So, this may become a 4th Tuesday thing if you alls is up for it.
I own a Wii and a DS (both gifts), but unfortunately cannot afford a Playstation yet, which I desperately want. Thankfully, some great games are also made for the PC as well. This is one of them.
Release Date: Nov. 11, 2003
Platforms: Windows, Xbox, Playstation 2, GameCube
One of the most engaging, charming games I have ever played, Beyond Good & Evil certainly earns a spot in my hall of fame.
The labour of love from Michael Ancel, BGE takes you to a world where citizens are in a war with aliens and must rely on the powerful military to help defend them from brutal attacks. As a young woman named Jade, you are compelled to help in the war effort when your orphanage is attacked by the aliens. Naturally, however, you go it alone with the help of your “uncle” Pey’j (a pig mechanic, no less). While the plot itself is fairly straightforward (with only some minor twists), the story never slows down. And the characters, backed by some excellent voice acting, carry you the whole way through. It is tough not to care about the people you meet here, which goes a long way in providing an entertaining game.
While there are some adventure elements, this is more or less a strategic action game. Enemies are rarely shot at and are mostly avoided by stealth, timing, and distraction. You’ll be doing a lot of crawling, side-stepping, and wall-hugging to avoid detection (and since you are often far outnumbered, it is essential to survival). What makes this game unique is that most currency (to buy upgrades, health restoration, etc.) is acquired by taking photographs of different species (benign and otherwise) on the planet for archival. You sometimes have to photograph your enemies before you attack them!
For those who are comfortable with action games but don’t consider themselves to be experts, there is a reasonable learning curve. Moreover, if you die while on a mission, you will be restored to a predetermined checkpoint (often only one or two minutes back), so even if you are unable to save the game for a while, you don’t lose all of your hard work. My only complaint, and a fairly significant one, is that the PC version does not support game controllers, which is idiotic and unfortunate for those who are not keyboard inclined. I was able to become fairly adept at the controls, but it would have been significantly more comfortable to play with a game pad.
The game is short, about ten to twelve hours for the average gamer to complete. And while there are secrets to be found, the only significant replay value comes in simply wanting to see the story again. For those who like the focus of their actions games to be more on story (without endless cut scenes), Beyond Good and Evil will not disappoint.
A sequel is in the works, though no release date has been confirmed.
Okay, what have you all been playing? Should I beg someone to buy me Portal 2?
I'll be heading for work soon, but I must recognize the awesomeness that is Beyond Good & Evil first. Got it for five bucks when it had been out for a couple years, and it's worth ten times that.
As for what I'm playing now? Everything, though Mass Effect 2, MLB 2011 and A Link to the Past (my tenth playthrough or so) are getting most of the attention.
I'm starting my quest to get a hold of a cheap copy of Mass Effect 2. My goal is for $15 or less.
Beat Portal 2 (fantastic game), and now I'm back to Mass Effect 2. The story for ME2 isn't quite as solid as the first game's, but I think the overall gameplay is much better. It took everything I disliked about the gameplay from the first game and guts it, while adding all sorts of little things that I'm enjoying.
That and I just started another playthrough of Descent. I think that makes somewhere in the range of 30.
I'm still working on a 2012 championship with the T-Wolves in NBA2K11, just need to get past the Grizzlies first. (2012 finals: Wolves-Grizz and Hawks-Bobcats.)
I was going to finish up Fallout: New Vegas a couple weeks ago, but I downloaded the latest update which resulted in a bug that locks the game up when trying to enter a fairly important building. Of course, I found this after about 5 hours of gameplay and would have to go back much further than that to get rid of the bug, so I haven't played since. I love the Fallout games, but don't trust the developers for sh*t.
I think fixing stuff like this is more important these days than ever. Back in the 80's, you could have a game-crashing bug and the gamer would gladly restart because they had nothing else to do. Now, with the limitless options for gaming, one bug or one 'walking dead' situation will likely permanently alienate the customer.
Oh yeah, I agree with patches when necessary. It just seems like whenever Bethesda puts out a new major patch, it breaks more than it fixes. Drives me nuts.
I've heard that about Bethesda, and it's literally the only thing that's made me balk at buying a Fallout game.
Overall, they'r both terrific games with excellent gameplay and awesome environments to explore.
I got a copy of Tiger Woods '11 for practically nothing now that '12 with Augusta is out.
Yeah, sports games are bargain-bin specials in a rush, if one can wait.
I tend to get sports games a year behind, and then not get new ones for awhile. I went from MVP Baseball '04 to The Show '10 and FIFA '06 to FIFA '11, both times a switch from PS2 to PS3. Those were both the first time I'd bought the current version of a game.
You should beg someone to buy you Portal 2. I think I enjoy it more than the first.
Also, I've always kind of thought about picking up BG&E. I think I'll probably do that sometime this weekend.
While I definitely enjoyed Portal 2, I thought the puzzles were a step down from the first game. There were quite a few instances of "find the white panel" that gave away half the solution. You just needed to figure out the order and were done.
True, the problem solving aspect was toned down a touch in places, but with all the variance in gameplay and story, I think it's a step up.
I simply can't praise BG&E enough. You should be able to find it cheap, and the depth of gameplay is pretty stunning. Add a few memorable characters and strong writing, and you've got a helluva game right there.
There's also this oddly addicting - for me, anyway - minigame where you photograph every different animal you see, some of which only appear once. There are definite bonuses to doing the game, but if that aspect of the game isn't your thing, it can be ignored.
I suppose it can be ignored, but it makes the game a heluva lot easier if you do it. Not a lot of other ways to get currency.
This post has me tempted to go pick up the HD re-release of BGoE on Xbox Live Arcade when I get home.
I've actually been playing through the first Portal for the first time lately, so that I can start on Portal 2 and maybe play through it before the entire game is ruined for me by the internet.
I've also gone back and started playing a bunch of beatmania IIDX. It is, in my opinion, the finest of all rhythm games. I am terrible at it and it is unbelievably difficult, but the music is good and the game is rewarding.
Last week I bought Deathsmiles 2X on Xbox Games on Demand. This is kind of a first release for them; the game has no US disc release, and was released in Games on Demand with no translation. I haven't had a chance to play it, but I plan on playing a ton of that this weekend.