I got onto Steemit today expecting to complete Part 3 of my article on using science in arguments.
Before I began, however, I did my usual spread of opening a few tabs and getting a feel for the news. E3 has been going on recently, and I've been keeping my eye on the event so that I could post updates later on today.
Imagine my surprise when I heard that a game that has been in game development hell for over a decade is actually getting the sequel it deserves!
What is Beyond Good & Evil?
Beyond Good & Evil is a late generation Playstation 2 game that pushed the very limits of the system and redefined what was possible as far as storytelling, world development, and gameplay. I actually picked up a copy just after the PS2 had stopped creating games a little under a decade ago. There's been a whole other console, the PS3, that has come into and out of the spotlight since that time, and we are now on the PS4.
What Made the Game Special
Beyond Good and Evil played like butter. It was just so smooth, so seemless. The story combined with the gameplay combined with the characters in such a way that you never felt like you were being thrown between cut scenes and the action. Everything felt like a continuation, a natural evolution.
In the BG&E world, you play as Jade, a martial artist who is also an investigative reporter. What's she investigating? Oh, I dunno... How about a war against humanity by aliens?
The genius of the game is that, despite the open world and the amount of options it doesn't ever feel cluttered or tedious. You gain credits by taking pictures of creatures - in other words your job as a journalist isn't just a cute gimic, it's part of the game. You'll need your martial arts, too. This game has some great twists, and because some of you will want to go back and play it I won't include any here.
The Big Deal
Beyond Good & Evil had a rabidly supportive fan base (which I belong to) who begged for a sequel. The years passed. The main creator, Michel Ancel, clearly wanted to make a sequel. The fans clearly wanted to a sequel. So what was the problem? We still don't know. It'd been so long since we'd heard anything about the game that people had started to give up. I confess, even I began to doubt that a sequel would ever see the light of day. But here we are.
Baited Breath
Before fans get too excited, however, it should be said that we've been in a similar place before. We got this trailer back in 2008.
But some things are different now. Though it's essentially still day 0 of the game development, the team has been put in place and Ubisoft has gone out of their way to make a big deal out of the game. They'll have some real egg on their face if they back out this time.
Beyond Good & Evil was a classic, tense, mysterious little package of a game. It's that rare instance of a game being bigger than the console it was designed on, pushing all limits and surpassing all expectations. If you haven't played it, pick it up and prepare for a ride. It is, without a doubt, one of the best games ever made!!
And I'm confident that if Beyond Good & Evil 2 actually gets made, it'll be even better.
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