Heaven and Hell Hands-On

There's a saying - "We define ourselves by the choices that we make." (And if there isn't, there should be! - Six) Yep, throughout our lives we are all faced with tough decisions that shape our individual futures. But, what if those decisions are on a grander scale, and vastly populated worlds would depend on every decision we make, no matter how minute? Acting as a powerful deity is not an easy task. So, if you ever get a chance to play God, which side would you prefer - good or bad? That's basically the choice that comes before you in CDV Entertainment's latest RTS-flavored title, Heaven and Hell. It's not a classic RTS mind you; the game doesn't involve the usual routine (building up your town, amassing troops, and engaging in battles). Heaven and Hell is more of a God-sim that let's you look after each end every citizen, ensuring their faith and well-being. (Conceptually, it sounds awfully like Peter Molyneux's Black & White. - 2Lions) Things may appear easy at first, but as the game progresses, there will be a variety of challenges coming your way. In any case, we were lucky enough to check out a press preview version of the game, and we're glad to report that this strategy might have something for all players.

The main thing about Heaven and Hell is its uncommon simplicity, which can be observed from the very beginning. For example, even the story itself is straightforward and to the point. You came down to Earth as a Redeemer and it is your respectable duty to maintain the level of belief throughout the land. You must use all of your powers and a strong faith in order to win over people and make them believe in you. But converting non-believers is usually slowed down by efforts of your eternal foe, so you're obliged to employ all of your powers frequently. Be cautious though, for the essence of your power can only be exercised to a certain extent and if you tend to overuse them you won't be able to experiment other more devastating abilities.

Before you go down to Earth, you can make a choice between good and evil campaigns. There are several ways for your deity to spread its influence through the populace. Still, even divinities have certain requirements before they can spread the hand of faith. In other words, almost any action denotes certain costs. Of course, as God you won't have to bother with futile currencies or natural resources. Rather, the extent of your powers depends on the amount of mana, which is shown at the bottom of the screen. Quite simply, your mana will grow if people believe in you. Although, if you wait too long for your mana to accumulate, your foe is sure to seize the opportunity and start convincing the populace to change their devotion.

Both good and evil sides feature six default supernatural powers that can be used to encourage local believers, or to sway any non-believers to the one true faith. Both good and evil Gods may cast lighting, cause earthquakes, and even lift up villagers one by one - which is incidentally an efficient, but very expensive way of restoring the overall confidence of your civilization. Lighting can be cast anywhere on screen and is a good way to scare the pants off some of the inhabitants. But, some of these "divine messages" differ in accordance with the side you chose. If you're on the evil side, you'll be able to use a range of different God-like powers such as "flowers of death" - by holding down the left mouse button you can spread elements of decay and desolation across the landscape (naturally, the good side will plant colorful flowers all over the place... phooey!). Another one of my personal favorites is the "plague of beetles," which no doubt speaks for itself. If you succeed in persuading the people to join your cause, they will start upgrading the town buildings in your honor, ensuring further progress and prosperity of the entire population.

The gameplay mechanics of Heaven and Hell are rather straightforward. This can be attributed to a number of things; mainly to the intuitive interface and a clear-cut set of commands. Thanks to this simple system of control, things like preaching and summoning will be a cinch. Additionally, there are certain units that can be managed in the standard point&click RTS manner (i.e. prophets and warriors), which is commendable when you wish to act quickly in order to gain the upper hand. Undoubtedly, such aspects help perpetuate the fluentness of gameplay and will surely attract RTS fans.

During the course of the game players won't be able to control the citizens directly; they are left to lead their own lives... more or less. Thankfully, as I have mentioned, some units, like the warrior and prophet, are controllable and may therefore make your efforts a lot easier. Warrior units have the ability to recruit other warriors and suck the life energy out of the villagers. Warriors may also be ordered to perform a direct attack on a certain villager or any opposing warrior, which sometimes comes as a mighty useful protection. In order to encourage believers, good warriors will use "heavenly choirs," while bad warriors possess the so-called "heavy metal" skill. Both of these skills are used to influence people in the nearby area.

The most important unit in the game is called the prophet. Some people will treat them with hate, while others will see them as divine guardians that were put on Earth for a purpose. Logically, most Earth dwellers are more or less indifferent to prophets, which is where the prophet's nifty skills will jump in. Good prophets can impress the citizens by casting rainbows and summoning divine angles. Evil prophets, on the other had, have the ability to summon fire demons or swarms of locusts and let them loose upon the unfortunate inhabitants. Whether you control righteous and noble prophets or malevolent evil-spreading soothsayers, the game will be a great challenge all the way. Inspired by your wisdom and divinity, the citizens will start following the ways of your religion, slowly improving their lives and overall happiness.

Heaven and Hell doesn't have any out of the ordinary graphics. The environments are a bit static, but they feature a variety of cute details scattered all over the landscape. Also, all of the cute little characters that appear on screen are polygonal and beautifully animated, which creates a rather cheerful atmosphere during the game. Another nice touch is the day and night settings - it looks cool, plus it influences the powers of both good and evil deities. Overall, the visuals seem to be just enough for a game of this type. Fundamentally, the game has somewhat of a humorous approach when it comes to design and artwork. Even the sounds are amusing; like when you hear the funny voice of the prophets that begin to preach the day away.

Even though it may seem too simplistic at times, Heaven and Hell holds your attention for some time, and can be a challenge to any gamer. When the game hits the shelves some time this fall (or early summer), it could shape up to be a perfect time-killer before we finally get our hands on Black & White 2.