March 25th, 2004

This review has taken me way too long to write. Partly because I've picked up a lot of games since this one, partly because I I don't think any one has reviewed this game properly, but mainly because I am so fucking lazy. There's no need to get into me laziness, it's pretty well documented. Just look at how many of the games on my Da List still don't have write ups. Or how my best of 2003 is still in no way even CLOSE to being done. So while I don't need to talk about my laziness, I do need to talk about the other thing. The no one has reviewed this game right thing. I've read raves and I've read ravages. But nothing in between. And this is an in between game. Nothing in this game is absolutely perfect, but nothing is absolutely broken either. Not to say that it is only GOOD, it's better than that. I would call this a very good game. SO how am I going to write this damn review? Easy, this little intro, this is the first part. Then I'm just going to paste what I've already written about this game next. Then maybe, if I'm feeling saucy, I'll add some stuff to the end. This might be a little jarring, this transition, but I think you'll be able to handle it. Here goes...

Go buy this game. Seriously, right now. It's like 30 bucks, 20 in the states. How can you not buy this game? If you don't buy this game you are stupid. I really should not have to say anything other than that. C'mon, cheap game. And it's not like those other cheap games that aren't any good. This is a quality production, through and through.

Fantastic graphics. Not the best any of the systems have to offer, but care and craft has been poured into every frame of this game. The main character, Jade is exquisite. She conveys emotion, is animated beautifully and is in every way easy on the eyes. The supporting characters don't measure up to Jade's high water mark but are no slouches either. The blend of humans and aliens and all the wildlife that fills Jade's world lend it a whimsical air. The landscapes are varied, the water is lovely. Water effects are to this generation of consoles what lens flare was to the last. And soft focus, soft focus is really used well in this game. The draw distance and clipping plain are out so far as to be a non issue (then why did I bring it up? Maybe because I smell faintly of poo). I can't think of a single bad bit of graphics in this game. Maybe a bad camera angle or two. But they are few and far between.

Hey. I'm adding this little extra thought: a lot of reviews, the positive ones at least, compared this game to The City of Lost Children. That's apt. It's like TCOLC mixed with a zoo. You can definitely tell this game is french.

The voice acting is good, in that they actually hired actors. But some of the lines they deliver are annoying and oft repeated. Your pig uncle yells out "Chilli Con Carne!" while your lunky co-reporter yells out "CARLSON AND PETERS!!" over and over again. Grr. But Jade is the main character, and she sounds as good as she looks. And not all characters are voiced, you must read what they have to say.

The music ranges from fantastic to just good. The main theme makes me a liar. I said in that odd opening paragraph that nothing in this game is perfect. The theme music is. Very simple, but very evocative. The theme is used also as a motif, throughout the game emerging from and blending into various other compositions. None of the other pieces of music comes close to matching the opening theme. I want a sequel, just to hear that music again. I could just play the game over again, I suppose but... there's just something about it, that makes me want it in a new game.

The game has whole lots of varied styles to it, and each takes just a few moments to get acclimated to. The only slight qualm people might have is that some of the walls are a bit "sticky", meaning you slide up against them when you don't mean to. There's no button to push to sneak along the walls, it just happens automatically. Which would be bad during an intense fight or chase. Luckily, Jade can't pres up against walls while her weapon is drawn, so it's not as big a problem as it might seem.

Jade can takes pictures of various animals during her adventures and the picture taking control is different than other picture taking games out there. The best course of action is to wait, stake out your target and zoom in and snap the picture when the opportunity presents itself, instead of trying to chase down your subject and snap willy nilly. It's a different, more realistic approach but one that is still very rewarding.

Fighting consists of mainly two buttons, dodge and attack. Different directions on the control pad or stick plus button presses determines the type of attack or evasion. Jade later learns a powered up attack, where you hold down the attack button to charge up a super move. It takes a while to charge so it should be used sparingly. She also learns a projectile attack, good for taking out distant targets or flying enemies.

The nice looking levels contain basic platforming (this game, like the recent Zeldas, uses auto jumps) and puzzle solving elements. Luckily there's not a lot of box pushing, instead you ned to pay attention to the environment around you to aid in your exploration. In addition to platforming, fighting, and photo taking there are also racing segments, an air hockey type game and even some flying shoot-em-up segments.

None of these disparate elements are the pinnacle of their particular genre, but they are all done well and mesh into a very satisfying whole.

Which is more than can be said of the story. The story was supposed to be the focal point of this game, and it is I suppose but it is not what it could have been. With a title of Beyond Good and Evil, a tale with a few shades of grey is expected. Maybe some uncertainty as to who is really the bad guy. That's not on offer in this story. Almost right from the beginning the bad guys are not in question. The government is in cahoots with the evil aliens. That's never really in doubt. I wish it was. I would have liked to do jobs for both sides. Find out neither is what it seems. But that's no what is here. I hate it when reviewers diss a game for not being what they expected, and here I am doing the same. It's not a big deal, the story isn't as in depth as I thought it would be, but it flows fine. Too fine. Too quick. The game is over fairly quickly. You do a couple infiltration/photography gigs and BAM! you've exposed the evil conspiracy.

The evidence you uncover during these missions is damning to be sure, but you can count the total amount of missions on one hand and still have fingers left over. Those people disappointed by Wind Waker's lack of dungeons will find even more to miss here. A few more missions would have been nice. After you reveal the conspiracy you jet off to the moon to confront the bad guys and rescue lots of people (including your pig uncle) and then the game is over. Not a long game, this one. Not super short, but you could probably beat it over the course of a three day rental.

Not that I am advocating the rental of this game, I encourage its purchase. Games like this don't come around all that often. It is different than most games out there. None of its mechanics are revolutionary, but its style, presentation and mood set it apart. It's a lot like ICO, another underappreciated gem, in that regard.

C'mon cheap game! How can you resist?

There. That's it. Done. Re-reading this review I noticed that it doesn't flow as nice as I would like and I come across as more of an ass than usual. But I'm not going to go back and change anything. This game took to long to review as is. In fact, there's still a couple of points I want to work in, but I can't seem to make them fit, so they go here: the story in this game really goes to shit near the end. I mentioned that it moves a little too quick before, but near the end it gets ridiculous. All sorts of new information is thrown into the mix with no real build up. Some of these revelations would have been much better served had there been some foreshadowing. As it stands most of the story near the end comes of as corny at best, overly clichéd at worst. Yeah, the pacing near the end sucks.

Michel Ancel, the game's creator plans for there to be more installments I believe, so maybe there will be more fleshing out and these points will become moot. But, as for now, they bear mentioning.

There. For sure done.

Bye.

- Tyler