Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Black & White 2

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Review:

11th October 2005:
Black & White 2
The game that all PC owners have been anticipating due to its huge promises. It can't live up to them, can it? Read our review to find out why it does!
Posted by Chris Barnett - PC - UK and Europe

As ambitious as it was, the original Black & White failed to gain the critical and commercial acclaim that it originally promised. This was probably as it was just too ambitious for the time and user base into which it was released. So when Lionhead promised to correct any failures of the first game with a sequel, we were more than happy to hear them out. After all, Peter Molyneux and his team have given us the very soul of the 'god game' over the years.

From the very beginning of Black & White 2 it is apparent that you are experiencing something special; there are no clunky menus or unnecessary settings to speak of. Instead, the controls and introduction to them within the game world is done by intelligent tutorials. These are given by a comical pair of tutors; an angel and a devil. These characters give the good and evil possibilities of each situation and also add a much needed spark to the usual tutorial mode mentality. Instead of being bored and insulted, you feel part of a progressing relationship between good and evil. The pair even liken to you should you choose their side.

The tutorials actually take the form of real tasks within the game's story to give you a place in the action from the very start. To summarise, you are summoned by a Greek tribe on the eve of an Aztec invasion. Unfortunately, you are too late and the tribe is already doomed - you struggle to save a few villagers by dropping them into a salvation portal. From then on they are a pseudo 'Adam and Eve' for your potential race.

As you begin there are only a few buildings available: a storehouse and some villas to name but two. These are perfectly suited to the size and nature of your tribe. But as you build and the tribe progresses there is demand for greater buildings such as armouries and temples. To earn these greater buildings you must gain 'tribute' from your people by simply keeping them impressed by your leadership. This can be done in many ways, but in its simplest form it simply involves helping them build and giving them what they want at a time when they ask for it.

The whole nature of gaining this tribute is quite simple, especially due to the game's interface. As in the first game, all you have to control the things in the world is a hand. This is essentially all you need for the game to be played as a two button mouse with a scroll wheel allows every action to be performed. The left button is the 'pick up' or action button, the right is the movement button (to allow 'grabbing' of the ground and 'pulling' your view in return) and the scroll wheel acts as a pivot button when pressed or a zoom control when scrolled. The zoom is particularly impressive as you can plausibly zoom from a complete view of an island to the insects in a field in a matter of seconds; without any annoying 'blurring' or 'pop up' gimmicks either. Using these simple controls it is possible to pick up trees, grain, villagers, rocks and everything else that you see and move or throw them where you like. The very things that you pick up can change a great deal of things; to assign a role to a villager, simply drop them next to the area you want them to work in - a drop next to ore creates an ore gatherer, next to a tree creates a forester and next to a member of the opposite sex creates a breeder. This works very well in practice, with the only problem being in the breeder creation; it is difficult to see which sex you have picked up or are dropping next to at most zoom levels. This is overcome by holding the hand still and allowing the information box to pop up, which offers the role and mood as well as the name and age of the person being held!

This idea of holding still for information is a very important part of the game's success. At any time in the game, a simple 'hold' of the hand over an object or building will give you all the information that you could ever want about it. For example:

A hold over the village centre will tell you what your villagers want, how they regard you and what buildings they would like to see next.

A hold over an armoury will give the possibility to create an army of varying size and detail existing armies.

A hold over any building that is currently being built will show the progress and required materials. This allows you to decide who to assign to its construction or what to help with yourself.

A hold over your creature tells you virtually everything about it�

The mention of a creature above is not an accidental complication to this review; we have saved it until now as it could be so easy to dismiss the game as a 'virtual war pet' simulator from looking at screenshots and reading product descriptions. This would be very wrong as the creature is more than that.

In the first game, the control and demand for the creature was imbalanced to say the least; there was just too much that the creature did that could not be predicted, and when you thought that it could be controlled, a clunky 'leash' dynamic (that required a symbol to be traced with the mouse) was needed. That has all been corrected in the new game; the creature is less an equal to you and more of an errand boy.

At the start of the game you can choose from four creatures (ape, lion, wolf or cow) - all in their 'baby' form. As soon as you choose one, it becomes yours to groom and nurture. The tutorial seamlessly integrates the creature into it, allowing you to understand how to control and nurture the beast. The leash is still used to move the creature, but now is implemented by simply clicking on the creature and then on an object or location. This allows focus to be specified and tasks to be forced on the creature, especially when a specific leash is used. By selecting a simple menu from the bottom left of the screen (or using an 'F' key shortcut) it is easy to specify a role for the creature; a gatherer or a fighter are two possible choices. This allows you to use the creature in a way useful to your situation. If your villagers are demanding food but you are too busy building at the other side of the island, you can leash the creature to a grain field with the 'gather' leash and sit smugly as it feeds your storehouse with nutritious grain. This also makes the creature popular with the villagers; a minor celebrity if you will. This can be played on by assigning an entertainer role too, not too practical in battles though! Either way, boosting the morale of your people by playing with kids and old people does more for your creatures long term career than punching a rival creature in the face.

The combat between creatures and armies is quite spectacular, whilst not being at the same level of complexity as dedicated real-time-strategy games. Assigning and training soldiers is done in advance, usually to acquire neighbouring villages by force. So when a battle is truly required, you should at least have a leg to stand on. The veteran nature of troops is taken into account in the same way as in the classic Cannon Fodder war games of yesteryear. This really rewards conservative battling, although the conflicts are usually a paper, rock, and scissors situation - the best force winning on level grounding. But when creatures, miracles and your intervention take hold, anything can happen.

The miracles allowed depend on the faith of your people as they must worship you at temples in order to provide you with mana (yes, that is definitely a homage to Molyneux's Magic Carpet). This mana can then be used to cast and research new spells; from rain storms to fireballs and volcanoes capable of ruining an entire village in the sprinkling of a lava flow.

As you progress thorough the game (a very lengthy procedure that never descends into anything other than fascinating) everything gets bigger: the creature, the range of buildings and spells and the actual sizes of both friendly and rival armies. This is truly a rewarding experience as you feel as if you really have created an entire civilization complete with a creature guardian. There is no bluffing in this game; everything you see is what you have made it. If you fall in battle it is your fault. There is no way to describe the feeling when you witness your creature in a fist fight with a rival creature and hundreds of opposing soldiers at their feet. In one situation our creature was losing really badly, but just at the brink of death he remembered a fireball spell we had taught him the day before (we forgot that we had taught him actually) and used it to his advantage, killing the rival in a few follow-up blows. Very good boy!

To put it quite simply; this is really a milestone in strategy gaming. It is not a war game or a resource management game either - it is a Black & White game, unique in its balance of modes and features. The only down point is that it is too complex for younger gamers, although with the assistance of an adult they could enjoy stroking or playing with the creature as they would a Nintendog. Some older PCs may need to lower details somewhat, but even on the minimum specifications we enjoyed zooming in and out without any lag at all!

This is a legend and Peter Molyneux should be proud that he is so bold to realise his visions so well this time around, as should EA for allowing him to do so with the publicity he deserves!

Chris Barnett

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Review Summary:

The most varied and original game that we have played in a long time, yet it still remains as accessible as a game with a quarter of its ambition. If you own a PC with a mouse then you should own this. The only down point is that it is DVD only, so get that DVD drive installed not if you haven't already!

Related Games:

Black & White 2
for PC

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