Beyond Good & Evil HD
Review
No excuse to miss this remastered classic
by Chris Scott
reviewed on X360
Stewing pot of gameplay elements (cntd)
The simplistic combat and platforming mechanics themselves are solid, they just happen to feel really old when games like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood have refined them so well over the last eight years. Fortunately, the mechanics are wrapped around a narrative that can hold its own. While the core story is quite interesting, it is the characters that really help to knock it out of the park. The dialog between characters is oftentimes sharp and witty but the conversations feel real and player will begin to get attached to Jade, making the game's journey an emotional roller coaster.
A lot of the emotional connection with the story comes from the excellent voice work and music. The voice work is all top-notch and really fits the characters. However, I feel that the music is the shining star of the game. The soundtrack strikes the perfect chord to touch in emotionally with the player, be it during a high-octane action sequence or a touching emotional moment.
Benchmark in remastering
I suppose the biggest question with Beyond Good & Evil HD is how does the game look? Does it conform to the standards set by the current generation of consoles or does it look like an up-scaled XBOX game? Suffice it to say, Ubisoft has done a great job remastering Beyond Good & Evil. If I did not know better I would say this was a first run XBOX 360 title. The game looks crisp and clean and it runs at a nice solid frame rate. There is a lot of subtle texturing done throughout and everything has a nice smooth feel to it. Beyond Good & Evil HD sets a new benchmark for how remastered games should look in high-definition.
There are, however, a few issues that may detract from the overall experience. I found the camera control to be rather disjointed and awkward to use. Whether I was controlling Jade on one of her missions or just tooling around Hillys in the hovercraft, the camera control was sporadic in its quality. Another issue that is sure to bug some players is the mandatory collection of certain items to advance in the game. Collection mechanisms in games are hardly ever fun and while Beyond Good & Evil does a decent job of minimizing the collection aspects they are still there. And, finally, the biggest issue is the design of the end battle. While I won't spoil it for anyone in the review, the end battle is a tedious encounter that nearly had me shut the game off in frustration on more than one occasion.
No excuse not to play
Overall Beyond Good & Evil HD combines a lot of mismatched concepts and themes and handles them masterfully, proving that its classic status was indeed no fluke. It looks and sounds fantastic and plays quite well, though this is where it begins to show its age. At the current price point on XBOX Live (800 MS points) the game is a steal. While you may have passed over Beyond Good & Evil the first time around, there is no excuse to repeat that offense this time.
8.5
fun score
Pros
Engaging story and characters, great graphics and sounds.
Cons
Some gameplay elements - especially the camera - show their age.
