (2:27)
02. Dancing with Domz (4:36)
03. Home Sweet Home (2:51)
04. Hyllian Suite (4:37)
05. Mammago's Garage (2:37)
06. Isle de Noir (4:25)
07. Mineshaft Madness (2:47)
08. Say Cheese, Fellas (1:59)
09. Akuda House Propaganda (2:41)
10. Ancient Chinese Secrets (3:00)
11. Don't Fear the Reaper (6:38)
12. Fear the Reaper (2:02)
13. Fun and Mini-Games (1:54)
14. Funky Bar 100 (2:43)
15. When Domz Attack (1:27)
16. Slaughterhouse Scramble (2:14)
17. Sneaky Jade Suite (3:14)
18. Organic Beauty (1:55)
19. Violent Jade Suite (5:23)
20. Heart of Darkness (4:35)
21. Metal Gear Domz (2:38)
22. Something Completely Different (1:52)
23. Behind Enemy Lines (3:23)
24. Free Your Mind (1:20)
25. Thoughtful Reflections (3:03)
26. Enfants Disparus (2:34)
27. Above and Beyond (5:44)
28. Unacceptable Losses (2:08)
29. In Hot Pursuit (1:16)
30. Sins of the Father (3:50)
31. Redemption (1:53)

Total running time: 93 minutes 46 seconds