Old vs. New: Beyond Good & Evil vs. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

by mento

Well. Never let it be said that I'm anything but predictable. Yet another Old vs New, yet another obvious comparison. But then the reason I do these is to see how far game design has gone in the passage of a few decades - or just seven years in this week's case. And what a case this is!(?) On the Old side, we have the not-really-that-old-at-all 2003 Ubisoft classic Beyond Good & Evil, recently rereleased in high definition for XBLA (go get it!). On the New, we have last year's perhaps overlooked, perhaps overrated Andy Serkis-fronted Ninja Theory/ Namco Bandai joint Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Once again, this article came about entirely from completing the latter and reminiscing the former after the aforementioned HD version's Quick Look.

Setting

While there are some major differences into the why as far as the look of both worlds go (Enslaved's is an overgrown post-apocalyptic mess, BGE's is a besieged alien planet), their actual appearance is still very similar. There's plenty of bright colors and interesting wildlife, neatly contrasted with the dire straits both worlds are in from the perspective of the humans (or human animals). The buildings in the cities are half-gutted from calamity, whereas Jade's lighthouse and Trip's village have that kind of lived-in feel of a group of survivors and outcasts, with drawings on the walls and fixtures hastily repaired with whatever was at hand.

Characters

Each game has a trio of protagonists, with your playable character being assisted (and assisting in turn) at various points by the other two. Despite the actual playable character, both sets are as follows:

The Guy - A sort of loutish but good-natured heavy that can and will take any punishment to protect the others. While Monkey isn't quite the goody-goody hero, having been basically coerced into helping with a slave headband, he develops into something more noble as his arc progresses. Double H is far more gallant from the get-go, though one wonders if he hasn't hit his head once too often.
The Girl - The heroine is a very resourceful tech expert who is the main driving force of the central story's mission. Trip stumbles into "damsel in distress" territory when events become too much for her, but is as generally fearless and determined as her male compatriots when riled up enough. Jade's just a complete badass in petite stick-wielding form, unwilling to submit to the invading DomZ forces.
The Pig - A likeable but kind of gross porcine joker, with an array of handy gadgets, who is as loyal a friend as they come. Both Pey'j and Pigsy are present for less than half of their respective games' running time, yet both definitely make an impression while they're around. I daresay they're the best thing in either.

Combat

In both games, combat is performed with a bo staff, beloved of purple-costumed turtles everywhere. Though an unusual weapon in video games (where most protagonists tend to favor guns or swords), it makes sense given the context: Jade is a largely pacifistic martial artist, with a staff being an ideal defensive weapon. Monkey's staff is, of course, based on his mythical namesake's magical Ruyi Jingu Bang staff, complete with its ability to grow and shrink when needed. As such, the combat flows in a very martial arts-esque manner, with characters swinging their staffs in arcs and coupling them with their natural acrobat athleticism for dodges and feints. It's a combat style that lends itself well to dealing with crowds, which is ideal for these sorts of character action games where you're often beset on all sides.

Vehicles

In certain sequences, both games will allow you to ride a vehicle to cover larger distances, or in an occasional genre-shifting timed race to break up the platforming. In Monkey's case, he has his "cloud" - yet another contrivance based on the legend the game draws from. Jade has her small hovercraft, which can be frequently upgraded to expand the territory it can travel, Metroid-style. Oddly, both work best over water, though can also be used on land just as capably.

Other Gameplay Elements

Use of Stealth - Often desirable, since open combat isn't always as survivable as you might want. Usually, by sneaking to a vantage point, you can remove all the dangerous enemies without them ever knowing you were there. Of course, you can simply muscle your way through too, if you don't mind taking a few hits. Neither game is so difficult that a Gordian knot solution cannot be employed if taking the stealth route is too much of a hassle (unlike, say, with the Riddick games).
Companion Puzzles - A feature that persists from the halcyon days of Lost Vikings, where you need your companions to progress further, is the companion puzzle: Where you need to figure out how to get to point B and also how to get your friend to point B. This feature works best when A) Your companion can take care of themselves, or at least hide and B) They can help you out as well - otherwise it just feels like a dreaded Escort Mission. Fortunately, both rules apply to both of these games.
Spherical Collectibles - Okay, I'm reaching here. All character action platformers have spherical collectibles. I loooove them orbs.

The Ending

Obviously I won't go into detail here to avoid spoilers, but the conclusion to both games are notable for their abruptness. I hesitate to even include this paragraph in case people get offended, but it's a narrative feature most games don't use (they either have obvious cliffhanger sequel hooks or, well, an actual ending) so it's notable that these two games both take the "Well, that's it, that's all we got. Enjoy the credits!" route. Apologies if I just ruined everything forever.

Honestly guys, next week I'll bust out something that isn't an Old vs New. I can do other things!