Rumors of HD remakes of Ubisoft classics have been circulating for a while now. Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell are the most-suggested titles. But today Gamasutra revealed that cult classic Beyond Good & Evil will be making its way to the HD consoles sometime next year.
The new version of the game will be released via Xbox LIVE Arcade and PSN. It will feature 1080p visuals, enhanced character models, improved textures and a remastered soundtrack. Given that the game was already pretty slick with its presentation, featuring a timeless “stylized” look and wonderful music, all this is excellent news.
For the uninitiated, Beyond Good & Evil is described by many as “adult Zelda”. Featuring a realistically-proportioned, likeable female protagonist named Jade, players set out to investigate an alien invasion. The game features standard Zelda-style exploration and combat. But since Jade is a reporter, not a fighter, there’s also a considerable proportion of the game that involves the use of her camera. This action ranges from photographing rare wildlife as a means of making money to taking photographs of evidence for her news stories. There’s also a wide range of minigames throughout the course of the story, including an air hockey-like game, racing, aerial combat and much more. It’s an excellent game with a great story, memorable characters and top-notch gameplay.
The new edition will also, of course, support Achievements, Trophies and online leaderboards. Presumably the leaderboards will allow friends to compete against each others’ best times in the game’s various race and action sequences. Or perhaps to challenge each others’ photography skills.
The re-release of this game is fantastic news. Beyond Good & Evil has been consistently critically acclaimed ever since its original release. But it also enjoyed relatively limited commercial success, perhaps due to it being a new franchise with an unfamiliar protagonist. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, though, and the game quickly became an underground hit. Since its original release, the PC version has enjoyed re-releases via both Steam and Good Old Games. And many new players have come to experience the game’s excellence. It’s great that a new generation of console players will be able to enjoy it, and now in HD too. The trend for HD remakes of classic games continues.
Ubisoft haven’t yet confirmed any details on the re-release. We’ve reached out to them for any further details they might be able to provide; watch this space for more information as we get it.
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