Classic Adventure as we knew it is probably dead. It weighs a little heavy on the heart, but seeing as there's not much a handful of moping gamers can do to change this, we might as well just move on. When you think about it though, it wasn't the mechanics of titles like Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle that made them the classics they are. It was the charming quirkiness of places like Booty Island and Maniac Mansion. It was the unforgettable oddball characters like the Purple Tentacle, Glottis, Guybrush and LeChuck (to name a few). It was the superlative dialogue, the humour, the atmosphere - just the makings of a grand romp without any of the baggage.

Thankfully, the spirit of Adventure games is still around, and though the titles that house it don't sell millions of copies right after release, there is still hope. Grim Fandango was one of the first adventure games I played not to use a point-n-click system, though it had all the other elements of previous Lucasarts games nailed perfectly. Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is another more recent game that attempt to keep adventure afloat in the 3d realm. Beyond Good and Evil comes from an entirely different tangent - comprising of several minigames woven around one larger game. And it works - exceedingly well, actually.

The basic story revolves around a photojournalist, Jade, and her half-pig guardian uncle, Pey'j. Their world, Hillys, has of late been under constant attack by alien invaders called the Domz. Their only line of defence seem to be the Alpha section elite military troops, but in spite of their efforts, citizens of Hillys keep disappearing on a regular basis. The plot starts unfolding once Jade is contacted by a rebel organisation called IRIS, who claim there might be more to the scenario in Hillys than meets the eye.



As for when the game kicks into gear, it's right from the word go. Without just an onscreen indicator to indicate what button to use to attack, you're required to start the game by facing off against several Domz sarcophagi. And once you finish them, there's a boss battle with the 'Lighthouse Monster' right after. All in the span of a couple of minutes. The majority of the game is spent getting around Hillys, talking with characters, buying powerups and snooping around the locations that you're pointed towards. You commute through the Venetian city and bay-area outskirts with your hovercraft, which you have to upgrade with new features (Disruptor Cannon, Jump Jet, etc) at the floating garage every once in a while to get ahead in the game.

A mission that pops up very early on in the game has the Science Center asking you to photograph all existing species on Hillys, so anytime you see a new creature, you have to whip out the camera and get a decent picture. That covers hostile creatures as well, so it gets a little tricky sometimes. The in-game UI is pretty slick (I particularly like the spiral codebreaking screen).
When the sparks start flying, combat is easy to get to grips with - single-button mashing attacks combos are the order of the day, along with the occasional dodge and co-ordinated attack with an ally. The only bit with which one might struggle is switching to the first person view in the middle of a fight to aim and shoot gyrodisks - that can break up your rhythm on occasion.

The stealth parts of the game lean more towards Metal Gear Solid than Splinter Cell, wherein if a guard spots you and then loses sight of you for around 10 seconds, he simply goes back to his patrol. Still, it's not meant to be taken all that seriously, and it's quite a kick sneaking up behind a guard and planting your boot up his airtank.

There's also a fair bit of well thought-out puzzle solving involved, but most of it will be easy meat for anybody seasoned on old-school adventure. Especially when you consider how much hand-holding there is in this game - imagine a game with platforming elements that doesn't allow you to fall to your death!

A few well-crafted minigames are around, which can expedite your progress if won. The hovercraft races are a blast, a little remniscient of Star Wars Pod Racer. You also square off against a humanoid shark in a variation of air hockey - simple, yet quite addictive. Then there are the madcap chases in the Looters' Caverns. Altogether, there's a lot of variety in this game.



Down to the nitty gritties - graphics aren't the best in show (and there are a few clipping problems), but they've got their art style nailed down, and work with it beautifully, making Hillys a treat to explore. Sound and music boasts a wide range of quality stuff, and all used appropriately. Voice acting is excellent, and I would've liked a bit more spoken dialogue in-game (though considering they support 5 languages, it's easy to see why they chose not to). With some characters like Ming-Tzu and Francis, you only hear them say monosyllabic expressions, and that too, once in a blue moon. Many others aren't given any dialogue at all, limited to text deliveries. Pity.


The Highs - The rich atmosphere and distinct characters give you that old-school feelgood adventuring factor. Racing, flying, fighting, sneaking and puzzle-solving all rolled into one great big ball of fun.

The Lows - Camera control is sluggish and the reverse y axis option doesn't even do anything! Eh! A little too short for my liking, and not enough spoken dialogue during the game.

Summary - A definite buy for the adventure fan who doesn't mind a healthy dose of other genres mixed in with his medicine.

Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platforms: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC.