As the name suggests, Beyond Good & Evil HD is a re-master of the original 2003 game. This was released as a digital-only title for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. Apart from the HD upgrade, modified soundtrack, Trophy support and widescreen presentation, this remains the same game as the original. Beyond Good & Evil stars Jade, who lives on the planet of Hillys. The game starts off at night at the lighthouse where Jade lives, when aliens known as the DomZ attack the planet once again. Afterwards, in order to earn money to keep up the maintenance of the shield protecting the lighthouse, Jade takes on a photography job. This leads her deeper into the truth of the DomZ, eventually being recruited into the IRIS Network, a resistance group dedicated to reveal the truth of the DomZ and betrayal of Hillys' apparently guard force, the Alpha Sections. Jade is joined by her partner Pey'j, as well as other agents such as Double H. The story is decent and keeps you hooked. It had good pacing and makes you want to keep playing the game. It is told via cutscenes and while the lipsyncing can be off at times, the voice-acting is excellent. The ending revealed a few things that probably would have been explained in the sequel that was planned (and apparently still coming), as it is, it currently leaves some major elements unexplained.
It's really hard to describe what exactly you do in Beyond Good & Evil. This is because the game dabbles in a bit of everything. You will be controlling Jade through the whole game. The photography element plays a large part; you will constantly be taking photos of animals over the course of the game as a sidequest to earn money (which in turn allows you to purchase consumables and other goodies) as well as specific shots for story progression. The other big mechanic is that Jade will be platforming quite often. There is no dedicated jump button, Jade will automatically jump or climb when you direct her to the gap or crate. The jumping usually works but sometimes Jade will refuse to jump, especially on crates. Jade wields a staff which is used for combat. Combat is boiled down to one button to attack and one to dodge. The only variation being that if you hold the attack button down, you can execute a charge attack. It's clunky and annoying when a crowd of enemy attacks you. As combat isn't the focus of the game, the simple battle mechanics can be easily forgiven. Later on, Jade gains the ability to fire projectiles. There are stealth sections where Jade will have to crouch and sneak past guards. She can shimmy around edges and flatten herself against walls as well as stealth kill guards. These stealth sections will require you to recognize the pattern of the guards and some trial and error.
The stealth sections can sometimes get frustrating and you might as well give up if a guard spots you. The guards have an infinite range of sight wherever they're pointed. Thankfully, the game's checkpoint system is generous and will not make you lose much game time. This is also a relief as you can only save at certain points in each levels. At times, you can only advance to the next part of the level through the help of Jade's partner. These can be grates which need to be cut or help with pushing something onto a platform above. The AI in the situations does what they're supposed to do, the annoyance comes from them getting stuck in the environment when you're trying to lead them back to the hovercraft. Lastly, Jade pilots a hovercraft which is used to race and get to the next mission marker. The hovercraft is a bit sensitive in terms of control and takes some getting used to. It's hard to maneuver during certain segments. Later on in the game, it can be confusing as to what you need to do in order to progress to the next section of a level. All too often you'll missing something and you trek on, heading to a dead end and needing to backtrack to retrieve that item. You also might need to crawl through a grate or climb a section which isn't immediately obvious as you thought they were part of the background. There is an in-game map which helps locate your objectives but it doesn't help that much when the levels have a complex layout.
The camera can be finicky at times and you will fight it, especially in small enclosed areas where it can get out of control. Beyond Good & Evil HD features an open world area, which comprises of a few islands with the major hub being a city. There is a decent amount of exploration but the overall size is small compared to contemporary open worlds. Sidequests include the already mentioned animal photography assignment, but there are hovercraft races, minigames and collectibles. There are 88 "pearls" to collect, which are found in the environment, completing optional sections and from bosses. These pearls can be used to upgrade your hovercraft to add abilities such as jumping and faster speed. The game blocks you progress until you can scrounge enough pearls to buy a hovercraft upgrade to get past the obstacle. Finding these pearls is quite fun, as it is not just a simple case of locating them, but requiring you to complete sidequests or tackling some puzzles areas, which makes them more meaningful. Boss battles are well-balanced in terms of difficulty. It doesn't feel too dragged out and each boss requires you to memorize the attack patterns and respond appropriately.
Due to all these mechanics, Beyond Good & Evil HD doesn't do any particular one extremely well. They all work, mind you, but not one part of it feels smooth and flawless. Furthermore, while the mechanics may have been groundbreaking during its time of release, the same mechanics are done much better in modern games that Beyond Good & Evil feels like it has aged a lot and the controls are clunkier than expected. Similarly, the menu can be a chore to navigate through; something about it just doesn't feel smooth or intuitive. Despite the texture and character model upgrades, Beyond Good & Evil HD is still clearly a PS2 era game. Environments can be blocky and lacking the finer details. The aesthetics help a long way to allow the game to age better than some others. Unfortunately, Beyond Good & Evil HD does not pack a Platinum Trophy. The game itself takes around 9 to 10 hours to complete and you'll probably spend another hour or so cleaning up the rest of the trophies. Overall, Beyond Good & Evil HD is a fun game and you can understand why it was so well received during its release, even though sales were lackluster. The HD treatment is good, gameplay remains fun and the story engaging. This is a game worth playing, even if it is just to see what all the fuss was about.
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