Black & White Review

I've given Black and White some time, and as it turns out it was the right thing to do. You know, with all the hype surrounding the project, I'm the sort of person to develop a negative attitude towards it (that's just a way I am) simply because it has been ballyhooed so much in both the online and printed media. And although I respect Peter Molyneux's work, I became skeptical over time because of the seemingly endless development cycle. It just seemed to me that Black and White won't be addictive enough, if for no other reason then because I felt I knew so much about it already from the countless previews and special features.

As it turns out, most of my presumptions were unfounded, but there were some other issues that have arisen from playing the game, which I couldn't have guessed by simply reading about it. I recall Peter talking about Black and White at last year's E3, and I remember being blown away by the hand of God (the entire game interface is built around that hand, but more about that later) and how easy it seemed to manipulate and control the world in the game. Peter was oh' so proud of his revolutionary interface and the possibilities it provided for the players - just imagine: an entire game ran by a single hand of God.

Being of a semi-analytical nature, I immediately assumed that Peter was leaning heavy on the Sims mass market and the parents playing the game with their kids sort of an experience. This certainly seemed to be the case, given that the game has gotten some coverage in major media powerhouses in the United States (CNN and the likes). And you know that a game is going to sell well when that is the case.

Well, the irony of it is that Peter probably really did try to make a game which would appeal to a wide variety of gamers, including the casual lot, but the sheer scope of the project and its complexity have led me to believe that Black and White produced an opposite effect. Don't get me wrong, the game is probably going to sell well, but after spending so much time on it, I'm pretty sure that the working dad / mom gamers won't get into this one as much as Peter wanted them to. I don't consider myself a mentally challenged individual, but it took me quite some time to get the hang of things in B&W. Especially since I hate reading manuals. And please note that I had some previous knowledge of what the game is about. Black and White is a title for hardcore simulation god-game nuts, which don't mind losing themselves in the parallel universe - courtesy of Peter Molyneux. Getting into Black and White takes time and patience, and that is not something that casual gamers are readily willing to sacrifice. Moreover, you can easily double the amount of time and patience needed if you consider the now famous Creature, which is your virtual Tamagotchi sidekick that helps you rule the world and strike fear or help the little citizens. Ugh, but I'm getting ahead of myself really. Let's start from the beginning, so to speak...

What is Black and White?

Simply put, Black and White is mostly what Peter Molyneux said it would be -- a magnum opus. It is the culmination of his previous experience as a game developer together with a number of new ideas that took years and years to conceive and develop. You play God. A God who has taken part in a struggle to win the affection (obedience) of people who do not understand the concepts of good and evil yet. And you train a giant creature that gains strength in time and helps you rule over this population of mortal believers. Three of the most important concepts in this game are: good, evil, and faith. It's the foundation of Black and White, and of any good (as in quality) god game sim today. Of course, many of you remember Populous. Some of its concepts have found their way in Black and White, but B&W is as I said, a magnum opus and it encompasses all of Peter's previous ideas and adds so much more to the genre. Although it is still an important gameplay factor, impressing the citizens or terrifying them with natural disasters is not what Black and White is primarily about.

The game is about morally ambivalent choices, and it is one of the first simulation / management / strategy games to incorporate a solid story line which gradually unfolds as you come to grips with your Godly powers. On top of that, you have the Sims / Tamagotchi aspect which has really been lifted to a higher level with the addition of an intelligent virtual pet that fights and bleeds for you and shares your victories and loses. Then we have a touch of role-playing with "Creature progression" and the addition of new spells, as well as the fact that your Creature can learn new actions and spells over time. And all the while, the designers have presented you with numerous moral dilemmas, which even chisel your psychological profile to a certain degree and physically transform the game world according to it.

These are the elements that differentiate and elevate Black and White from Peter's previous projects like Populous.

In praxis, Black and White looks like this: You're a God. You rule over your citizens by using the hand of God. Hand of God is just this hand that you move with your mouse, and it is basically all you'll ever need to use in order to wield your godly powers. You throw citizens with it, scroll across the terrain (well drag really) you move giant stones, cast spells, and even walk your Creature on a leash with it. The whole concept is rather revolutionary, so it naturally takes some time to get used to it. At first, I though that there were too many things I needed to learn in order to become proficient at this God business, but as the game progressed I gradually started to realize that this is the most intuitive game interface I've ever come across. You know how you cast spells? You make different simple shapes with your mouse. An "S" for the Food Miracle, a spiral to summon a miracle, and so on... Simply incredible -- hats off to the Lionhead programming team for making such an elaborate idea a reality.

You control The Creature with a leash - the only other element of the interface, which you'll frequently use to rule the world. The leash controls the Creature's temper and behavior and it is used to force your virtual pet to concentrate and learn from your actions (i.e. learn how to cast spells, create human disciples, etc.).