Product Description

Beyond Good and Evil for XBOX MODEL- 51112 VENDOR- UBISOFT FEATURES- Beyond Good and Evil Jade suspects there is more to the invasion of Hyllis than disclosed. Begin a journey to unravel the conspiracy. Your quest for the truth knows no bounds. Immerse yourself in the living, thriving futuristic world of Hyllis; a planet under alien attack for the past 100 years! Take control of Jade, a rebel action-reporter with the fate of the world in her own hands, as you delve into a deep story of deception - gather evidence, expose twisted propaganda and uncover conspiracy. * A Rebellious Hero Use martial arts, stealth, wit and cunning to gather photographic evidence and defeat the alien invasion. * Boundless, Awe-Inspiring Worlds Experience total freedom of movement and discovery as you journey by foot, spaceship and hovercraft through bustling futuristic cities, fantastical landscapes, and even to the moon. * An Epic Story of Truth and Deception Delve into a larger-than-life quest, where you will gather evidence, expose twisted propaganda, and finally unravel the conspircy. -- SPECIFICATIONs -------------------- ESRB Rating : T for Teen Genre/Category : Action/Adventure System : Microsoft Xbox Number of Players : Compatible Peripherals: compatible controller, compatible memory card for saves MANUFACTURER WARRANTY:andnbsp;andnbsp;90 DAYS

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10060 in Video Games
• Brand: UBISOFT
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Xbox
• Dimensions: .50 pounds

Customer Reviews

The good in gaming
So often we look for computer games that simulate, we forget about those that actually stiumulate. I'm as much of a fan of the movie tie-in or the sports franchise as the next gamer. But every once in a while a singular title, made with no guarantee of financial success, but simply because a few people had a genuinely creative thought, reaches out and demands attention.

Beyond Good and Evil seems, at first, the least likely candidate in the world for this. Its cover shows a girl not with a gun or a superhero's outfit, but a camera. And the drawing, though obviously professional, is clearly...cartoonish. It seems more like an anime adventure than a real game.

And, indeed, when you first start playing there's a lot of very odd anthropomorphic animals running around a kind of kids' playhouse. You discover that you'll make money in the game by taking pictures of the wildlife. It's all very tame, and very unlike the traditional game.

At one point you walk into a room where a news broadcast is being received, and then you get an inkling, just a mere hint, that things in this cartoony, almost idyllic, world you're in are maybe--just possibly--a little more sinister than you first thought it was.

And then all hell breaks loose.

From there on those strange creatures you first encountered become allies, your camera becomes a key to unravelling the truth of what's going on in the propaganda war around you, and the game, well, grows up. Part puzzle, part adventure, part flat-out action, Beyond Good and Evil is one of those very rare games in which all expectations are trumped by the unfolding immersive story line, where parents and kids can play together and find different things to like, and where you're left feeling genuinely entertained.

I gather that this title perhaps didn't do as well as it should have on its initial release, but I've seen it for sale at major retailers for the past two years. It may not have the high profile of a Halo or a Madden, but it's got a very loyal following and a growing player base.

In the midst of discussion about gratuitous gaming violence, and uninspired title cloning, there are occasionally titles like this that give validation to the industry as a place where artists--real, honest-to-gosh artists--live and satisfy our collective hunger for something really good to play.

When I hear of state governments threatening to make it illegal for minors to buy games, I think of a title like this and just wonder how far out of touch lawmakers and some political activists are from understanding the diversity present in the games industry. But the triumph of individual creativity against government misinformation is precisely one of the political points this "kids" game is trying to make.

A Game Full of Wonder and Beauty
Wondering why this obscure game is so highly rated? It really is one of the most pleasurable experiences in gaming you can have. Every aspect is expertly done ( even the blips
+ bloops of minor sound effects are original and fun to listen to). The graphics, story, sound design, and gameplay leave almost nothing to be desired. The act of taking pictures of strange alien animals may sound lame, but even this a joy since the creatures are so breathtaking and well-designed. And there is much to do : fighting ( martial arts-style! ), reconnaissance, collecting, racing, vehicular combat, puzzle-solving, and even wagering on an air hockey-type (!) parlor game. Even the soundtrack will delight you when you hear the Latin, Eastern, or reggae music kick in at the appropriate time and place. To sum it all up, this is a game nearly every child or adult ( Eat your heart out Disney! ), male or female, can easily get the hang of and thoroughly enjoy.

Jeunet + Miyazaki + Rayman = ?
Beyond Good & Evil, from Ubisoft, is an adventure game in the vein of Zelda: The Wind Waker. You play as Jade, an "action reporter" who becomes embroiled in a plot to expose a government conspiracy. The "Alpha Sections" are nominally your planet Hyllis' defense force, but you find that they seem to show up conveniently just after the invaders, the DomZ, attack. You're not the only one who finds this fishy, and in the process of trying to figure out what's going on.

The plot is relatively straightfoward - you find a secretive group who's working to uncover the government conspiracy, and you face some obstacles and hurdles along the way. There's some stealth, there's some puzzle solving, some item fetching, and some combat. All the standard adventure ingredients are there. But that's not all there is. You drive around in your hovercraft, which you can also enter in races, and you can take photos of the local flora and fauna. You'll also use your camera to photograph the evidence of the conspiracy at hand.

All that adventure-y goodness is wrapped up in a beautiful, and interesting package. Though the "Jade Engine" which BG&E is built upon isn't going to change the world, it is powerful enough to make BG&E a graphically stunning game. The environments are an interesting blend of Jeunet and Miyazaki, and the fact that Michel Ancel also created Rayman isn't lost on the design aesthetic. On top of the beautiful and imaginitive environments, the supporting cast is one of the most interesting aspects of the game.

Your uncle, an anthromorphic pig named Pey'j, is a cantankerous old mechanic, whose affection for Jade really shows through his cranky exterior. Jade has some really novel casual interactions with the patrons of the local bar, from a humanoid shark man who plays a variant of air hockey, to the bartender, who's an eight foot tall cow-man. The casual way she talks to these otherworldly creatures (the shark-man is named "Francis") gives the game a sort of supernatural familiarity that is unlike most games.

Beyond Good and Evil is really the game that's made me really consider Ubisoft both a powerhouse of game development, and a studio that's willing to take some pretty risky moves in order to move the medium forward. Just as Sega did, when they were publishing games for the Dreamcast, Ubisoft seems to be making a wide variety of really interesting, and unfortunately overlooked games. BG&E, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and XIII all tried new, and interesting things. Couple that with bestsellers like Rainbow Six 3, and the Ghost Recon series, and it's hard to argue that Ubisoft doesn't possess a stellar lineup for the discerning gamer. Though not all of their games are excellent (the multiplayer in R6-3 is broken, and XIII, though visually interesting, plays to its weaknesses by including far too much stealth), they're trying new things, and have been hitting quite a few completely out of the park. Prince of Persia is hands down my favorite game of last year, and BG&E looks to be of similar quality.