Beyond Pigs and Girls
by FEMAELSTROM, HSM team writer
I was recently looking at a list of games that are on the schedule to come out for the PS4. There are plenty of titles on the list to whet any appetite, but for me there was one that, despite a small cult reputation, was both a surprise and a pleasure to see. When I do get my PS4, I have got to get this game. The game is simply called (at this point):
Beyond Good and Evil 2.
And yes, I am very, very excited.
It’s a second installment to a great game that came out for the PS2 in November of 2003, and had its fans hoping and praying for a sequel to what was an amazing game. now it looks like we’ll get one.
The reason that I am excited is because if there is the same attention to detail in this game as the first game, it should be amazing to the nth degree. For perspective, let’s take a look at the first game to see why it is so worthy of praise:
Beyond Good and Evil: Ubisoft
Directed by Michel Ansel
Music by Christophe Heral
This is a game many are glad to see a sequel to, hope it pans out.
The first thing that one notices when starting up Beyond Good and Evil is the sound and music. In this game, the music and sound are both amazing. If you could play with your eyes closed, it would be a feast for your ears. The music stands out so much in this game, from the reggae-laced tunes that accompany your visit to the rhino-like people at Mamagoo’s garage to the lush music that reveals the main character Jade in meditation. In games, music is such an important element in setting up atmosphere and emotion, and here the developers got it right with no dart outside of the bull’s eye.
The graphics are also amazing, and have to be seen as extraordinary for the fact that it was on the PS2. The style is a little cartoonish, but still keeps a great integrity in trying to convey the story. Elements like lasers and backlighting are placed perfectly, and there were never places where the player would stop and get stuck in a way that forces one to jump out or shutdown. The game play was easy and even intuitive. This game had a lot of stealth sneaking and tension filled moments that really drew the player in.
This game is not a horror game, but had a few monsters to fight — and is made to be a challenge, but one that is fun.
One of the beauties of this game is that Jade, the main character, is a twenty-year-old woman that is assigned to photograph the fauna of her planet because it is being attacked by aliens. She is armed only with a camera and a staff called a Jo. She eventually gets a hand-mounted disc shooter, but its not a primary weapon that one goes blazing through the landscape with. There is stealth action and some melee action, but it never falls into the realm of senseless slaughter and gore.
A rare look at Beyond Good and Evil 2 video picture, hopefully more to come.
This game also has some interesting mini-games. There are a set of races to compete in. There is a pool-like game where you compete against a shark (rather overt, but anyway), and then there is a shell game where you put up money as a bet. There is an optional race against bandits, and most of these reward the player in pearls which are the currency in this game as well as some well crafted blue/black crystals that serve also to buy things that are necessary like health power ups and vessel power ups.
The voice acting is great, and the play is smooth and solid. Everything about this game is just so well crafted that the idea of a sequel coming out is an absolute treat to any fans, but makes it worth taking a look at for first time players on the PS4. If Ubisoft does the normal job it does, in making quality games with supreme graphics, this could be a terrific game and worthy of the cult following that it has gained. It may not be the over the top thrash and kill game we are so used to, if it stays in the spirit of the first game, but Ubisoft made a great game with the original; hopefully, in the sequel, they can do it again.
Believe me, Beyond Good and Evil is a great game — and a similar sequel could really be an awesome game to play. Keep an eye out on the PS4 and we will see.
August 25th, 2013 by FEMAELSTROM | 1 comment
FEMAELSTROM came to Home in June 2011 and never wanted to leave, even at weekly maintenance when he usually gets booted. The sand box environment appeals to the explorer in him and often is out and about as he ‘geeks’ out dressed like some sort of sci-fi character, while he people watches in popular public spaces. An artist and writer, FEMAELSTROM loves making friends and meeting people. He loves sci-fi and decorating Home estates and loves to respond “here” when people ask “where are you from?” in public places.
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Sadly I never finished BG&E on PS2, I can’t remember what exactly, bit something got in my way and took priority over it in my “must play” list. From what I did see of it however, impressed me. The idea of documenting discoveries is something (for some reason) that I love doing in games, the last game that had this mechanic was Metriod on the Wii, a classic Nintendo IP. Too many devs are afraid to stray from the beaten path of sure-thing money in this way, hopefully with Sony incubating and helping so many new Indy devs, this will change as well move into the PS4’s lifespan.