"Beyond Good and Evil"
It's about a woman named Jade who is a freelance reporter on the Planet Hillys. The Hillys Army has an elite forces group called the "Alpha Sections" who are supposed to protect the planet from the constant attacks of aliens ("The Domz").
I don't want to spoil too much of the plot here.. hmm..Jade is contacted by an underground rebel group (the "Iris Network") whose mission is to prove (via alternative media investigation) that there's a relationship between the Alpha Sections and the Domz - and that this relationship is harming the citizens of Hillys. I won't say how it's harming them; you'll find that out for yourself.
There are a number of missions that Jade goes on, armed with her dai-jo stick (a staff of some sort) and her CAMERA. Each mission is pretty much completed when she snaps pictures for evidence, which is promptly uploaded to the Iris Network and distributed.
The parallels to today's political situation here in America are really impressive for a video game; so few games have good political commentary in them, and this one really pulls it off well.
The most obvious parallel to the USA is the leader of the Alpha Sections - who also happens to be the President of Hillys. He's constantly on television talking terror, terror, terror, fear, fear, fear, traitors, traitors (sound like anyone familiar?). These big-screen televisions are all over the place on the planet and in the city, and you can hear him talking-up terrorism speech constantly, spinning the latest news events, and trashing the Iris Network more than the Domz themselves!
Next is the general population. At the beginning, they're entirely skeptical of any claim of connection between the Alpha Sections and the Domz. There are the hardcore brownshirt citizens, the citizens who are readily skeptical of the president, and those in-between. It's fun to see how the citizens become more and more politically active as the game goes on.. they do some interesting things..
I might not be summarizing this game well enough. Here's a link:
http://www.ironcladgusto.com/2004/02/game_beyond_goo.htmlI've focused mostly on the story and themes. It's a visually beautiful game. The music, oh the music.. even if the game weren't so politically sharp, the music alone is to die for! And the controls are very simple, whether you're piloting a boat, a spaceship, or sneaking around a factory on foot. The gameplay is somewhere in the Zelda neighborhood: simple fighting, simple puzzle solving, exploration, etc.
Wow.. I've typed a TON. Then again, it's worth it. If there's one game from all of videogaming history that I'd recommend for Democratic Underground, this would be it, hands-down. (That's a huge statement coming from someone who got all misty upon seeing the next Zelda video! God, I'm a geek!) A great thing is that if you can find it, it's usually about $20, and for all gaming systems (and PCs).
Cheers!
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(215 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
