Beyond Good and Evil (Part 1)

I’m reaching a point in the year where I realize that many games in my to-do list for 2023 are well-regarded, with some of those having reached some degree of fame from both how long they’ve been around and long-lasting positive opinion of them. I’m kind of scared of hype aversion. Today’s game is one of the most beloved from Ubisoft; not one from their infancy, but assuredly one that helped make them into the big studio they are. (Or were? Between controversies, layoffs and mass cancellations, it’s become hard to tell.) It’s also considered by quite a few publications as one of the best games ever made, so… yeah. The hype is real.

Directed by Michel Ancel of Rayman fame, the game we have today was first released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on November 11th, 2003. It was further ported for Microsoft Windows on the 19th, for the original Xbox on December 2nd, for GameCube on December 11th, and had extra HD rereleases for Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011. Blending genres, this science-fiction tale is an adventure, but several other gaming genres tack themselves onto it: Dungeon exploration, stealth, puzzle, a fair bit of freedom (the game’s progression is linear but some elements can be discovered by just driving around), and… photography? Oh yeah! There’s not enough photography games out there! Alright, I think we can jump in.

The scoop

She'll even rescue kids if she has to. She's already heroic!

Meet Jade, a young woman living in a lighthouse on mining planet Hillys, circa 25th century. The planet, like many others, has been under attack by the DomZ, an alien species, and they’re constantly being pushed away, but barely, by a special task team called the Alpha Section. The planets under attack have adapted in a variety of ways, notably by creating anti-DomZ force fields; however, the repeated attacks always result in casualties. Jade lives with her adoptive uncle Pey’j, who is a literal pig man (perhaps he would prefer the scientific term “sus sapien”; he does look kinda sus sometimes) and several human children rescued and kept safe as their families were taken by the menace. She also has a helping AI buddy who goes by Secundo and whose speech is a mishmash of languages.

Speaking of the kids at the lighthouse, you better not
touch them or you're getting destroyed.

She works as a photojournalist, but doesn’t see much success and money is rare. Her funds are insufficient to maintain the force field measure around the lighthouse, which is a problem when the DomZ attack again. She barely repeals them with Pey’j’s help, even having to defeat a stronger DomZ creature. Damn, she's an expert in fighting with that laser staff. They defend the lighthouse just fine, getting a pearl by killing the large DomZ. It’s after their victory that the Alpha Section arrives, late, to help. As usual.

From this fight, I feared Pey'j (bottom left) would end up
being not too good in battle, as frequently happens of allies
in video games, but he proves his worth later on.

Please tell me the science museum won't say "You were
close!" like a certain professor in another photography game.

Following these events, Jade is contacted by a science museum who requests she takes pictures of all species on the planet for them to catalogue, due to the repeated and heavy losses. She’ll get some money for every picture, and this allows her to pay for the lighthouse’s force field again. However, the museum will keep on sending money and Pearls for every picture of a new species, so you have an incentive to keep “catching them all” on film. It helps that in this alien setting, a lot of different species coexist, so even NPCs count towards the total. Pey’j will smile and wave at the camera!

With the weird mishmash of technological ages here (sci-fi
robots coexist alongside lighthouses), I bet this advanced
hovercraft machine has a stick shift.

The second message Jade receives comes from a Mr. De Castellac, who requests she investigates the ancient mine on Black Isle. Though reticent at first, Pey’j agrees to take her there, but only if he tags along. He asks Secundo to update Jade’s computer, now offering a complete map system that will track her current goals/destinations.

Pey’j also gets the Hovercraft up and running, a machine that floats over both water and land, and equipped with lasers. The thing breaks down early on over the waters, but a nearby garage, Mammago’s, tows them in and repairs it. The garage offers upgrades to Jade’s hovercraft in exchange for pearls, which are otherwise illegal to be used as tender.

Just one pearl? For a fully finctional motor? That's a bargain!

The Black Isle

*TLoZ music intensifies*

The two head over to Black Isle, where they meet a man working for De Castellac. He demands they photograph evidence of DomZ residing deep into the mines. This is the first proper “dungeon” in the game, with mechanics inspired by The Legend of Zelda; you can photograph a map in the dungeon to turn it into an electronic map you can use to find your way around, you can find items that increase your maximum HP, and if a new item/weapon comes up in a dungeon, you know it’s going to be necessary against the boss in that dungeon.

Pey'j: Super genius.Resourceful. Invented jet boots.
Loves to make mini-earthquakes with his ass.

A fresh touch added to dungeon-crawling here is the companion, who follows you around the world and even into the dungeons, and has abilities that are needed to progress. Pey’j, the first companion, can repair stuff to make it work again, and also has jet boots that he can use to slam his ass on the floor or on the head of large monsters. The companions are well-coded and always stick around. You can even talk to them from time to time, and even share your healing items with them if you see their health is low.

Is it just me, or some of the monsters in BG&E kinda
look like they'd fit well into the Rayman series?
Both directed by Michel Ancel, so maybe that explains that.

Jade and Pey’j end up kicking the ass of a massive DomZ creature together, after snapping evidence of their presence. As he takes them back to their hovercraft, the man working for De Castellac admits that his “boss” never existed, and he is actually a member of a group named the IRIS Network, which believes something is amiss with the Alpha Sections and works to uncover the truth behind them. The man gives them a password to tell at the Akuda Bar in the Pedestrian District before leaving.

Joining the IRIS Network

Pearl for sale? Yes please! Makes the adventuring easy if
you can just buy every collectible!

The District is a great area with a lot to do. Obviously our mission here is to find the IRIS Network, but there’s much more. Opposite the entrance to the District, there are hovercraft races. In the District, you can subscribe to Hillyan papers and magazines. A shop sells healing items and pearls. At Ming-Tzu’s, you can buy editions of the IRIS Network’s disks as well as a bunch of items, such as an increase to your base attack power or detectors for animals and pearls you're missing in every area. At the Akuda Bar, you can play a Pallet Game against a shark, with money or a pearl as reward for victory.

I swear, Francis, someday I'm gonna beat you.
That pearl on your hat is as good as mine.

From the secret HQ, we can still hear the Akuda Bar's music
that goes "propaganda!" ...which, actually, is exactly what
she's being hired for. Propaganda you agree with is still
propaganda after all. Noam Chomsky would love this game.

Upstairs, Jade finds the secret hideout of the IRIS Network, and joins the Résistance. Her job? Simple and safe, really: Sneak around places where the Alpha Section is active, snap pictures of incriminating evidence that they’re in cahoots with the DomZ, and take this all back to publish it and cause an uprising. No sweat, it’s not like this is some massive alien conspiracy that could get her killed or anything. Hell, the entire reason we’re asked to investigate is that, despite the recurring attacks, reports of victims have gone down but reports of disappearances have gone up, implying that the Section is trafficking victims. No sweat walking into those places!

The Network is allied with the governor of Hillys, who promises to help any way she can. Jade can send a picture of a door locked with a passcode to her team, and they'll figure out the code to let the photoreporter through. The second goal, more personal to the Network, is to find Double H, one of their agents and the previous “reporter” sent on those missions, who has gone missing during his latest duty investigating the Nutripils Factory that makes food for the planet’s inhabitants. See? Just like I said, no danger at all!

The factory: Pey'j

Poor Double H. Everything bad happens to him. Either it's
hurting him and trumatic... or hurting him and hilarious.

Jade and Pey’j sneak into the factory, using a neutralizing cannon to stop the guard. Spotting the claw marks of a powerful monster, Pey’j wants to leave but Jade pushes forward. In-between robot attacks while exploring, Jade actually finds and rescues Double H from a DomZ "spirit eater" machine. In that room, she also finds a wrist attachment: A gyrodisc launcher. You aim using the camera’s view and shoot a projectile with the right-click mouse button. This comes in handy when, after Jade and Double H help each other escape the room, Jade faces the Reaper, which snatches Pey’j. The strategy to defeat it involves shooting it in the eye, then coming close to get a couple of hits in with Jade’s staff. The monster is downed, but Jade’s honorary uncle winds up somewhat traumatized by it.

This thing is keeping ahold of Pey'j like it wants to keep
him as a round pet pig! No you don't, he's our pig!

Stealth is surprisingly strategic; surveil the scene, and see
if you should sneak by, or swiftly strike the sentries.
...I love alliteration.

After he repairs an elevator with his trusted wrench and the two walk into the factory proper, Pey’j gives Jade a disk, claiming it’s a message she got a few days ago. The place is packed with Alpha Section guards, and gameplay goes from combat and puzzle dungeon exploration to heavy stealth. You can either sneak behind walking guards to move from a room to the next, or you can use the gyrodiscs to hit them in their weak spot, an air tank on their back. This leaves them vulnerable until another guard comes by to repair their tank. The focus switches to stealth so intensely that the game feels like a precursor to Ubisoft’s later franchise, Assassin’s Creed.

The x-rays scanning the boxes on a conveyor belt in the factory reveal skeletons, proving the body trafficking taking place here. It’s right after taking a picture of the x-rays that Jade hears Pey’j encountering Alpha Section guards, then getting knocked down and taken away, with her unable to do anything. Well, crap. This is enemy territory, so she has no option but to soldier on, hoping to rescue him.

I know it's mostly exposition, but considering what just
happened, damn if it doesn't tug at your heartstrings.

Reading the disk he gave her, Jade discovers a farewell message. As if he knew he would get caught eventually… A message where he explains that he and Jade’s parents, all with a bit of criminal history to their names, came to Hillys when the planet was at peace, to lay low and live anew. Alas, the DomZ invasion happened. Pey’j adds that the Beluga, the ship they arrived on, is still hidden on the lighthouse’s island, though it’s missing parts.

But we’ll worry about that later. Kind of in the middle of a dungeon here. Jade finds Peyj’s jet boots in a locker, thrown in there after his capture.

The factory: Double H

This trusty box will shield me!

The Alpha Section guards are not particularly smart, but that’s the point. You progress by studying how they move and look around, and sneak past them. Their AI feels limited; they’ll instantly act upon seeing Jade, chasing her or triggering the portable death ray (yeah, apparently they have those! Insta-kill if you’re spotted!), and if she incapacitates one working with an ally, the other will come to their comrade’s aid (which can make the second one an easy target). In comparison, the ally’s AI is actually quite smart. Pey’j (and, later, Double H) will follow you around, respond to your commands and fight by your side, even help if Jade is struck to the ground. The only downside is that if their hearts bar goes empty in battle, it counts as a defeat. Thankfully, the game is fairly lenient with checkpoints, so you’ll rarely lose more than a minute or two.

On very rare occasions, your companion might fail to follow, but there’s usually some way to get them back, though it may mean having to die to “reset” the scene. Which, admittedly, not great, but considering how impressive the AI is everywhere else, I can accept the rare bug or glitch.

This guy is either undergoing a horrible alien mutation,
or he needs skin care products right friggin' now.

According to the soundtrack, this thing was nicknamed the
"Metal gear DomZ". Considering all the stealth we had
to do to get here, it's appropriate!

At the end of the factory, Jade takes a picture of an Apha Section commander with his helmet off; his human body was corrupted by DomZ DNA. Is this the next boss? Nope! Instead, it’s another DomZ that takes refuge in a giant two-legged robot, which Jade and Double H (who has joined her shortly after Pey'j's loss) take down by breaking its balance to expose the alien within for attacks.

With their mission complete and incriminating pictures sent to the IRIS Network, the two leave, but the DomZ infection gets to Double H. It’s a mad rush within a strict 5-minute timer to get back to the IRIS headquarters, where our new ally is cured… and more willing than ever to help Jade get back at the DomZ!

Let’s finish this in the next part!