Black & White 2

The original Black & White gained huge attention as one of the best ‘god’ games of 2004, so it was with great enthusiasm that we received its successor, Black & White 2.

The game follows the same basic formula as the original players assume the role of a deity who must create a world and win the hearts and minds of its inhabitants.

The original Black & White was very open-ended, a trait that was loved and hated in equal measure by its audience. This outing, for better or worse, is far more structured.Players start the game by taking control of the Greeks in a world that is also inhabited by the Norsemen, the Japanese and the Aztecs – each of which have rival gods.

During the early action, the Aztecs destroy the Greek capital, but not before you manage to teleport a handful of survivors to a safe haven to start a new civilisation.As their god, you’ll need to pander to their needs, construct complex cities and amass an army to fend off potential invaders and raid foreign lands.

Gaining the support of your followers can be done in two ways. You can either adopt a good personality, treating them well, or you can start a reign of terror – literally tossing innocent bystanders onto sacrificial fires.

At every step of the way you’ll get the help and advice of comedy duo, an angel and a devil, who provide tips on how to deal with particular situations.The key to success in Black & White 2 is building a thriving city. The mechanics of this are fairly simple. You can assign villagers to certain roles (farming, forestry, breeding and worshipping) and just let them get on with things.

If your city is lacking in a particular area they’ll let you know and you can take appropriate action.Ultimately you’ll need to acquire a large enough army to fend off attacks from rival gods. This can be done by building an attractive city that villagers from other lands will want to join, or you can conquer those lands using force.

The former option can become very tedious. Each new section of the game involves creating new cities, and you can often feel like more of a local mayor than an all-conquering deity.

The combat elements of the game are far more enjoyable. You can use your godly abilities to hurl fireballs at the enemy, or use your creature – an animal avatar – to inflict huge damage.This creature (you can choose between a cow, lion, ape or wolf) acts much like a pet.

You can discipline it by petting it or by slapping it, and over time it forms a unique personality and physical appearance. If you treat it well it’ll look friendly, but if you abuse it, it’ll look mean and act accordingly.

Unlike the original game, Black & White 2 lets you see exactly what your creature is thinking. This means you can intervene before it picks up bad habits (such as killing your citizens), but it diminishes the enjoyment of watching it learn and grow on its own.

Despite some flaws, Black & White 2 is better than its predecessor. We would like to have seen a few more features that help promote a feeling of power, and a little less repetition in the city-building process, but these are minor gripes.

Though this shares a lot of traits with other ‘god’ games, it incorporates several unique elements that should appeal to most gamers.

System requirements:
1.6GHz processor
512MB of Ram
Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP
64MB video card with 1.1 pixel shader

See also:

Football Manager 2006

Tinker with tactics and bawl out your players  01 Dec 2005

Singles: Triple Trouble

Try your hand at virtual matchmaking  27 Sep 2005

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