It's a sad fact of the games industry that bestselling titles are often lazy cash-ins of sporting events or tie-ins to well known licenses of comic books, cartoons, TV shows and, most particularly, movies. Without the power of a big license behind it, original creations that turn out to be gaming gems don't get the acclaim, or the sales, that they deserve. Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, Psychonauts, Ico, Kung Fu Chaos, Whacked!, Voodoo Vince… the list goes on. And one game that most definitely belongs on that list is Beyond Good & Evil.

Life on the once peaceful planet of Hillys is becoming more and more dangerous. Under attack from a fearsome and enigmatic alien race known as the Domz, citizens live in fear for their lives and hundreds of people are mysteriously vanishing without a trace. You play a Jade, a sassy young orphan girl who is under the care of her Uncle Pey'J, a pig-like humanoid creature. After the latest attack, Jade is drawn into a world of intrigue, as the conspiracy underlying the Domz invasion starts to become clear. It's up to you to unravel the truth and save the world - by using your journalistic skills!

That's right, in a very unusual move for a game, all of your missions revolve around exposing the truth about what's really happening to the citizens of Hillys, with the ultimate aim of causing a revolution. Armed with your trusty camera, you are sent into a number of increasingly hazardous and well-guarded areas to take photos of the nefarious activities of the Alpha Section, an elite military force that is supposedly protecting the people. However, once you get in contact with IRIS, the rebel underground network determined to expose the truth, it becomes clear that Alpha Section is a part of the problem, not the solution. I don't want to say too much more about the plot, and I fear I may already have said too much… but it becomes clear fairly early on in the game that things are not what they seem.

The story in Beyond Good & Evil is one of the best I've come across in a game; making use of particularly excellent cut scenes and dialogue, it's a story that hooks you quickly and entices you to keep on playing. This isn't the only reason to play though - the story is backed up by distinctive and gorgeous visuals, an imaginative world to explore and a host of different tasks to complete, with plenty of variety in the gameplay. You're thrown straight into the action in an exciting opening, where Jade comes under attack from floating Domz who have captured the orphans living in her lighthouse. Smashing the Domz to free the children, Jade is then seized by a large Domz monster, which seems to want her in particular, but then rescued by Pey'J, who helps her to kill it. Alpha Section turns up after the Domz are defeated, only to claim all the credit for defending Hillys. After this, things settle down for a little while, giving you the chance to explore the wonderfully designed and intricately detailed lighthouse, as you take your camera and begin your sub-quest to photograph all the native wildlife of Hillys.

Starting off with a ladybird, you take pictures of every species that you encounter and these are sent to the Science Institute, who pay you for every photograph, earning credits than can be used later to purchase a range of items, such as health expansions and replenishment, pearls (used on the black market to buy parts for your hovercraft), and various other bits and pieces. Spotting the many different animals is a really fun element to the gameplay and then you go into first person mode to line up the shot - you have to get the right level of zoom and a good frame for the picture to be of use, and some of the faster moving animals and enemies (you can even take photos of the bosses you encounter!) are quite a challenge to capture on film.

Once you've done a bit of exploring, you get your hovercraft fixed up and then it's off to the Black Isle, to meet a mysterious client who's hired you to take a picture of Domz wildlife deep in the bowels of an ancient mine. After this, it's off to the city, where you head to the local bar to rendezvous with the IRIS network and you get your first real mission - infiltrating a factory to find out what is happening to the people who are taken there.

The gameplay of BG&E is not that challenging and also fairly basic, making it ideal for children, at least at first - somehow though, all the elements fall into place to make it just as compelling and enjoyable for platform fans of any age, and while it isn't quite up there with the likes of Jak & Daxter, it's not at all far off either. Taking a leaf out of Zelda's book, actions are context sensitive and you can only take them when given the option. Fighting is a simple case of attacking and dodging, while jumping between platforms happens automatically, meaning that there's little chance of ever falling to your death. Nevertheless, while things are simple early on, the level of challenge does increase as you progress, and there are a number of engaging and at times tricky sections combining combat, stealth, platform jumping and puzzles.

In the various sections where you infiltrate an enemy installation, you must sneak around behind the guards as best you can, as they're very tough to defeat head on. Fortunately they have gas tanks at the rear (containing an alien atmosphere to allow them to breathe) and shooting these tanks causes them to run around for a few seconds, allowing you to run up behind them and give the tank another whack, causing it to explode as the enemy goes hurtling into the air from the pressure. Setting off an alarm can result in a deadly security measure coming into play though, so it's important to discover the areas where you can take cover or hide until the hovering laser drones have cleared the sector (by vaporising any intruders!)

Another neat element to the gameplay comes in the form of a having a companion with you for some of the time. At first it's your Uncle Pey'J, our lovable pig friend - in the world of Hillys, monkeys aren't the only animals to have evolved into a sapiens species and there are humanoid creatures evolved from walruses, cows, goats, sharks, cats and, of course, pigs. Don't forget to photograph these species for the Science Institute (including Homo Sapiens!) and Pey'J will even wave at the camera while you take his picture! Anyway, Pey'J helps you by jumping onto platforms that launch you into the air, or by executing his super attack, where he uses his jet boots to boost into the air and come crashing down, stunning enemies or launching them into the air so you can smack them flying, often into obstacles, crystals (which you can collect and use as currency) or other enemies. Boss encounters come along here and there, and while the enemies always look spectacular, they tend to be relatively easy to defeat - although don't be surprised if you do die once or twice before the end. And despite being easy, these bosses are both fun and satisfying to battle, feeling like an epic confrontation, even though learning their pattern and beating them is fairly simple.

Later on in the game, you come across one of the most hilarious game characters ever devised - Double H, the IRIS network's star operative. He speaks in an amusingly heroic tone and is constantly quoting pearls of wisdom from Carlson & Peeters, the operative handbook, which really does make you laugh. In fact, I'd say he's up there with Daxter as a funny and lovable game character. He's a bit confused when you first meet him, and he calls you Miss Iris for a while, as he's been tortured by the enemy, but suffice to say he'll help you out many times throughout your adventure and he has his own attacks and ways of penetrating barriers that neither you nor Pey'J can get through.

On top of the platform action, there are vehicle-based sections thrown into the mix - at first you're in a hovercraft, which speeds over land or water, shooting at big flying Domz when they attack, chasing looters through caves laden with traps and obstacles, or even competing in hovercraft races, and you can buy various upgrades at Mammago's to enhance your hovercraft's abilities, upgrading the weapons and putting in a jump function. Mammago's repair shop is run by a bunch of very chilled out Jamaican rhino sapiens, who are really amusing - just another example of the quirky and imaginative characterisation given to the many people you meet on your travels. Later on, you gain access to a flying craft, which also has to be upgraded to unlock new areas of the game. There are even a couple of mini-games - an air hockey style game and a find the ball under the cup game in the bar in town, making for a few minutes distraction from the main mission, each with their own monetary rewards for successfully winning.

When it comes to the presentation, BG&E is immaculate in every respect. The gorgeous, crisp visuals are beautifully rendered with a slight cartoon style that lends itself perfectly to the setting. Jade in particular is wonderfully animated with fluid, realistic movements that almost look like they were motion filmed, while all the other characters, from the wildlife to photograph and the enemies to the varied citizens of Hillys, look just as great, with a range of imaginative designs. The environments themselves are lovely to look at and they vary nicely as you progress, from natural locations like the Black Isle or just cruising across the lovely water effect around the islands of Hillys, to the more sinister industrial locations of the factory and the old slaughterhouse. The sound is just as superb - fitting usage of effects for every action and some of the best voice acting ever, with Jade, Pey'J and Double H stealing the show, yet supported by a very strong cast for both the IRIS network and the bad guys, as well as the Hillys citizens and newsreaders. The music soundtrack is absolutely superb, playing beautiful, atmospheric melodies in the quiet areas and fast-paced and thrilling tunes during scenes of action - there's even a reggae theme for Mammago's and a couple of very catchy tunes during the hovercraft races… the list goes on and the variety of the music is ever changing, yet always perfectly complementing the look and feel of each location.

The only thing that really stops this game from getting full marks is its relatively short lifespan - it will probably take you 10-12 hours if you want to find every secret, collect every pearl and photograph every animal, but if you skip these things and focus on the main story, you could do it in a lot less. Also, the level of challenge isn't high for platform veterans, yet this isn't such a bad thing, as the gameplay and story are just so engaging that you find yourself really wanting to see what happens next, plus the gentle difficulty curve makes more accessible to children.

Beyond Good & Evil is a gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio. If you are yet to sample its pleasures then you really should get hold of a copy right away, after which you can join the slowly growing BG&E fanbase, who were previously gutted to hear that no sequel would be forthcoming. However, with the success and notoriety gained by Rayman creator Michael Ancel and his development team after the superb job they did with the game of Peter Jackson's King Kong, the chance for a sequel (most likely on next generation consoles) might just be on the cards after all. Here's hoping!

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).