Time Extend - Beyond Good and Evil 30
Edge Online is running a feature from the print version of Edge (in my opinion one of the finest gaming publications available) entitled Time Extend. This monthly feature rewinds the clock to look at a fantastic game from yesteryear. The Christmas Time Extend covers the well reviewed but underselling Beyond Good and Evil. Topical, as Michel Ancel also headed up the well reviewed console game based on Peter Jackson's King Kong. From the article: "So what was it about the adventures of an elfin lighthouse-keeper that made Jackson think Ancel could tame a two-ton gorilla? On the surface it seems a peculiar choice, but while Jade and Kong could hardly be more different, it was exactly because of what Ancel had accomplished with his heroine that Jackson was interested in the first place."
Just my two British pence (Score:5, Informative)
You make it sound... (Score:1, Interesting)
This is a short but very good game, period.
And... if I recall correctly, it was launched rahter cheaply at around $20.
Re:You make it sound... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:You make it sound... (Score:2)
Meh (Score:2)
I haven't played Kong yet, so I can't really tell whether he was able to execute b
And here I was (Score:2)
Re:And here I was (Score:5, Insightful)
However, marketing for the game was awful, the game was barely announced, and very few people actually knew what the game was about. Therefore, the game didn't sell well *because* of bad marketing. Unfortunately, we all know how game companies know their stuff... following the BGE fiasco, the marketing dept just kept on going advertising Splinter Cell and the lead programmer from Beyond Good and Evil got demoted. Yep, you read it right: he got demoted for making a great game...
That killed the trilogy. When the first game of a serie doesn't sell well, Ubi doesn't invest in a sequel, no matter why the first didn't sell.
Re:And here I was (Score:2, Informative)
Re:And here I was (Score:3, Informative)
It wasn't, at least for Sands of Time (and probably the rest, but I can't say since I haven't played any of the subsequent ones). At first they used it, then they switched to some other engine developed in their Chinese studios with more muscle. From Gamespot [gamespot.com]:
In early January, the programmers realized that the JADE graphics engine was no longer capable of supporting the game's huge levels and detailed visua
Re:And here I was (Score:2)
Re:And here I was (Score:1)
I wish it was brighter though. I had to turn up the brightness a lot in order to see anything in many places.
Re:And here I was (Score:1)
Strange, I don't recall Zelda putting that much emphasis on stealth.
Re:And here I was (Score:2, Interesting)
BG&E was probably the best non-zelda game in the zelda genre of this console generation. It had a story less convuluted than your typical japanese RPG transla
Re:And here I was (Score:1)
Re:And here I was (Score:1)
I dunno, I didn't mind it for it most part. It never really got me into a controller-throwing state.
Re:And here I was (Score:1)
BGE (Score:3, Informative)
I bought it for my 8 yr old daughter. Mostly non-violent and witty characters. Main objective in the game is to take photographs for a news agency. She loved it. I played right along side her taking turns (SinglePlayer Only) until we finished it.
Our review: Fun Flop.
Too bad too would make a great franchise.
Re:BGE (Score:1)
Finally, someone who says the truth. (Score:3, Informative)
The trouble was that BG&E was rushed out for the holiday season. In doing so, they cut off the required development time to make it a great game.
" there's no question that Ancel achieved his ambition of producing a streamlined adventure, there's nothing memorable, nothing meaty in any of the game's set pieces. It's a game you finish in a happy haze, entranced by your time in Jade's world, but hard pressed to remember a single fight, puzzle, race, or stealth challenge that stood out."
The best part I can think of is the first dungeon, because I played it twice (once at a friend's place, and once when I bought the game for 9$ CAD new).
BG&E had a lot of promise, but the execution was flawed. The game needed a couple more dungeons (it had 3 in total, plus the racing and standard side-story collections), and could've used maybe one or two more side-story things (it's a nice change from a game like FF X-2 that demands 40 hours of my life for a bare-minimum experience!). The story was very promising, but the ending could've used more work, especially letting Jade suceeed because she was determined, not because of some fate. The monsters were pretty cookie cutter, too.
It would've been nice if there was replability (hell, a simple arrange mode which moved everything around randomly after you beat it once would've been worth it).
Re:Finally, someone who says the truth. (Score:2)
The main issue is that it never quite managed to feel like a complete world, and some of the recycling of 3D models was a bit too obvious; you really can't get away with putting the exact same supposedly natural cave formation in two places.
If only they had been given time to finish it. Then again, Ubisoft probably looked at the sales they did get, and saw that as vindication for pulling the plug.
I did like how the story just blew up
Re:Finally, someone who says the truth. (Score:1)
As some random bastard on the internet, does this opinion necessarily mean I have been bribed?
What if I wrote it for Gaming Prophecy Weekly?
Where in the transition from random bastard to journalist is one forc
An underdog few remember (Score:2)
Battlezone is a title I have not yet seen on any charts, and it was absolutely fantastic. The plot was stellar and original, the blend between action and strategy was as seamless as it ever has been up to and since, and the graphics and design somehow managed to pay homage to the original and still seem very new.
I'm actually quite amazed Atari never updated the sucker and brought it to the consoles. The UI wou
Re:An underdog few remember (Score:2)
Definitely deserves a remake or knock-off or something. These days all the FPS/RTS hybrids are teamplay-based, not "you command an AI army from FPS perspective" which is imho more interesting than just being a soldier in some commander's game of Natural Selection.
Re:An underdog few remember (Score:1)
Blatant Advertising? (Score:2)
Alright so I'm hard up for cash and want my games to get a good home. Mod me down then (but take a look anyway!)