Beyond Good & Evil HD Updated Hands-On

Ubisoft showed off an updated version of the forthcoming HD update of Beyond Good & Evil for Xbox Live Arcade at Microsoft's CES press event. The game is now officially part of Microsoft's House Party event on Xbox Live, which kicks off in February. With the game's release tantalizingly close, Ubisoft showed off the latest work-in-progress version of the game, which featured three short segments to play. As longtime fans, we put the game through its paces and are happy to say it just keeps looking better.

The last time we played Beyond Good & Evil HD, the game had just been announced and was being shown for the first time. The playable version we tried at the time looked promising and hinted at the potential of its HD makeover. The latest version we played at Microsoft's press event made it clear that a lot of progress has been made on the game. The cave, hovercraft, and stealth sequences we played were comfortably familiar and looked fantastic. We're especially pleased to hear that the game's achievements will be geared toward encouraging players to explore the rich world and snap pictures of all the wildlife. While earning that achievement may not be for everyone, we have to say that those who haven't played the game need to spend some time off the beaten path and do some exploring when they get it. Exploration is often rewarded due to the fact that the world of Hillys is dense with content in all sorts of places.

There's not much left to say about the upcoming game other than that it looks great and that anyone who missed the game when it came out should snap it up when it's released. We reckon many folks will be surprised at how forward thinking the game's story is and how clever the gameplay can be. Beyond Good & Evil HD is slated for release between February and March during Microsoft's Xbox Live House Party.