Is there a better game? Black and White 2? (Black and White (PC))

Member Name: tybalt

Product:	Black and White (PC)
Date:	16/05/01 (253 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fun, fast, action

Disadvantages: mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmmm

Since I bought this game I have played it for about 24 hours (I got it a week ago, and I am hard pressed for time). I couldn't really say that I wanted to buy (I actually won it on ukgames.com), but I am glad I chose it as the one I wanted. I don't usually get 'god games', but this game had been so hyped that I thought I may as well see what it was all about.

Since then I haven't regretted the decision of buying it, this is one of the best games so far of the year on PC. Definitely one, which changed what I think of 'god games' (also known as Real Time Strategy). I didn't understand what all of the fuss was about. You could just say that I found them BORING.

This game you will either LOVE it or HATE it. I love it, now I have played it for a while. One thing it definitely isn't is boring. It still has the things that you expect from Real Time Strategy games. The fact that you need to build buildings isn't to me one of this games strongest points. Although it isn't really an out-and-out Real Time Strategy game, it's more of a mixture of game all rolled into one. There's the management type of game, in that you need to teach and help your creature. The battling with other 'gods'.

One other thing that I love about this game is the worship music. Made when your followers worship you. Maybe I'm just a little weird, but I really like it. You can hear in Land 2, after your followers have created the worship site.

Well that's just what I think of the game, now what can you do in the game and what makes it special and different from all other's.

One thing that makes this game totally different from all other 'god games' is the way you move around. No more is there that move the mouse to the edge of the screen to move in that direction. I found this very difficult to control, found in games like Command & Conquer (the one which made me hate 'Real Tim
e Strategy' I found it boring). Now in Black & White, you can move around 360' in any direction, you even have control of the pitch of the camera, and how close it is the ground (zoom). This is very easy to get the hang of using.

When you start a game of Black & White, you are not taken to a main menu screen, you are taken straight into setting up a new game. I found this a little strange, but when I thought about it, I found it a very smart idea. None of the endless menus like in some games, just put in your details and off you go into your game. Once you are into the game, you are given a short tutorial about how you can control the game, and introduced to your two consciences; good and evil. They pop up now and again during the game telling you certain ways in which you can do the tasks you are asked to do by your people. If you listen to what the good conscience tells you then your people will like you and be very thankful, if you listen to your evil conscience, you will be feared by all, and your people may get angry with you.

Well that's just the start of the game. Once that's over you are taken to your temple, and again told what it is and all. The temple is really the centre of your 'Empire' and where your people worship you. I will come back to this later, I first have to say about the creatures.

You are made to choose what creature you would like, you can choose between a Cow, Monkey, or Tiger. They all stand for different things, the cow for nobility, monkey for something, which I cannot remember, and tiger for speed. I choose the tiger. After you make this choice you have control of him (or maybe her). While this choice is considered permanent, you can change your creature if you find the creature breeder. You can only change creature then if you have unlocked the creatures later in the game, or by downloading a program to do this for you. You can then choose between Leopard, Mandrill, Gorilla, or Horse,
depending on which ones you have downloaded.

Well now back to the temple. This is split up into rooms; Saved Game Room, Library, Future Room, Game Options Room, Creature Cave, and Challenge Room. Now I'll give you short description on each of these rooms:

Saved Game Room:
This is pretty self-explanatory; you can either save your game or load from a different point. It is useful, if you make a muck of something, you can go back in time to an earlier time you saved your game.

Library:
This holds all information that you have collected during your game, off signposts. I haven't ever used this room, but I may come in useful sometime later in the game if you forget how to do something.

Future Room:
This room is totally pointless! I have never had it tell me anything other than, 'The future is still uncertain'. This room must be there to use up space, because when you compare this room along with the genius creation of the rest of the game, it just brings the whole thing down. It must have been a mistake.

Game Options Room:
Just like it's titled, Game Options, you can change how often the game is saved and the detail and general things like that.

Creature Cave:
This is my favourite of all of the rooms. You can get all the information about your creature, like what miracles he can perform, and what he has learnt. The best bit about this room is the ability to tattoo your creature. You can tattoo symbols onto him, your own chosen symbol or just one that you like.

Challenge Room:
These are all of the challenges you have been given during your game. It reminds you of any, which you haven't completed, and also ones that you have.

Well I'm near finished rambling one here, just one more point to make, the Online Multiplayer game. This I don't think has really taken off yet, probably because the way it is played is that you battle your creature with oth
er people. Most people are going to wait until they have a high and mighty creature (me as well), so as not to be embarrassed.

This is one game I would strongly advise anyone who has not as yet bought this game to go do so, it's just as someone else said 'PURE GENIUS'. Just a little thing left to say, which is that this opinion shouldn't have taken me as long as it has to write, because I went into Black & White to get some information about the game, and got caught up in my game, and couldn't resist continuing my game.

I would consider this game a classic, one which everyone should own a copy of. If the exact same game was on PlayStation (I know the conversion is coming out, but I mean the way the games go platinum on PS), the this game I feel would already be platinum!

Tybalt!

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