"Beyond Good & Evil," the new adventure from UbiSoft, sounds like it has all the ingredients for a great science fiction thriller. But I've never seen a serious game try so hard to keep players from taking it seriously.

Set on a distant world of Hillys, which is under periodic attack by mysterious aliens, the game features Jade, a freelance female photojournalist who is assigned to uncover the truth about both the invasion and the mysterious military force that claims to be defending the population.

The introduction unfolds at warp speed. Aliens fall out of the sky like renegade meteors. The local power company cuts off the electricity just as Jade is trying to activate a defense shield around her home. After Jade's friends fall into a hole created by one of the impacts, the aliens rise up from the crater, the friends encased in the bodies of the aliens.


Then the game puts a Dai-Jo stick in your hands and expects you to battle the baddies. As soon as you win that fight, Jade falls into the crater where she is captured by another alien. More combat ensues.


Nobody is going to accuse this game of getting off to a slow start.

Beyond Good & Evil is rated for teens due to the violence and comic mischief. The Xbox , Windows and PlayStation 2 versions are selling for $40. The GameCube edition, due for release Dec. 10, is $50.

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