There is, of course, more serious use for your camera than getting that perfect angle of your friendly neighborhood rhinoman. The core of the story is your investigative reporting ability - sneaking into the very midst of enemy secret facilities and taking that conspiracy-revealing picture. It's kind of like the presidential elections, and the secrets you'll uncover are certainly revolting enough to make for a fair comparison. If that still doesn't sound too appealing, though - don't worry, you can kick plenty of old fashioned bad guy ass on the way there. That's why you carry that big stick across your back. And while there are no Tekken-like skills to acquire here - it's just one button plus directionals - the superb animation and vibrant, colorful graphics go a long way to make the action fun.

Alternative Strategies

   Not that you should be expecting to fight your way through this game. As pointed out in your friendly neighborhood Quick Facts panel, the gameplay is more like a mix of Thief, Prince of Persia and Deus Ex - you have to use your head and in most cases can't just go in guns blazing. Most areas you approach will have several possible ways to get through it - often non-trivial to figure out - ranging from timed stealth to activating various mechanisms and using the environment in creative ways. Once you obtain a certain upgrade, you camera view will also double as the aiming mode for a hand-mounted disc shooting weapon, good for a surprisingly wide array of applications, remote lever activation included. While most puzzle solving aspects in the game follow five or six standard patterns, due to some imaginative design and gradual introduction of new elements, the puzzles never quite become fully "formula", which keeps things interesting and engaging. If you are at all like me, you'll love sneaking up behind your enemies, hiding behind moving containers to avoid detection and rolling into dark corners to escape guards. In the end, getting through each area feels like a mini-accomplishment (and often takes a few tries), the stealth factor adds thrill, and as a result the game largely succeeds in feeling like a bona fide adventure rather than just like another dungeon crawler.

Beam me up, Scottie

   Perhaps the most innovative aspect in the area of puzzle solving is that many of the puzzles are based on cooperation with a second character - your pig uncle Pey'J or the slightly loony special agent Double H. Some of the battle dynamics are based around that as well, and the help of your partner can often come in quite handy, especially when you are running low on those nacho-looking health thingies. What's more, in many cases your partner actually complements your own special abilities with their own unique skills, rather than just serve as another warm body to distract the enemies. Their health is one of the parameters you have to watch, but in most cases they can more than stand up for themselves and prove to be valuable allies, not to mention being good targets for some dialog (it gets lonely all by yourself you know!) and an occasional slapstick comment. They will even give you subtle puzzle solving hints when the old brain attempts to go into lower gear, and are overall a welcome presence.

A little originality

   goes a long way - especially when you don't take any shortcuts with the staples of good game design. As with many good games, the key to Beyond Good and Evil's success is a solid foundation of proven gameplay elements, with great graphics, a good story, interesting puzzles, original character and creative area designs layered on top as icing on the cake. There is a bit of racing, a bit of flying and a few mini-games which further help achieve good balance and keep things dynamic. And to top it off, it's got a completely kick-ass soundtrack, comprised of well-chosen tracks across a wide variety of musical styles. I loved them all, and while it's conceivable that not all of the music will push your particular musical buttons, I guarantee that you'll greatly enjoy at least some of them (try the racing track stuff for some truly adrenaline pumping tunes!)

He said "bottom"

   The bottom line is that I whole heartedly recommend Beyond Good and Evil. Even if somewhat short by today's standards at only 20 hours, the game doesn't compromise with gameplay, looks good, and succeeds at delivering an interesting, engaging story you can relate to. And if you are at all partial to good sci-fi and slamming soundtracks, that should seal the deal.

       ... Vaga