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The Bargain Bin Binge! |
About this column: On occasion, bargain shelves at your local video/electronics store contain a semi-old title worth more than just a look. This page reviews such titles..
Recent Bargain Bin Binge pages: 3) Simpsons' Virtual Springfield! 6) A DOZEN Bargains that DO NOT stink! *** 8) Will Rock ---------------
You may also wish to buy: Beyond Good & Evil: Official Strategy Guide
----------------- Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted! ------------------
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Beyond Good & Evil
See article for order links to this game (multiple systems) I loved this game. That's all there is to it. Not only was it one of the best Action-Adventures of 2003; it is a serious Golden Otto contender (the awards "show" of this web site). Unfortunately, the game got little or no publicity to speak of, and is now priced at $19.99 (or less, by the time you read this!). Well, Ubisoft's senility is your gain: feel free to buy this game, for a paltry $19.99 (or less), for the following systems (click for order links): PC, X-Box, Playstation-2, and Game Cube. Need convincing for how cool this game is...? Read on for the review:
I think what I liked most about this game is its ingenuity. Instead of making just another shooter or just another action-adventure, your character is more in the habit of stealth tactics. With camera in hand, she must not only kick bad-guy butt, but she must also sneak up behind unbeknown enemies, and take pictures of their evil-doings, so she can report the truth to the public. This results in a quest of not only defeating the bad guys from a brute force perspective, but eliminating their hold on the unknowing populace as well. This is the best of both worlds; you sneak around taking photos of unsuspecting enemies, then when you get to the "bosses," you kick their butts. This is a unique double quest. What's nice about the whole "sneak around taking photos" gaming style is: in order to make room for a slew of ingenious photo-taking puzzles, many of the other flawed puzzles of similar action-adventures are abandoned. There are no jumping puzzles here: YAY! There is no enemy that is unrealistically strengthened to super-human unfairness: double YAY!. These are two elements of the game that enhance the reality even more than you can imagine (in other words: no jumping puzzles of platforms floating inconceivably in mid-air!) In fact, this game often takes great strides to feel very "real," fictional planet notwithstanding. I particularly liked how the game remembers the photos you take, so when these photos show up in the local paper, your photo is shown, not a stock photo stored within the game. This was a nice added touch. If the stealth tactics of this game sound like Thief, they are something like that, only different. In the Thief game series, lighting and even the sound of your footsteps come into play. This game bends the rules a bit, by creating a sort of robotic security guard that can see only directly in front of them, and furthermore, cannot hear you if you crawl. You can duck behind items in a room and not be seen, and what's more, you can crawl behind guards as they walk away from you, leading to some very guilty stealth pleasures here! If this sounds easy; it gets harder. In time you must leave crouch mode to take or even use items in a room, and then reach the exit. This gets tricky...but enjoyably so.
This culminates in a game finale that does leave the door slightly ajar for a sequel, yet is still the most satisfying action-adventure game finale I've seen in a long time. Consider the first Star Wars film. The death star blows up into several souvenir chunks but hey; what about that Emperor we heard about in once scene? This ending is something like that; it keeps the door open yet maintains a feeling of major victory, for you and for Jade. I especially enjoyed the final battle, where Jade finds herself in an almost literal battle of sprit and wills with the "Big Bad" of this game, including the almost enjoyably devious puzzle of your controls being reversed, due to alleged "mind-control" by the villains. This was a great final battle. It makes victory only sweeter. Of course, there is the minor grievance of no quick save option, but I didn't find this as annoying as other games of this type. You simply have to search for the little save game terminals scattered throughout the cities; a very easy search, because there are so many of them! What's more; dying within a mission often results in merely a restart to the beginning of that room, not just that level, so it's a fair compromise. The bottom line is: there is no way I'd bemoan the lack of quick saving in a game like this. I'm too busy loving this game to care. Sure, some have said that the game is over quickly. I guess if you have a quickie el cheapo walkthrough this is true, but...not really. Anyone who enjoys experiencing a whole alternate reality in action-adventure form will have a lot more than merely "15 hours" of gameplay here (as one reviewer claims elsewhere). I simply loved this game. If this review hasn't given you enough explanation as to why, nothing will.
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Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
Deep
Impact
This
is the story of Jade: the typical mysterious woman of destiny, who until now
calmly ran her small lighthouse/orphanage with her "Uncle Pey'j."
Her planet is being invaded by The Doms; an alien
horde that feeds on the souls of the townsfolk. The planet's only defense is an army
known as The Alpha Section but why aren't they doing
their job as well as they should? A band of rebels seeks to find out the truth. In time, they recruit Jade.
Of
course, you can always decide to battle the guards. They are formidable
opponents, but unless there are three or more of them they are not impossible
to fight. Around one-third of the way through the game, you come across a
hand-blaster of sorts, and around the same time, you learn that the guards
have a weak spot...behind them. This adds to the fun even more because you
must now choose between outright stealth, brute force, or best of all: sneaking up behind
guards and blasting them when they aren't
looking! While some rooms have only one option available, the majority of
them allow for multiple solutions.
The
best part of any game-storyline is in it gradually showing a difference in the
world
around you, based on your progress. As you begin to sway
the public's opinion, the underground resistance gets rewards in the form of
pearls, which you can use to buy stronger tools in your fight
against the Doms. This is one of many small signs that you are "making
a difference," enhancing the desire to keep playing to the very end. At one point
the mayor herself makes an appearance so she can shake your hand; a
nice touch. Win the hardest hovercraft race, and enjoy a stream of
bubble-like confetti falling in the middle of the racetrack entranceway.
I particularly liked how when you first enter the town square, there are a
whole array of conversations praising the Alphas, with these praises slowly
becoming picket signs and protests, as you slowly inform the public
of the truth. These are nice
little changes to the ongoing game environment, that most games would otherwise
overlook.
Overall,
Beyond Good & Evil is very non-linear. While larger missions more or less
"trap" you until you complete them, the order of completing the
vast majority of the game, is
entirely up to you. A hovercraft speeds you to wherever in Hilys you wish to
go, be it the local bar, a hovercraft race, or to any number of optional
quests. Races can be replayed at will for added cash, as well as the
shuffleboard-style game in the bar. In addition, there is an ingenious
mini-quest throughout the game, to take pictures of any of 56 unique aliens
you come across. While the first 6 photos get you a cool zoom lens for your
camera (and your long-range weapon!), every 10 additional snapshots gets you
a pearl. Of course, the true goal here is to
reach the places on your compass and/or game map, and solve the mystery of
the Doms and the Alpha Section Armies. However, for the most part, when and
how you do each mission is up to you.
I
especially loved the characters of this story. With numerous facial expressions
depending on the mood of the scene,
these are not the mere Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls that you more often see in
games. Whenever a turning point in the story occurred, I truly felt for the
characters involved, because so few times did I see them as mere
video game caricatures. No matter how many years graphic accelerators have
been sold, these are some of the most "3D" characters I've ever
seen, if you catch my meaning. The story is effective, thanks to effective characters.