Beyond Good & Evil

aka: Between Good & Evil, Beyond Good & Evil HD, Project BG&E
Moby ID: 11290
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Description official descriptions

In the future, on the planet Hillys, the population suffers from constant attacks from the alien DomZ. The situation is gradually getting worse, as the rate of DomZ kidnapings increases. The Alpha Section forces, who are in charge of protecting citizens, seem to be completely ineffective, not even fighting the DomZ. In the midst of this situation, the secretive organization IRIS alleges that the Alpha Section is involved in a massive government conspiracy, and seeks to expose the truth through journalism.

The player controls a young reporter and photographer named Jade with her companions Pey'j and Double H. After experiencing first-hand a DomZ attack, she is contacted by IRIS, who recruits her as an action reporter. Jade is now tasked with infiltrating the Alpha Section, exposing the government conspiracy, and ultimately finding the truth for herself.

Beyond Good & Evil is an action game with diverse gameplay. Much of the game is based on stealth and puzzles, but there are sequences of racing, shooting, combat, and platform action. Jade fights with her staff and also uses various abilities to execute long-ranged attacks and solve puzzles. Many of the puzzles require switching between the characters and using their special abilities; often it is necessary to coordinate the actions of two characters to achieve precise co-operation that leads to a puzzle's solution. Besides hostile areas with puzzles and enemies, there is also a city and other friendly areas to explore, where various items and gadgets can (and sometimes must) be bought. There are several mini-games and even an online ranking system (used by entering codes online after they are assigned in-game when the game is saved).

Spellings

  • За гранью добра и зла - Russian spelling
  • 撕裂的天堂 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 神鬼冒險 - Chinese spelling (traditional)
  • 超越善恶 - Ubisoft Store Chinese spelling (simplified)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

318 People (219 developers, 99 thanks) · View all

Directed by
Project Producer
Story
Dialogues
Game Design
Music Composed and Performed by
Sound Designers
Cinematics Orchestration
Drums & Percussions
Sound Effects
Sound Assistant
Technical Manager
Jade Engine & Tools Developers
3D Research
Console Lead Developers
Animation Tools Developers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 104 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 295 ratings with 16 reviews)

If you like Zelda, get this, if you don't like Zelda, get it anyway..

The Good
Almost everything.

The unique universe, the lush landscapes, the feeling of exploration. There's lots to do and see in the game, and many sections that just makes you go "whoa!". It has a high degree of replayability, because the gameplay is non-repetitive, and there's lots of opportunity to "improve" your game. Races, Collecting Stuff, Photos....even an online scoring system (and secret mini games to unlock)

This game has it all.

The Bad
A bit too short, and a few bugs in it. eg. all the control pads plugged in rubble when you are hit, not just #1

However, these dont effect the game too badly :)

The Bottom Line
Superb Game, LBA and Zelda combined with racing and stealth added into it. Wonderful Landscape to explore, huge replayability and cool story.

You will be sad when its over.

GameCube · by Darkflame (14) · 2004

Brilliant.

The Good
As a rule, I hate "family" games, films, anything, I hate cute anthropomorphic animals, I really hate games that only let you save at checkpoints. And I usually dislike pastel colors.

Despite all this, I absolutely loved Beyond Good & Evil.

Maybe it's the way the anthropomorphic animals look more relaxed than all-out cutesy. Maybe it's the subversiveness of the way this game, rated nine years and up, shows a militaristic leader distracting people from the truth with propaganda rhetoric. Maybe it's that I got a bit of Thief-like sneaky action again. And that Spanish hip-pop works amazingly well.

Let me elaborate. Our heroine is Jade, freelance reporter who runs an orphanage in her spare time. No, wait, it's not cutesy. ...okay, so maybe it is cutesy, but it works, really. Just trust me on this. Anyway, the object of the game is to take photos to uncover the truth. No, wait, it's cool, it really is. You get to ride this hovercraft around between islands, and as a side income, you take photos of rare animals... Wait, where are you going? I said it works, don't you trust me? Can't stand this non-violent nonsense, you say? Well, when she's attacked, she's got this stick to beat monsters with, see, and it has this super-attack which makes it glow--

...very well, I'll just sit here talking to myself, then.

Jade gets around both on foot and in hovercraft, and, eventually, a spaceship. Searching for rare animals and taking their picture is actually where the big money is in this game: A lot of effort went into designing the teeming animal life of the planet, something like eighty species. This is simply the most brilliant secret-object-hunting excuse ever; and it adds to the tension of fights, as you'll want to get out the camera and take a snapshot of the monsters you're about to beat into a pulp.

Unusually, you spend most of the playing time with a companion to help you in fights, use special skills and operate equipment; think Lost Vikings with less frustration and some fresh gains on the format. The sneaky bits are generally excellent, and very suspenseful despite the cartoon esthetics.

With the roaming around the islands and the money-earning, you get the feeling of GTA3-style freedom, while in fact the design is quite tight. This allows for a lot of special-case scenarios: Every place in the game feels truly unique, never a cookie-cutter repetition; practically every problem has to be faced with a new twist, right up to the end. There are several sub-games such as racing and board games, and replaying the game to find all the hidden areas reveals an impressive variety - this also means you have several paths to finish the game. Combinations of paths, even.

The Bad
Of course, this level of quality can't be kept up indefinitely, and because of this, the game feels short but sweet - moreso because you'll be constantly glued to the screen. You'll wish for two more sequels to appear within the year.

The Bottom Line
So buy it already. Pump up their sales figures so they'll make another, because I need Beyond G&E 2. Badly.

Windows · by Ola Sverre Bauge (237) · 2004

Shouldn't be overlooked for bigger-name adventures

The Good
Rayman creator Michel Ancel has realised an ambitious vision of the futuristic world of Hylis - a central city (think Star Wars) with islands of varying sizes dotted around a huge lake (don't think The Wind Waker). His green-lipsticked photographer heroine, Jade, is unquestionably cool, undoubtedly French and makes a welcome addition to the growing list of noteworthy female gaming characters. Her companions (a Buzz Lightyear type and a Mr. Fix-It pig), with whom teamwork is key, are also well thought out and acted with admirable humour.

The game is very playable; whizzing around the lake on your hovercraft, which handles very well, is a joy. The game's puzzles, whilst mostly of the lock and key type, are logical and usually interesting although not always particularly taxing, often requiring Jade to make use of one of her companions (e.g. one character pressing a switch whilst another goes through a door). There are some excellent stealth sections, requiring Jade to creep past guards and sneakily take out their air supplies with her wrist-mounted disk shooter. The camera works very well too, rarely obstructing the player's view of the action as so often happens in modern games. The photography aspect is cool - Jade is a freelance photographer working on an assignment for the local underground newspaper. As well as her mission to uncover the secrets of the Alpha Sections and the DomZ, Jade can photograph the local wildlife. This is a great aside from the rest of the game, and the sight of the enormous whale in the lake is truly awesome. The lush graphics, interesting plot, characters and mini-games make this one to get hold of.

The Bad
Some players may feel that the game is too short for an action/adventure game at around 10 hours - and also that there's little warning of when the end is coming. It is quite possible to have gone straight from mission to mission without really exploring the whole world, which is regrettable. Having mentioned this, it's also worth pointing out that it's a shame that there aren't more places to explore. On first sight of the city, it seems huge. In reality, most of it is for show. Perhaps Beyond Good & Evil 2, if there is a sequel (and there are hints that this may be the case), will expand the universe a little and give the player more distractions from the main thread of the game.

The Bottom Line
BG&E deserves a hearty recommendation for anyone who enjoys action/adventure games in the mould of Starfox Adventures, the Zelda series, etc.

PlayStation 2 · by Paul Jones (274) · 2004

[ View all 16 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Beyond Good & Evil appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Jade

Jade's character design is actually based on her French voice actress Emma De Caunes.

Nietzsche

In an interview on LadyGamers.com, Tyrone Miller explains how the game relates to Nietzsche:

Many people assume that Beyond Good & Evil is a reference to the Friedrich Nietzsche book by the same name. Although you could probably make an argument – this game really has no connection to the German philosopher. As an action reporter, players need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil – which is dictated through government propaganda in the game. The player has to see what nobody else can see, what is hidden to the people of Hyllis. This theme is relevant to issues we face today – understanding the reasons behind the apparent facts.

Promotional websites

The publishers registered the websites for both the iris network (www.irisnetwork.net) and the Hyllian gov. (www.hylliannews.com) both featuring promotional material and assorted stuff.

Save games code

All the saved games in Beyond Good & Evil are marked with an "Internet Code". The purpose of this code is two-fold, first it enables you to go to the official website and check your ranking against all the other BG&E players in the world. Secondly, upon completion of the main game, you'll be able to use your saved game code on the official website and obtain instructions on how to go about obtaining missing MDisk #13 within the game.

Soundtrack

  1. In the Beginning
  2. Dancing With Domz
  3. Home Sweet Home
  4. Hyllian Suite
  5. Mammago's Garage
  6. Isle de Noir
  7. Mineshaft Madness
  8. Say Cheese, Fellas
  9. Akuda House Propaganda
  10. Ancient Chinese Secrets
  11. Don't Fear the Reaper
  12. Fear the Reaper
  13. Fun and Mini-Games
  14. Funky Bar 100
  15. When Domz Attack
  16. Slaughterhouse Scramble
  17. Sneaky Jade Suite
  18. Organic Beauty
  19. Violent Jade Suite
  20. Heart of Darkness
  21. Metal Gear Domz
  22. Something Completely Different
  23. Behind Enemy Lines
  24. Free Your Mind
  25. Thoughtful Reflections
  26. Enfants Disparus
  27. Above and Beyond
  28. Unacceptable Losses
  29. In Hot Pursuit
  30. Sins of the Father
  31. Redemption

In February 2004, Ubisoft released MP3s of Beyond Good & Evil soundtrack to NintendoInsider.com. These are still available for download, but as of April 2005, downloaders must register with the web site and go to the Members-Only Board to receive a frequently changing password.

Title

According to Michel Ancel, the game was originally to be named Between Good & Evil, but the marketing department did not like that name, so it was changed to Beyond Good & Evil.

The original title I gave the game was Between Good & Evil (see my first logo included) - which the marketing department didn’t like back then. For me, the meaning of this title is that you are always in the middle of an internal and external conflict, based on our conception of good and evil. In this game and in our world, propaganda thinks in our place; tells us these are our enemies and these are our friends. When you go beyond the appearances, you discover your own truth. That’s the theme of the game and marketing finally accepted this title, and just replaced the between by beyond, which fits better with the vast universe and story.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2003 – Best PC Action-Adventure Game of the Year
    • 2003 – Best Console Direction of the Year
    • 2003 – Best PC Music of the Year
    • 2003 – Best PC Direction of the Year
    • 2003 – Biggest PC Surprise of the Year
  • EGM
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #171 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"
  • GameSpy
    • 2003 – #3 Game of the Year
    • 2003 – #2 GameCube Game of the Year
  • PC Powerplay (Germany)
    • Issue 06/2005 - #8 Likeable Secondary Character (for Pey'j)

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Mark Ennis, Sciere, Terrence Bosky, WildKard, WindowsKiller and Zovni

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kotario.

PlayStation 3 added by Lain Crowley. Xbox 360 added by Sciere. Xbox One added by MAT.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Zack Green, Sciere, Ilya Atkin, Klaster_1, firespot, lasttoblame, Paulus18950, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack, 一旁冷笑.

Game added December 11, 2003. Last modified March 11, 2024.