Gameplay and graphics

Black and White 2 attempts to remedy this by allowing you to see your towering mammal’s thoughts and intentions as he has them. In a small thought bubble that appears above his head, you can look at him from time to time and see him think to himself, “I want to play with those rocks”, or “I want to throw that villager.”

Unfortunately, without having to figure out what the animal is about to do, the game loses a little of its challenge and there is no longer the sense of molding the animal over time to be either the destructive war machine or efficient grain harvester that you want. Instead he is trained relatively quickly and a lot of the challenge is gone. Additionally, he can have his overall behavior governed by a number of modes, such as soldier, gatherer, or builder.

These selections will push him towards particular behaviors. Combined, they have the effect as seeing the man behind the curtain in L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz, and demystify the learning process, showing a number of weaknesses that before would have gone unnoticed.


For example there were numerous occasions where my animal’s thought bubble would proclaim him “Happy” or would show that he was hungry, but then he would start vomiting. That’s right, I said vomiting. Like nearly every other Molyneux title (perhaps barring my personal favorite, Syndicate), the game is filled with a large dose of quirky humor – the kind that might have had you roaring in Jr. High School, but now leaves you with your head cocked and wondering if you should even chuckle. Any intention of being an omnipotent and dignified god will most likely go out the window when it occurs to you just how many times your creature has vomited or expressed an interest in “going poo” on a nearby building or villager. In addition, the game goes so far as to model the split-pea soup and chocolate soft-serve of the aftermath with its remarkable graphics engine.

Graphics

But moving beyond those specific images, the first game was also applauded for having slick graphics for its time, but the quality level in the sequel is particularly notable in light of how good it still looks stacked up against some of the other graphical heavy hitters of this year. The water in the game is some of the most realistic and beautiful I have yet seen, and the lighting effects and rivers of lava you conjure up are very satisfying. Your role as a god is given much of its believability through the powerful zoom which lets you focus right in on a single individual or peer down on an entire island nation, all with a flick of the mouse wheel. It has the effect of making your worshippers seem appropriately small and in need of your guiding power amongst the towering mountains that surround their villages.