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Beyond Good & Evil

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 37 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Ubi Soft

Developer: Ubi Soft

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 19, 2003

Summary

The planet of Hyllis has fallen under siege by a ruthless alien race. Despite the assurances of the Alpha Section defense squad, the war drags on, terrorizing the once-beautiful planet and crushing the faith of the people. From the rubble of a tiny island rises Jade - a rebellious young action reporter left traumatized by a brutal attack. When Jade is hired by the rebel organization IRIS, she learns that the Alpha Sections are secretly trafficking humans to the enemy. Still wary of who to believe, she sets out to expose the gruesome conspiracy and bring proof to her people. Armed with her camera, dai-jo staff, and unflinching resolve, Jade plunges into a sinister web to untangle the truth and restore justice to her planet. But as she earns the trust of her beleaguered people, Jade discovers that sometimes, in order to find the truth, you must look beyond good and evil. [Ubi Soft]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: ActionTrip Preview Games Domain Preview IGN Hands-On Official Website TechTV Preview

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Yahoo! Games

Packed with atmosphere, accessible gameplay and sweet visuals, Beyond Good & Evil has most definitely reached beyond our expectations. Don't miss it.

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Game Chronicles

I could go on for another few thousand words about the immersive gameplay and just plain brilliant game design waiting for you in Beyond Good & Evil, but I would rather you go out and get your own copy and start enjoying it for yourself.

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GameZone

One of the most enthralling games released this year.

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Cincinnati Enquirer

A visual treat because of its beautifully rendered indoor and outdoor environments, smoothly animated characters and subtle lighting techniques that contribute to the game's atmosphere.

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AceGamez

Beyond Good & Evil is a gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio.

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Village Voice

The cartoonish environment, though small, abounds with hidden desirables and fine detail—blaring propaganda, rich reflections and shadows, site-specific music, assorted visual gags—and even minor characters, unlike Paris and Ashton, possess crisp, individual personalities.

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Computer Gaming World

High production values, a compelling narrative, charming characters, and sharp aesthetics make for a sophisticated little adventure that's well beyond most of its ilk. [Mar 2004, p.80]

Adrenaline Vault

With great story, action, and adventure, presented with beautiful graphics and audio and an intuitive control scheme, this carefully crafted science fiction title fosters genuine caring about what goes on, making it an absolute pleasure to play.

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IGN

It's one of those rare games that shines from all points with an unmistakable quality of intelligence and personality...It is pierced throughout with humor, intelligence, and humanity.

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Computer and Video Games

Here is a game that's not only genre defying, it's quite possibly one of the weirdest games to ever appear on the PC. In fact, when it comes to atmosphere, story and personality, Beyond Good & Evil has a very similar feel to "Grim Fandango." [PC Zone]

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AtomicGamer

Ubisoft has delivered a great sleeper title with Beyond Good & Evil despite a couple of control and technical issues.

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Game Over Online

I liked the characters, the game sounded and looked good, and the action sequences were challenging without being too challenging.

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Worth Playing

A great story that is worth playing through at least twice, of course when a game is this good, you always want more.

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Gamers' Temple

If you value story and atmosphere in your games, then you will enjoy the way Beyond Good & Evil transports you into its fantastic world.

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Gamer's Hell

The story is intriguing, yet full of humorous interludes.

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GameSpot

While Beyond Good & Evil feels pretty short, its interesting premise and impressive presentation pick up the slack and make it a game well worth playing.

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GameShark

Certainly, a game with well-developed characters, intriguing storyline, and entertaining play is not one that should be passed over too lightly, nor forgotten too easily.

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games(TM)

Rather than force you from one style of gameplay to another depending on which level you're on, BG&E blends the transitions together almost seamlessly. The additional styles never really encroach on the main crux of the adventure; they're always peripheral and therefore serve to enrich the experience, rather than dilute it. [Dec 2003, p.114]

Total Video Games

The full frontal presentation is the overriding factor for GBE and if you feel that too much emphasis is being placed on its importance and that of its quality and the inordinate amount of audio that is packed into it, which is superb, then you would be wrong.

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PC Format

Unfortunately, there’s still the irritating third-person camera and chugging graphics to remind you of BGE’s console origins, and it never comes remotely close to justifying the pretentiousness of the title – at a mere 12 hours or so it’s undoubtedly far too short.

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ActionTrip

My only real gripe with Michael Ancel's latest creation had to do with the god-awful camera and the overall console feel to the controls.

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1UP

What seems to be at the root of this problem is the game's story. The further in you get, the more plot holes open, until by the end of the game you have the nagging suspicion that none of this makes very much sense.

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Entertainment Weekly

For the most part, this game plays like a kid's TV show with buttons: albeit one that is finely crafted and colorfully animated. [21 Nov 2003, p.L2T 46]

PC Gamer

The fighting is BG&E's weakest element, and there's a bit too much of it for the game's own good. [Mar 2004, p.71]

Edge Magazine

It's an 'experience' as much as a game, meaning that it will leave as many people cold as it grabs by the right half of the brain. Beyond good, then, but not quite excellent. [Christmas 2003, p.104]

Computer Games Magazine

An enjoyable game for its 10-12 hours. It's still better played on a console, but if your siblings have the PS2 cornered, the PC version will do just fine. [Mar 2004, p.80]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 37 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Richard K gave it a10:
A great game that got released at the wrong time. Great ideas, great characters, excellent story, and fun gameplay. Has flying, driving, shooting, puzzle solving, fighting, everything. Most importantly a great story.

Matt L gave it an8:
Great game. Not too deep, but thoroughly enjoyable (except for some annoying minigames). Probably it's best feature by far, is the amazing soundtrack, which is easily good enough to go out and download separately. It's major fault is that the camera is just terrible at some points, but luckily not to the point of impossible playing.

Matthew C gave it a9:
Brilliant game with a perfect mix of platforming, action and stealth, including well developed racing and flying sections. Beautiful modeling of the characters and a good story and satisfying ending really make this one of the best adventure / platform games I've played - as much fun as Psychonauts (another must-buy for lovers of platform action).

Sampa G gave it a10:
By far one of the best video games I played in the last 20 years. A beautiful artistic visual and acoustic presentation, very well designed interface and handling, a long lasting gameplay with many secrets, interesting sublevels and a wonderful story with great characters. This game is a highly recommended gem.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Superb game, highly underrated, should've been the Game of the Year for 2003. Lovable characters, fun gameplay, emotional storyline, lots of diversity and takes place on a world on which you will fall in love. It's pure sadness that so many people played this game, only made good by the promise that its sequel is in development.

Alan B. gave it an8:
Very good game, but not without its faults. With no mouse Y invert (well okay, there IS one but it resets itself as soon as you use photo mode so it's basically useless), and some pretty awful controls both for the third-person camera and the in-game menus, the game is quick to betray its "shabby console port" origins. It's also not very long and the ending is dissapointing and tiresomely cliched, with some final twists (one after the end credits) that will have you groaning in disbelief as to how the scriptwriters could possibly be any more lame and predicatable. Also the game has essentially zero replay value - once you've been through the ride once you're probably not going to want to do it all a second time. A "grand theft auto" style mode where you could go back to the gameworld and finish the side-quests after the main one was complete (like the photo-collection which is arguably by far the most fun part of the game) would have been welcome. Having said all these negative things, don't get the wrong idea, I had a great time with this. It's a fun ride while it lasts and the fact that all the above problems can't sink the game in the final analysis indicates just how strong the raw material is. You'll definitely feel a bit dissapointed when it's over, but until then it's some of the best 12-15 hours of gaming on offer lately.

Gert K. gave it a10:
Beautifully crafted and fun to play. The story is engrossing. Highly recommended for its blend between adventure and action.

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Beyond Good & Evil

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What The Critics Said

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