Beyond Good & Evil (video game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article uses bare URLs. Please help improve this article by turning bare URLs into proper citations containing all of the information on the referenced work's title, date, publisher, publication, and author, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. (There are several templates available that can help to make formatting such citations simple.) This page may also be able to help find problematic links. (June 2009)

Beyond Good & Evil
European cover art for the PC version
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Milan
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Distributor(s)	Ubisoft IGN, via Direct2Drive Valve, via Steam GOG.com GameTap
Designer(s)	Michel Ancel, Jean-Sébastien Morin
Writer(s)	Michel Ancel
Composer(s)	Christophe Héral
Engine	Jade engine
Version	1.01
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2 NA November 11, 2003 PAL November 14, 2003 Windows NA November 19, 2003 PAL December 5, 2003 Xbox NA December 2, 2003 PAL February 27, 2004 GameCube NA December 11, 2003 PAL February 27, 2004
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: G8+ PEGI: 7+
Media	CD, DVD, Nintendo optical discs

Beyond Good & Evil is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ubisoft and released in late 2003 for the GameCube, Microsoft Windows (PC), PlayStation 2, and Xbox platforms.

The game focuses on the exploits of Jade, a female investigative reporter and martial artist, to reveal a planet-wide alien conspiracy with the help of a boar-like humanoid named Pey'j, a spy code-named Double H, and the "IRIS Network" resistance movement. Tyrone Miller, a public relations manager for Ubisoft, said the title comes from a "need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil."^[1]

Beyond Good & Evil, initially designed by Michel Ancel, the creator of the Rayman series, as the first of a trilogy, was a commercial failure due to its ill-timed release and lack of popularity. However, it received critical acclaim, becoming a cult classic. The game has received two awards at the Imagina Games Awards and several nominations at the Game Developers Choice Awards and the Interactive Achievement Awards. A sequel, Beyond Good & Evil 2, is in development.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Story 3 Development 3.1 Sequel 4 Soundtrack 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links

[edit] 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 when combat is necessary, she can also sneak past 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. These characters 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. For example, in combat, the player can order them to perform a "super attack", either pounding the ground to bounce enemies into the air, allowing the player to hit them long distances, or knocking them off balance, making them vulnerable to attack.^[2]

Being a reporter, Jade owns a camera. This camera is mostly used to take pictures of animal species in exchange for currency and to obtain incriminating evidence of an Alpha Section military conspiracy. Personal photos can also be taken and stored in a photo album. The camera is able to scan objects, create maps, and receive e-mail.^[3] An additional "Gyrodisk Glove" ranged weapon allows her to attack or activate devices from a distance using the camera interface.^[4]

Traveling around the world is accomplished via an upgradeable hovercraft - also used for races and other mini-games - and later a spaceship, the Beluga, which can store the hovercraft on board. The main city serves as a hub, allowing the player access to the various areas they 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.^[5] The score depends on a number of variables, such as the number of pearls found, the number of pictures taken, the minigames won, and the total playing time. The score works the same no matter what platform the game is played on. After entering the code, there is an online minigame that, upon winning, gives the player an in-game code unique to their save file. This code unlocks a customizable minigame.^{[clarification needed]}

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

Beyond Good and Evil takes place in the year 2435 on the peaceful mining planet of Hillys, where a mix of human and anthropomorphic animal species co-exist with the native wildlife. The planet's architecture and technology consists of rustic and futuristic elements. The planet is under siege by insect-like alien DomZ forces. The DomZ abduct beings on Hillys, and either drain their life force for their own, or implant them with spores that convert them into creatures that work for the DomZ. A military dictatorship called the "Alpha Sections" emerges to defend the populace. However, the Alpha Sections seem unable to stop the DomZ attacks despite their public assurances.^[6] An underground group of journalists, the IRIS Network, attempt to uncover the secrets of the DomZ and the Alpha Sections and expose the truth to the population of Hillys.

[edit] Characters

Beyond Good & Evil's main protagonist, Jade (voice actor Jodi Forrest), is described as a young reporter with an aptitude for daï-jo. She resides in an island lighthouse that doubles as an orphanage for children orphaned by the DomZ attacks. Her IRIS code-name is Shauni, later revealed to be her DomZ name as well. Pey'j (voice actor David Gasman), a boar-like creature whom Jade calls her "uncle", functions as a guardian figure. He is an expert mechanic and assists Jade with caring for the children at the lighthouse. Double H, a heavily-built, human, ex-army IRIS operative, helps Jade with her exploits after she saves him from a DomZ torture machine. He wears a military-issue, laser-proof suit of armor at all times, and often bases his remarks on the "Carlson and Peeters" military training handbook. Jade later learns that his real name is Hub.^[7] A Latino AI named Segundo is built into Jade's storage S.A.C., offering advice and "digitizing" items.

Antagonists include General Kehck, leader of the Alpha Sections, who uses a mass propaganda campaign to gain the Hillyans' trust, while at the same time abducting citizens to sustain the DomZ. The High Priest of the DomZ is the chief architect behind the DomZ invasion, extracting the life-force of Hillyans in an effort to locate Jade's power.

[edit] Story

Jade and Pey'j have been looking after children of Hillys that have lost their parents to the DomZ. When she runs out of money to run the shield to protect them from DomZ attacks, she finds a photography job, cataloguing all the species on Hillys for a science museum. Soon afterwards, she is recruited by the IRIS Network, an underground resistance movement that believes the Alpha Sections are behind disappearances happening all over the planet. After joining IRIS, the group sends Jade on several missions to spy on Alpha Section activities with her photography skills.

Her first target is an Alpha Sections factory, where she discovers evidence of human traffic being orchestrated by the DomZ under the cloak of the Alpha Sections' authoritative position. Along the way, she rescues IRIS reporter Double H, who was kidnapped by the DomZ and subjected to torture. She also battles a DomZ "Reaper" and other DomZ creatures, including the Alpha Sections themselves. Pey'j is abducted by the DomZ and taken to the Slaughterhouse to be launched to the Alpha Sections' lunar base. After failing to extract Pey'j from the Slaughterhouse in time, Jade learns that Pey'j was, in fact, the secret chief of the IRIS Network.

By now, it is revealed that the Alpha Sections are being possessed and manipulated by the DomZ. Using the Beluga, the ship that Pey'j used to travel to Hillys, Jade and Double H go on a final mission to the DomZ lunar base. After rescuing Pey'j from another torture device, transmitting her final report, and sparking a revolution, Jade confronts the DomZ High Priest. There, she learns that her human form is merely the latest container to hide a power stolen from the DomZ centuries ago. Using that power, she is able to defeat the DomZ Priest, and rescues those that have been abducted.

In a post-credits scene, Pey'j is revealed to have an active DomZ spore still embedded within his hand, leaving the player to question whether the DomZ have truly been defeated.

[edit] Development

Beyond Good & Evil was developed by Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman, at Ubisoft's Montpellier studios in France. A group of 30 employees comprised the "core team" for the project. Ancel stated that his goal was to "surprise players that often feel bored with repetitive gameplay," citing the experience of change as "part of the pleasure in a game or movie." Ancel chose to make the character of Jade an investigative reporter in order to "create an interesting mixture of various gameplay styles," including photography, adventure, and interaction with regular Hillyan citizens. The game's environment was created in an open world style to increase immersion and keep the player in suspense as to their next destination. The JADE engine was designed to be flexible, able to display large areas as well as cinematic and gameplay graphical detail. Ancel also stated that he regretted not adding a multiplayer mode to the game.^[8]

Beyond Good & Evil was highly praised, and was considered noteworthy for its immersiveness, voice acting, and musical 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 hold at the time, although Michel Ancel had stated his desire to produce a sequel to the game.^[9]

[edit] Sequel

In November 2007, in an interview by Nintendo Power, Ancel indicated that he was working on a new "secret" project that meant a lot to him, sparking a new wave of rumors about the possibility of Beyond Good & Evil 2. He specifically talked about Jade, noting his hopes that Jade would continue to keep her values and her personality.^[10] Ubisoft's CEO, Yves Guillemot, confirmed that Michel Ancel was working on several unannounced projects as of March 2008.^[11]

On May 15, 2008, GameSpot confirmed in an interview with Michel Ancel that Beyond Good & Evil 2 had been in pre-production for a year.^[12] A teaser trailer of Beyond Good & Evil 2 was shown at Ubidays on May 28, 2008.^[13]

[edit] Soundtrack

	Music Samples: Propaganda "Propaganda" with background music. Propaganda "Propaganda" without background music, illustrating the song's vocal aesthetic.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

The soundtrack of Beyond Good & Evil, composed by Christophe Héral, was praised by reviewers and is also featured in Video Games Live.^[14] It has been released in its entirety as a free download by Ubisoft.^[15]

Héral was hired by Michel to compose the soundtrack of Beyond Good & Evil due to his background in film, a linear narrative. Director Hubert Chevillard worked with Heral on a television special, The Pantin Pirouette, and referred him to Michel. Héral was assisted by Laetitia Pansanel (orchestration) and his brother Patrice Héral (creation and voice).^[14]

The song "Propaganda", which plays in the game's Akuda Bar, is meant to sound vaguely Eastern European, relating to the government propaganda of the Cold War. It uses Bulgarian lyrics combined with English, including a recording of a telephone conversation by Héral with a Bulgarian girl. The two "rappers" are Héral and his brother. The word "propaganda" itself was originally yelled by the game's entire development team, but this was cut from the final version of the song. It also incorporates Arabic string instruments and Indian percussion. A song called "Funky Mullah" was originally planned to be used in the Akuda Bar, but it was replaced by "Propaganda" because Héral decided that its muezzin vocals, recorded on September 8, 2001, would have been in bad taste in the wake of the September 11 attacks.^[14]

"Fun and Mini-games", a song that plays during hovercraft races and other mini-games, includes Spanish lyrics. The crashing metal sound effects of "Metal Gear DomZ", music played during a boss fight, were recorded from the son of Héral's neighbor playing with scrap metal.^[14]

[edit] Reception

Scores
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings PS2: 87.4% (58 reviews) [20] GCN: 88.1% (44 reviews) [21] Xbox: 88.3% (52 reviews) [22] PC: 83.2% (23 reviews) [23] Metacritic PS2: 86% (45 reviews) [16] GCN: 87% (33 reviews) [17] Xbox: 87% (40 reviews) [18] PC: 83% (26 reviews) [19]
Review scores Publication Score GameSpot 8.3 / 10 [24][25][26][27] GameSpy 4.5 / 5 [28][29][30][31] IGN 9.0 / 10 [32][33][34][35]

While reviews praised the game, Beyond Good & Evil suffered from poor sales, partially due to competition from other titles such as Ubisoft's own Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, as well as competition from proven sequels.^[36]

In 2007, Beyond Good & Evil was named 22^nd best Xbox game and 12^th best Gamecube game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the sixth generation of video games.^[37][38] It also came 47th in "The PC Gamer Top 100" from the PC Games magazine PC Gamer,and was ranked as the eighth best game on the Xbox by X-play.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beyond Good and Evil

• Official website
• Beyond Good & Evil Soundtrack (mirror)
• Beyond Good & Evil on Wikia Gaming, an external wiki

v • d • e Video games designed by Michel Ancel Rayman (1995) · Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999) · Beyond Good & Evil (2003) · Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) · Rabbids Go Home (2009) · Beyond Good & Evil 2 (TBA)

v • d • e Jade engine games Naruto series Naruto: Rise of a Ninja · Naruto: The Broken Bond Prince of Persia series Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time · Prince of Persia: Warrior Within · Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones Rabbids series Rayman Raving Rabbids · Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Other Beyond Good & Evil · Peter Jackson's King Kong · TMNT