Beyond Good & Evil (video game)
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| Beyond Good & Evil {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | November 11 2003 (NA) November 14 2003 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PS2, Xbox, Windows {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Beyond Good & Evil is a video game for the GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox platforms. It was designed by Rayman-creator Michel Ancel, developed by Ubisoft in-house (with Ancel on the team) and released in late 2003. It focuses around the exploits of Jade, a female reporter and the game's protagonist. It has been called "the best game that nobody ever played". One developer said that the title refers to Jade's quest for the truth, as the truth "goes beyond good and evil".
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Gameplay
Beyond Good & Evil combines elements of an action-adventure game with those of a stealth-based game, among other genres. While Jade has the ability to attack enemies with her Daï-jo combat staff, she can also crawl and sneak around when necessary to avoid confrontation with enemies that outnumber her or are too powerful to engage in combat. At times, it is only possible to advance or defeat a certain enemy with the help of her friends Pey'j and Double H, creating an additional element of teamwork. Pey'j and Double H are mostly AI-controlled in that the player does not ever directly control them; however, the player can tell them to execute specific actions when those actions become available.
Being a reporter, Jade has access to a camera. This camera is mostly used to take pictures of animals and to get evidence of certain actions or objects that may help to disprove the claim of the government that the DomZ have agreed to peace.
Getting around the world of Hillys is accomplished via an upgradeable hovercraft, which is also used for races and other mini-games. The main city in which the player begins serves as a hub world allowing you access to the various areas you must explore in order to expose the conspiracy.
The game also has an on-line component called "The Darkroom" where registered players may enter scores. The score depends on a number of variables, such as the number of "pearls" you have found, the number of pictures you have taken, the mini-games you have won, and the time taken to get there. The score works the same no matter what platform the game is played on. After entering your code, there is an online mini-game that, upon winning, gives you an in-game code unique to your save file. This code unlocks a customizable mini-game.
Development history
The game was developed by Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman at Ubisoft's Montpellier studios in France. The game was reviewed highly, and was considered noteworthy for its immersiveness, strong voice acting, and a hauntingly beautiful score. However, unfortunate timing of the release against other titles led to disappointing sales. The game was intended to be the first part of a trilogy of games, but the game's poor sales placed those plans on indefinite hold.
Language encompassment
The North American version of the game features English, French, and Spanish versions. The European version, reflecting the continent's linguistic diversity, had versions in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch, each fully dubbed in the target language.
It is unclear what the "original" language of the game is, although it is most likely that it would be French, given that the game was written and designed by French designers in France. This is one of the few games available on the market that gives practically no clues as to the native language, as everything is localised, including signs.
Plot
The planet of Hillys is plagued by the frequent attacks of the alien DomZ army. The Alpha Sections, an army which came to Hillys to stop the DomZ, has been doing next to nothing to stop the kidnapping of the citizens by these aliens. The IRIS network, a group of journalists creating an underground paper to stop the Alpha Section's propaganda, has come to Hillys to stop the lies.
Meanwhile, Jade has been looking after the children whose parents have been captured by the DomZ, together with her pig-human uncle Pey'j. Jade, like most of the citizens of Hillys, initially believes that the Alpha Sections are doing all they can to defend the planet. When money runs low, Jade is forced to take a mission to photograph a rare animal in the depths of Black Isle, an extinct volcano. She finds that the reporting mission is merely a cover for a recruitment to the IRIS Network. Seeking the truth behind the DomZ war, Jade joins them, under her chosen pseudonym Shauni. From here, Jade goes on various assignments to publish reports to bring down the DomZ and the Alpha Sections. Her mission encompasses going to and retrieving information (via photograph) from three key areas of DomZ and Alpha Section activity: An abandoned Factory, Slaughterhouse, and finally, Hillys' moon. She suffers losses such as the capture of Pey'j and the children she is looking after, and travels throughout Hillys investigating the conspiracy of the Alpha Sections and the DomZ, alongside fellow IRIS agent, Double H, who joins her shortly after the capture of Pey'j. Jade had rescued him from a DomZ torture device in the Factory and from being taken over by a DomZ spore.
Throughout the course of the game, Jade takes photographs depicting the truth behind the Alpha Sections and the DomZ themselves. The Alpha Section Soldiers have been mutated into half-DomZ creatures, presumably by DomZ spores. They work fully under the command of the DomZ and only appear to offer support, "saving one person for every ten they don't" said by Hahn in IRIS den. Through the use of the Alpha Sections, the DomZ have been shipping human cargo to the planet's moon, where they drain the life force of those people, sustaining themselves.
Upon arrival on the moon, Jade is able to take a picture of General Keck, leader of the Alpha Sections, receiving orders from the DomZ leader, referred to as the DomZ High Priest. The room they are in contains the bodies of all the kidnapped Hillians in cocoon-like structures. It is unclear whether the citizens are alive or not. While in the DomZ moon base, she finds Pey'j in a DomZ torture device called a Cloister. When she is able to release him, though, she finds him dead. Upon leaving the area, she receives an e-mail, which states that he is, miraculously, alive after all. She rushes quickly back to find him so and Pey'j claims that Jade somehow revived him. Reunited, Jade is soon able to broadcast her photographs to the entire population of Hillys, ironically using the Alpha Section's propaganda broadcasting satellite. It is ultimately revealed that Jade herself is not actually human; the enemies of the DomZ had stolen the life essence of the DomZ leader centuries ago, and recently transmuted it into human form: Jade herself. With that strength awakened inside her, Jade kills the DomZ high priest and frees the people of Hillys. However, after the end credits, a short scene shows Pey'j's hand being infected with the alien matter, followed by a black screen with the words The End.
Social commentary
While it is not uncommon for games to have intricate plots with detailed backgrounds, this game was one of the very few to break away from this norm to involve itself in consideration of a topic that causes much controversy - in this case that of press censorship and the effects of propaganda. Given the time of release and the political scene at the time, some have speculated that the coverage given to the war between Hillys and the DomZ was intended to reflect criticism of the media situation in the United States with regards to the Iraq War. However, there is little evidence to back this claim up, and could equally be applied to any government in history that has applied or has been accused of applying press manipulation to further its own political goals.
See also
External links
- Beyond Good & Evil Official site
- Irisnetwork.net Official game promo site
- Template:Moby game
- Michel Ancel: Beyond Good & Evil Interview
- Template:Musicbrainz album
- BG&E Revolution Forum Epicentre for Fanart, Music Videos and other mediade:Beyond Good & Evil