Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Vodacom, Maziv deal now looks likely after CompCom U-turn

      8 July 2025

      Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

      8 July 2025

      Fast-growing Beira port to get private mobile network

      8 July 2025

      MultiChoice hit with multimillion-rand fine for privacy ‘breaches’

      8 July 2025

      Still in play: Ramaphosa banks on talks to ease US tariff blow

      8 July 2025
    • World

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025

      Jony Ive’s first AI gadget could be … a pen

      30 June 2025

      Bumper orders for Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV heighten threat to Tesla

      27 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on data governance in hybrid cloud environments

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Top » Beyond Good & Evil HD: new life for a forgotten classic

    Beyond Good & Evil HD: new life for a forgotten classic

    By Editor4 March 2011
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Beyond Good & Evil – about a girl and her pig

    A spunky war photographer with green lipstick and sensible clothes, and her anthropomorphic pig uncle were the unlikely heroes of one of 2003’s best games — Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil from French game designer Michel Ancel.

    Despite critical adulation, this gem of game sank without a trace during a busy Christmas retail season and never grew beyond a cult audience. But the market that passed over Beyond Good & Evil first time around has been given a chance to redeem itself, thanks to a new high-definition makeover for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 online services.

    Most games age badly, but Beyond Good & Evil retains its charm seven years after its original release. In a gaming market stormed and captured by gruff, humourless space marines, its quirky world and eccentric characters are perhaps even more appealing than they were in 2003.

    By today’s standards, Ancel’s design for this action-adventure title still feels visionary. Though the game has some obvious reference points — notably, Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda games — its idiosyncratic visual design, storytelling and characters set Beyond Good & Evil apart from most other third-person action games.

    Beyond Good & Evil offers a rich world to explore by foot and vehicle

    Beyond Good & Evil draws together elements such as third-person melee combat, hovercraft races, gambling mini-games, stealth, puzzle-solving and exploration. But summing up the game’s base mechanics does it no justice. Taken on their own, they may seem slight and underdeveloped, though they all play smoothly.

    The magic lies in the way that the disparate elements mesh together to create a memorable experience in a detailed game world crammed full of subtleties and secrets. And what a wacky and rich game world it is – like an absurd blend of William Gibson, Hayao Miyazaki and Nintendoland.

    It’s a place where post-9/11 paranoia jostles for room with talking bipedal sharks, rhinos and cows; where the mundanity of e-mail, newspapers and credit cards nestles alongside space monsters and sentient artificial intelligence.

    The game’s heroine, Jade, is an every person, a strangely human character to live in such a bizarre fictional universe. Brave and resourceful, yet vulnerable, she is one of the most relatable videogame characters ever created. And not for her the chest-crushing tank tops, outsized guns and even bigger mammaries that most female game protagonists take into their fights against hordes of zombies and monsters.

    The story of government conspiracy and propaganda that unfolds around Jade is engaging throughout the 10-15 hours it takes to complete the game, with poignancy and humour shining through in the writing and visual design. Though the plot unravels towards the end, the game manages to unify gameplay, game world and story in a more seamless way than have many recent games that tried so hard to be cinematic.

    Beyond Good & Evil’s stylised visuals have aged gracefully even if the game doesn’t feature the graphical flourishes found on newer titles on the high-definition consoles. Ubisoft has spruced up some of the texture work and cleaned out some of the technical problems that dogged the original game, including the ugly texture pop-in and occasional frame-rate issues.

    Equal care has been taken with the remastering of the sound. The voice acting is pretty good by today’s standards and the original soundtrack is one of the best ever put together for a videogame. Ranging from menacing hip-hop growled in Bulgarian and ominous instrumentals to toe-tapping Latino rhythms and mellow Rasta sounds, the music brings plenty of atmosphere to Beyond Good & Evil.

    All we have seen of a sequel all these years later is a brief, tantalising teaser released two years ago. But Ubisoft has hinted that strong sales of the high-definition remaster could convince it to move more aggressively into production mode on Beyond Good & Evil 2. Buy Beyond Good & Evil HD and help make the gaming world a better place.  — Lance Harris, TechCentral

    • Available now for Xbox 360 on the Xbox Live Arcade service; coming to PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store later this year
    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook


    Beyond Good & Evil HD Lance Harris
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleConsumer act regulations may be delayed
    Next Article TalkCentral: Episode 27 – ‘Mine’s bigger than yours’

    Related Posts

    TechCentral’s top 10 movies of 2019

    31 December 2019

    TechCentral’s top 10 games of 2019

    23 December 2019

    The best movies of 2018

    31 December 2018
    Company News

    Huawei South Africa Partners Forum 2025: joining hands for a digital, intelligent future

    8 July 2025

    Powering South Africa’s industrial intelligence with Huawei Cloud’s AI-native innovations

    8 July 2025

    Rain launches a new way to connect. It’s a loop

    8 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.