Black & White

Developer: Lionhead
Publisher: EA
Release Date: Winter 2000

Believe the Hype

There aren't many games that could live up to the intensity of hype that Black and White has had over the last couple of years. The scope of the design is apparent - you've all seen movies where the camera pans back from a close up view of a worm, back to a view of that worm in an apple, then a shot of that apple on a table, the table in a meadow, the meadow in between two ranges of hills, and back and back…well…you get the idea. There's a lot of detail in this game, and very few limits. But what is it all about? We got our first look at Black and White ever at this year's E3.

Smashy smashy?

Epic battles

The premise of Black and White is that you are a god over a land called Eden. Eden is filled with villages and villagers - the goal is to get the entire world to worship you. In order to accomplish that goal, you have spells to cast, a hand of god to manipulate the world, and you're given a physical manifestation in the world, a giant animal. There are several animals to choose from, ranging from rabbits, to tigers, to turtles, to cows, to apes, and more. Your character starts off as a young animal and it will grow and evolve based on the types of decisions you make.

Bloody

Baby lion?

It's good to be the king

Dozens of quests, tasks and puzzles will present themselves to you as you go along. How you solve them is completely up to you and depending on whether your not your actions are good or evil, your animal will change in appearance. Act like a ruthless, demonic deity and your cute little monkey will turn more and more into something sinister. The lands that you control will also get a more nasty, brooding look to them. Take the just, merciful stance on issues, and your avatar will look more angelic, and happy looking, and sunny, green environments will dominate your lands. There's no right or wrong way to play the game. The choice of good or evil is not going to affect your score, because you can just as easily get people to worship you out of fear as you can out of respect, reverence, and gratefulness.

Throwing something

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