Beyond Good & Evil
GameRatio Review
PS2

But do you have any proof of this conspiracy Ms. Jade?

After years and years of conspiracies, never before have I seen a game with such an elaborate conspiracy.  Beyond Good & Evil, surprisingly enough takes the cake.  With graphics most similar to Jak II, Beyond Good & Evil doesn't seem like it may attract a more adult audience, but somehow it does.

The story of Beyond Good & Evil is quite literally beyond what you expect from a game of this caliber.  Quite simply put, the home planet is being attacked by an alien race.  Though this may seem very straightforward, the truth is a private organization is pulling strings behind the attacks.  This is by no means a spoiler.  However, you must prove to the world that this conspiracy going on underneath their noses.  Armed with your energy staff and a camera, you must make your way through enemy territories in search of the truth and your uncle (who was captured during a mission).  Can Jade uncover the conspiracy as well as find and rescue her uncle?  Only you can decide this.  Throughout the game, you must also make connections with the underground organization.  Doing so will give you additional support in your quest for the truth.  As you continue on your mission, you must unravel the Web of deceit were or be captured within it.

Unlike most platforms of the day, the control for Beyond Good and Evil is actually quite simplistic.  When you first begin, you're immediately thrown into a fight.  Fighting is rather simple process in which used X to perform all attacks and square to perform all dodges.  When out of battle, the X button performs all actions while the square button performs rolling as well as does other acrobatics.  R1 switches into first-person mode, or rather in this game, camera mode.  It is from camera mode that you're able to snap pictures of key pieces scenery as well as other miscellaneous things as they arise which will progress the story.  Players must make sure that they snap pictures of everything possible.  The nice portion of this is that the game itself will notify you of which pictures are useless as well as which pictures will progress a story.

A surprising trend in PlayStation 2 games is the tricks of the trade for animation.  The animation to Beyond Good & Evil is superbly done.  The game uses such a high refresh rate that on occasion you'll see scan lines if you do not have a high-definition TV.  The game comes with a progressive scan option for visuals, but this only helps if supported by your television.  Aside from the smoothness of animation, the game does suffer (still) from the usual PlayStation 2 aliasing problems.  The creatures, however, are well constructed and very imaginative.  It is obvious that UBISoft has been taking notes from Sega and other creators of various role-playing games.  The only the character design that seems kind of bland is Jade herself.  Jade seems somewhat like a younger version of Lara Croft except dressed head to toe in various shades of green.

Surprisingly enough, even the voice acting in this game is well done.  One of the first characters to tag along with you is a half pig half human creature named Pey'J.  At first I didn't think I would like this creature, however, hearing his voice within good old-fashioned Southern drawl really brought perspective and personality to this hog.  Other characters seem to be brought to life by a well-rounded cast.  Even the main character, Jade, has some shining moments.

With the conspiracy to unravel and loved ones on the line, this game has a conspiracy that rivals the best of them.  This is a must play on any system.  I strongly recommend this to PlayStation 2 owners. Also, beware of its addiction factor.