WE’VE seen a resurgence in classic games coming to modern platforms and I’m all for it.
From full reboots like Persona 3 Reload, to simple remasters like Metroid Prime, 30-somethings are basking in the early ‘00s nostalgia.
The latest remastered game from the PlayStation 2 era to hit the market is Beyond Good & Evil, a cult classic from a time when Ubisoft was constantly innovating with new IPs.
You play as Jade, a photographer who is recruited by an underground resistance group that wants to gather evidence on the corrupt government.
Jade sneaks into government facilities, captures incriminating pictures, and sends them back to the resistance to spread among the population.
Our protagonist isn’t just a crack photographer, she can hold her own in combat, pilot a hovercraft and a spaceship, and sneak around without detection.
Back when it was released in 2003, there weren’t games like Beyond Good & Evil. Few games blended genres so flawlessly.
One minute you’ll be going for gold in a hovercraft race, then you’ll be photographing the local wildlife, and a minute later you’ll be sneaking into a factory to document crimes against humanity.
Some of these have aged better than others. Driving your hovercraft is still fun, and the photography mechanic is still pretty unique.
However, the combat is still very basic by today’s standards, as you find yourself mashing the attack button until you win.
Stealth boils down to crouching out of the enemies’ line of sight, and the long stealth sections could soon become boring.
While these elements feel dated, the world-building still holds its ground, and thanks to the timeless art style, many environments still look beautiful today.
It’s exciting that new people are able to play Beyond Good & Evil, and that older players can relive the experience.
However, Ubisoft could have done more to modernise it for today’s audience instead of the changes that were made.
If your console is connected to the internet, you now have to link your game to your Ubisoft account before playing.
Not only is this an annoying and unnecessary step, but when you complete certain tasks, huge popups obscure the screen, making it very difficult to play.
Ubisoft also added in more cosmetics, but they aren’t labelled as such, and I accidentally purchased them thinking they were upgrades.
Despite this, Beyond Good & Evil is still worth playing, not only as a time capsule, but because it’s still a great game.
It’s only a shame that it hasn’t seen the updating it deserves.
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