Beyond Good & Evil review (PC)

The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen. Her rule was long and prosperous and she shall always be remembered with fondness, but the gaming royalty that was Lara Croft has been usurped, dethroned. The exact cause of her demise is uncertain - perhaps she fell to the claws of a vicious T-Rex, her portable arsenal failing her at a key moment or maybe her oldest enemy, gravity, finally claimed her life as she plummeted to her doom from some precarious ledge or ill-timed leap. Regardless, we must move on and, whilst acknowledging our loss and cherishing fondly the unusually buxom memories, accept that we have another monarch now - one enforcing a rather different set of rules.

Jade, of Jade Reporting, will never be quite as iconic as Lara Croft. However, she's infinitely more interesting and much more well-developed, meaning it's far more enjoyable getting to grips with her. And if you think that last sentence was something of a euphemism then you've clearly been glancing at Lara's rear for far too often. Jade is more attractive (due in no small part to her more realistic proportions), more intelligent and much more admirable than Ms Croft ever was. Beyond Good & Evil's well-behaved camera isn't so doggedly fixed to Jade's rear and the increased freedom you have to view Jade (and the game world) is almost a metaphor for how much more you will learn about her. She's not just a profit-hungry adventurer - this time, it's personal.

The Conversation

As any self-respecting games reviewer would, the first thing I did when Beyond Good & Evil (BG&E) arrived is install it and give it a quick trial run to make sure everything runs okay. Should this not be the case, I would have dashed around the room waving my arms about frantically, before emailing everyone I could think of in a blind panic because my review copy doesn't work. The next thing I remember, I'm annoyed by the distraction of a friend asking me what I'm reviewing. "Isn't that a crappy game where you run around taking pictures of stuff?” he asks. I'm disgruntled and feel it's only right to defend the admirable Jade. I also realise three hours have elapsed.

"Actually, no", I reply. "Well, yes. You do that, but there's a lot of other things you do too. I mean, it's just one aspect of the game. And it's not that you have to do it all that often, not unless you choose to." And that has to be one of the things that impresses me so about BG&E... No, impresses is not the word. That has to be one of the things that charms me so. BG&E is dotted with sub-games and distractions, from hovercar races to pub games, many of which can be re-visited again and again for nothing more than your own entertainment. Well, that and a little financial boost too.

Lost In Translation?

But I'm four paragraphs in and haven't even reached the meat of the main game yet, as if parodying the title's own expansive introduction. BG&E leads you through gentle beginnings, where cut scenes are punctuated by simple action sequences which teach you the basics of control, before giving you a tour of many of the key features and characters. Some players will be riled that they won't have a chance to save for the first fifteen minutes or so and, from then on, only at marked save points, but these are evenly and logically spread throughout the game. BG&E is marked by several such console influences, no doubt a result of its cross-platform development but, unlike so many other titles that fail to sit as happily with PC players as joypad junkies, BG&E's appeal is not lost in translation.

It's a platformer from the creator of Rayman, but it's not about falling off ledges or making pixel-perfect jumps. It's a third-person adventure, but the most enjoyable bits aren't necessarily the combat or puzzle solving. BG&E isn't exactly a genre-straddling behemoth but it has enough variety to make sure it isn't easily pigeonholed. It certainly plays, at its core, like a 3D platformer, but it's impossible to step off a fatal drop and a lot of jumping and climbing is handled automatically by Jade. This doesn't detract from the enjoyment as much as you might believe, as it leaves you free to explore and enjoy your surroundings. The controls are a little unusual, essentially being FPS directional keys with a mouse for changing the direction you are facing but, along with their unique slant on menu navigation, they're not difficult to adjust to.

To travel from location to location you have a handy hovercraft, and powersliding this across the beaches and seas of your homeland is probably the only real area where the controls are lacking. The camera doesn't always respond as intuitively to your movements as it does when you're on foot and can sometimes leave you in the strange situation where you're travelling at an angle. Oddly, this doesn't seem to happen much in the hovercraft racing mini-game, where it would spoil things the most.

Fight Club

When combat rears its familiar head it's almost a doddle; a wonderfully fluid ballet of ducks, swings and backflips. Jade is responsive and quite deadly when she has to kick butt and, should you have your companion Pey'J in tow, his special attacks often play a key part in your tactics. It's a shame he isn't a little more deadly himself, but perhaps that might make your battles too brief - it's fair to say they're enjoyable but rarely a serious challenge.

Pey'J, along with many of your friends, acquaintances and most of the local population, usually have something to say too and the (admittedly limited) dialogue options and emphasis on character interaction give BG&E a hint of RPG about it. We aren't talking expansive conversation trees here, but the plot is furthered as much by a chinwag as action, and it's a fine plot too.

The Good, The Bad and the Cute

My untimely friend wasn't entirely incorrect; Jade's skills as a photographer do give her the important ability to capture the truth, as well as simply earn extra cash, but I'm not going to spoil the story here because it, as well as its players, is so much better developed than the majority of similar offerings. BG&E is much more than a one-trick horse, however, and so it saddens me even more that it's too easy and, as a consequence, over sooner that it should be. This isn't a perfect game, but it suceeds at almost everything it attempts and its variety, attention to detail, polish and - here it comes again - charm, make it damn good.

I bow to Queen Jade, long may she reign. Roll on BG&E II. And I'm not simply after another glimpse of those big, green eyes. Oh no.