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RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome)
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IN BRIEF
Pros: Intricate detail of landscape and villagers; complete 3-D movement; real-time control over every element in the world. Cons: So absorbing that you may find yourself trying to behave like a god in all aspects of your life. In a nutshell: The crown jewel of the god game genre that breaks the mold with original gameplay and spectacular graphics. Multiplayer: Yes (Internet/Network) *ESRB rating: Teen |
FACTS
Game Title: Black and White Platform: Windows 95/98/2000/ME Developer: Lionhead Studios Publisher: Electronic Arts Accessories supported: None Release Date: March 27, 2001 Price: $49.95 |
THE REVIEW by Nate Heasley for Gamers Today
I admit it; I'm a junkie for "god games." It began years ago with Populous, designed by Peter Molyneux, and I wasted the better part of my college years playing Sid Meier's Civilization. But when the hype engine started a few months ago about Peter Molyneux's newest game Black & White, I figured it had all been done and it would be a real snooze. I was wrong.
Black & White is the ultimate god game. You're not just surveying your creations from above; you are literally controlling the hand of a god. The purpose of the game is to acquire devotees by convincing villagers that you truly are a god. You do this by performing miracles like raining barrages of fire down upon them, or offering more positive divine intervention by helping the villagers build their homes and temples or giving them wood or food. You can also move the villagers around so they can complete their tasks and learn new ones. All action is real-time, so there is no need to wait your turn to make a move -- just grab a villager and set her to chopping wood. As you help the villagers, you inspire worship (the point of being a god, of course) and your influence grows. The more powerful you become, the easier it is to expand your kingdom.
Being a god is hard work, so it helps to have a minion. During the game, you acquire a creature that you train and control (reminds all the little people just how powerful you are). You have the choice of a cow, tiger, or ape, or a number of other creatures that you can download from the Internet. You train your creature to behave, and how you train it affects how the creature treats the people. As you continue to raise both your creature and your villagers, your creature evolves. The harsher you are, the more imposing and evil the creature becomes, and the villagers respond differently. You wouldn't think it, but when cows go bad it's about the scariest thing you've ever seen. Once a few villagers get eaten by your creature, though, they learn to stay away. "Spare the rod, spoil the child,"-- if you're not firm with your creature it'll be a pushover in battle.
Like most god games, you survey a 3-D world from above, with the ability to zoom in and watch individual worshippers (so close you can see their faces) or zoom out and look around the land. The graphic detail in the game is awesome. The little people you lord over are cartoonish, but wonderfully animated, and hundreds of them can be seen from above at the same time going about their meaningless little existence.
The sound effects are limited, but there is ample conversation from your two mentors -- one good and one evil (encouraging you to take on projects like rescuing villagers or building structures). The villagers speak, too. For some reason, though, everyone on this little island called Eden speaks with a really bad English or Irish accent -- and it's even worse when they sing. I've been to England and I can tell you, it's no Eden. There are a lot of evil cows though...
As the game evolves, your slightest whims transform the world around you -- it becomes reflection of your personality. A sort of animated, interactive Rorschach test. I don't know if it helps your psyche to work out your aggression on villagers, but at less than $50, it's certainly the cheapest and most entertaining form of therapy.
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
