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From Michel Ancel, the creative mind behind Rayman, Ubisoft presents Beyond Good and Evil an action/adventure game that takes you on an adventure to uncover a global conspiracy using the only weapon with enough power, the truth.

BG&E is a very special title, a true classic. In it, you take control of Jade, a photographer (and lover of anything green) as she traverses a rich and wonderful world meeting wonderful characters and expose the truth behind a global conspiracy by photographing evidence and producing news reports to sway public opinion. Overall the plot is tight and very well written with strong themes of censorship and characters that you will care about and even shed a tear for.

The most unique part about BG&E is the ability to take photographs with your camera Never before has the act of taking a picture been so integral to the plot and game play, not only must you take pictures of critical events, you also have the side mission of photographing every known species on the planet and this becomes a wonderful and satisfying distraction as you hunt down every last creature for your album.

Along with photographing species the world is strewn with Pearls. Pearls are used as currency to upgrade your vehicles at Mammago’s garage and are just like photographing different species, a fun and challenging addition that will keep you entertained for hours more.

The game also hosts plenty of puzzles, none of which are either frustrating or overly simplistic providing just the right amount of challenge for the given time. The games only real weak spot is its combat system, by itself you only have attack and dodge with no combos, this however is no real issue as actual combat is scarce and ingeniously enemies have to be taken out in a special manner often in combination with an allies special secondary attack or batting them into electric fields so repetition is never actually felt.

Audibly and visually the game is top notch, presenting a rich and varied stylized world with imaginative creatures and a brilliant musical score, not to mention the top notch cast who truly bring the world and characters to life. It’s just unfortunate that the world itself was not larger and that voiceovers don’t occur during conversations and is instead replaced with text.

Michel Ancel truly outdid himself with Beyond Good and Evil. In it is presented a thought provoking story with a direct jab at government censorship, memorable characters and a world you will wish to experience again and again. This game is a masterpiece in every sense of the word and is one of the very few that actually deserve and need a sequel.

10/10