Development on Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been slow and steady, even without taking all the delays and reboots into account. However, the latest E3 showing indicates some kind of direction. The open world, planetary exploration is contrasted by the appearance of Beyond Good and Evil protagonist Jade, resulting in a lot more intrigue because of her villainous nature.

That being said, when can everyone play Beyond Good and Evil 2? The full release is still a ways off but at least a playable beta is planned for 2019 end. This is according to director Michel Ancel who replied on Instagram regarding the same. If you want to know more about Jade’s current role, check out the latest video from the developer below.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 did receive a bit of gameplay footage at Ubisoft’s E3 2018 presser but it’s still a fairly early work in progress. At this point, we know the game is in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Out of the blue, Ubisoft has announced a livestream on May 3rd for Beyond Good and Evil 2. You’ll probably remember the massive open world title being re-confirmed at last year’s E3. You probably won’t. Regardless, the livestream, titled the “Space Monkey Report”, will be taking place at 9 AM PDT/12 PM ET/5 PM UK time on Twitch and YouTube.

It will see the development team talking about their progress on the game. While we expected more information at E3 2018, perhaps this livestream will tell us about the beta. If you’ll recall, sign-ups for the beta went live shortly after the reveal at E3 2017. Since then, the Space Monkey Program has been updating fans with information  System 3, various vehicles to explore the planet and so on.

We do know that Beyond Good and Evil 2 takes place two centuries before the first game and allows players to create their own characters to traverse the universe, upgrading their ship and so on. The prequel is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

"The golden standard was already achieved – surely Ubisoft Montpelier wouldn’t go for a complete overhaul in terms of the art style rather than adding a few new costumes? "

The UbiArt Framework engine introduced in Rayman Origins helped create an expansive 2D sprite-like art-style that was both rambunctious and elegant, and gave the impression of the game being hand-drawn. The best part? Rayman Legends was 60 frames per second and 1080p resolution on all platforms. Considering the game was first developed on the Wii U and then delayed to make way for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, it’s a great sign of Ubisoft Montpelier promoting platform parity with the franchise.

This made the announcement of Rayman Legends for the PS4 and Xbox One somewhat strange. What could the next gen consoles possibly improve on? The golden standard was already achieved – surely Ubisoft Montpelier wouldn’t go for a complete overhaul in terms of the art style rather than adding a few new costumes? After a full analysis, the latter seemed ever more evident. Despite the promise of uncompressed textures and assets, Rayman Legends on the PS4 and Xbox One bear as much similarity to each other as they do to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

So no, you won’t notice any additional particle effects or improved lens flares or such, and the uncompressed textures look virtually identical to the compressed assets on the Xbox 360 and PS3. This further hammers the point home that some ports aren’t meant to be improvements on their predecessors – they’re just meant to spread the game to other platforms. Take the lack of AA – it would have been easy enough to apply post process AA to the same and smooth out the edges on characters.

"On both consoles, Rayman Legends loads instantaneously, and you’ll no longer have those interactive loading screens to distract you during the core gameplay."

But Ubisoft Montpelier didn’t. Not that it makes much of a difference to the art style. The character models and their environments are still as crisp and vibrant as before. Lava-filled environments cast an orange-ish glow across players, further immersing you in the action, just as minutely detailed running and jumping animations can be gleaned even in the most frantic of moments.

The current gen versions never suffered from frame rate issues, even on the Wii U, so it’s only a given that the Xbox One and PS4 versions would run just as fluidly. There’s no hint of slowdown or screen stuttering anywhere. Honestly, if there’s any benefit offered by the next gen technology, it’s the faster loading times. On both consoles, Rayman Legends loads instantaneously, and you’ll no longer have those interactive loading screens to distract you during the core gameplay. Again, neither console is better than the other in this department.

There’s not much more anyone can say about Rayman Legends on the Xbox One and PS4. One could nit-pick the somewhat half-hearted implementation of the DualShock 4’s Touch-pad, which does nothing to approach the brilliance offered by the Wii U’s Gamepad. But on the whole, if you’ve never played Rayman Legends on current gen machines and want to expand on your next-gen library, it’s as much as a worthy addition to a PS4/Xbox One owner’s library as ever.

Ubisoft Montpelier’s Raymand Legends will be heading to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this February and while the game has been synonymous for being delayed, Ubisoft has announced that the next-gen release has been pre-poned. Instead of launching on February 28th, it will be releasing on February 21st. It’s only by a week but anything that brings us closer is appreciated.

The next gen releases will benefit from improved visuals and faster loading, along with bonus costumes for both versions. The Xbox One version will include ten platform-exclusive challenges along with time-limited Achievements. The PlayStation 4 version on the other hand will feature touch-pad support and Remote Play on the PlayStation Vita. Sound good to you?

You can check out our review of the current gen version here, and whether you’ve played it or not, it’s an excellent addition to any gamer’s library. Stay tuned for more news and updates on the next gen versions when they arrive.

ZombieU, the launch Nintendo Wii U game, has been a bit inspired by Dark Souls, especially the online elements.

Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls have a unique multiplayer system where anyone can join the game and help or destroy the invaded player. It was somewhat unprecedented and never been done before.

“Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls inspired our online features and yes, it inspired us more in terms of making the challenge demanding. Difficult but fair. And at the end when you achieve the thing you say, ‘Whew!’” associate producer Nicolas Robin told EL33TOnline.

“This feeling in videogames that we used to have when we were young. In modern video games we have cool emotions also but we kind of miss sometimes the emotion of, ‘Okay, I tried many times, it was difficult, but I have a really good memory of that moment that I will tell to the other ones and share with the other ones’, and that’s really what we wanted to communicate with the game.

“We had this type of conversation around Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls with [lead content designer] Mounir [Radi]. And yes, basically that’s more where Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls inspired us is to make a fair challenge but a difficult one at the end of which the player will say, ‘Okay, you see the gas station, I shot the flare…’ We had a lot of conversations with the playtesters and lots of very memorable moments.”

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.