| Well after a year of college I can confidently report a reason why my roommates and I did not have GPA’s to our full potential. The main reason is Counter-Strike, and now that I have departed with my T3 connection I bid adieu to my all friends in the [B-Side] and [A-factor] clans. [Heath] still owns all of you like socks. (Reminiscing Ends Here) I have begun some single player gaming of titles I’ve missed earlier in hopes to catch up during the dreaded Summer Lull.The first game on my list is the infamous Black and White from Lionhead Studios. Being a big fan of Populous in my early console gaming days on the Sega Genesis I thought I’d take another stab at being a god, not that I didn’t enjoy it the first time. The basic concept is that you are a god, and you gain power from your villager followers, and using this power, you crush the opposition through good or evil. The real fun is deciding whether you want to be a good god, or an evil god. You can cater to you villagers’ needs and perform miracles of food and wood to convert your enemies. If that doesn’t suit your taste, then be a complete jerk and gain followers by destroying their homes and setting fire to their children.
From the first time I ran the game I fell in love with the graphics. The huge 3d worlds were filled with lush polygonal forests, mountains, creatures, people and even livestock. Colors were vibrant and the 3d engine was nearly seamless. You can zoom in and out, and rotate the screen on both axes to give you every angle you’ll need. Some spells (known as “miracles” in Black and White) are truly beautiful, and most every detail is assessed. Another innovative concept fueling Black and White is its controls. Just about any object, animal or person can be interacted with. And with a simple click, hold, drag, and release you can toss an unsuspecting villager into the ocean. The controls are very simple to learn and easy to master. At its heart, Black and White plays like a RTS with insane micromanagement. Build up your followers and use the power you gain from them to convert more. Unfortunately, the micromanagement can be extremely annoying and tedious, and if the villagers don’t get what they want, they whine. Being an evil deity, I simply terrorized them. They shut up for a few moments, and then started whining for mercy instead of the usual pleas for food and houses. Pfft…who needs food and shelter anyway? That Maslow guy is full of crap. Now comes the coup de grace of the game: your creature. Being a deity, you are issued a creature of you’re choice to be your physical liaison in the material world. When you get the guy, he’s just a little fledgling with an empty mind to fill with dastardly awesome evil thoughts, or good fuzzy warm pink thoughts too, if that’s your thing. He’s basically like a tomagachi or a pokemon of sorts. You have to feed him and teach him certain useful actions. He even develops his own personality based on watching you and what you teach him. The AI of the creatures is astounding. I honestly thought my tiger was really watching me go about my business and learning. The creatures need a lot of attention. Whenever my tiger fell off the wagon and did some act of random kindness, I simply gave him a pimp smack and quelled his thoughts of do-gooding. Not only is your creature your ambassador of good or evil, he also battles enemy creatures. He can also cast miracles just like you, provided you teach him. With the right amount of tender love and pimp smacking, I can honestly say my tiger is a mountain-sized titan who eats villagers, sets fire to their children, and enjoys pooping on enemy town centers. The bottom line with Black and White is that despite its minor nuances of micromanagement, it still proves to be a sweet game. After you defeat the single player mode, test your meddle online and check out all the cool creature interactions with other creatures. This game is great, and will get you through the summer; and remember, once you go black, you never go back. Rating |