A Zelda-like adventure, but in a sci-fi setting involving humanoid animals. Rare tried it with the mediocre Starfox Adventures, but Ubisoft pull it off with panache here. On the island world of Hillys, you control Jade, who becomes a reporter for IRIS, an underground group investigating the corrupt government. You're launched straight into the action, preventing aliens from kidnapping the orphans at a lighthouse. Jade uses a staff for combat -- as did the lead character in Starfox Adventures -- but although the controls are simplistic, the action is smooth, fast and enjoyable.
Speeding between the world's islands in a hovercraft (lovely water effect, BTW), you are given a series of missions to infiltrate bases and take photos that incriminate the government. Robotic guards are destroyed with your trusty staff, often knocked into generators to switch off electric barriers, but human guards require a mixture of stealth and cunning. You must avoid their gaze entirely in some areas, but in others you can take out their back-mounted air tank with a flying disc shot from the secondary weapon, your power glove. If there's a colleague in the room he'll attempt to repair the tank -- so take the opportunity to disable *his* tank too! Most satisfying!
Naturally there are bosses, but their attacks and vulnerabilities are original and well designed so each battle is a pleasure -- quite a rarity. Defeating a boss earns a pearl, the currency accepted at the local garage for the vehicle upgrades necessary to reach new parts of the game.
Pearls are scattered throughout the world, each guarded or hidden in a secluded room, but an upgrade to your mapping system shows their approximate position. Similarly, you can find the position of animals that you haven't photographed, a constant secondary mission than earns you money to spend on energy, heart containers (the archetypal system established by Zelda) and even a few pearls. Animals are often small and secretive little fellows, and finding them is an original, engaging and peaceful distraction from combat.
The puzzles aren't too taxing, often relying on your use of a second character who often follows you, first a pig called Pey'j, then Double H, a soldier. You tell them when to use a special move that accesses new areas or attacks an enemy, depending on the situation; not a massive influence on gameplay, but having a companion trail you improves feel and involvement.
The only problem is that BG&E is too easy. Restart points are frequent and you're resurrected with four hearts of energy, usually enough to reach the next restart point. Although the world seems quite large, there aren't many areas to explore and the hovercraft race sub-games are a minor distraction. But while it lasts, Beyond Good & Evil is a fun and compelling adventure.
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