When is a game not a game? When it’s Black & White - at least at the beginning of play. The game is a bit free flowing which is difficult for those used to linear (or almost linear) games.
For the most part you spend most of the first few hours of play stumbling around trying to figure out what to do. Sticking with it can be rewarding but it requires patience and time. A pick-up game or one with near instant gratification, this isn’t.
Lionhead has produced, on the right machine (I used an eMac 700mhz with 340 MB RAM.), a stunning game that is a wonder to look at. Non-gamers walking behind you will just stop and stare at the stunning vistas on the screen before them.
The detail is this game is absolutely amazing graphically - it's a triumph. After initial problems with stability, I found Black & White to be very stable and able to tick along nicely. There were no places where the game stumbled or twitched. The cut-scenes flow nicely and they are relatively well synced.
The trouble with this game is the game play. Many people would argue that there really isn't any to speak of, especially when you first start the game. One of the challenges is quite literally learning how to throw a stone at a stone tower.
Alas, because of the game's dynamics this is a lot harder than it should be. The interface and controls on this game take quite a while to get used to and can be bloody frustrating at times. There are quite a few places where one needs to do something intricate and the hand that you play can be hard to manipulate. The fact that the second button on the mouse refused to work with this game did not help either.
The basic gist is that you play a god who controls an island and may "do with it what thou whilst." You may be good, evil or neutral. Everything you do affects everything in the game. It is a wonderful concept that looks good on paper but just does not quite work as a game in practice. Town and building management can be rather tedious and only those who cherish micro-management will enjoy it.
Documentation on Black & White is frankly appalling, the designers expect you to explore to find out all you need to know. This does not work very well, and the signposts that dot the landscape and are suppose to be of aid, aren't really.
There are scrolls as well that set your quests and give you goals. They work to a certain extent but the game could use more of them. One of the major problems with the game is that it's not rewarding enough for most gamers. It is entirely possible to set up your first town in such a way that you don't actually need to do a damn thing.
Article comments
1 - Jim S
I found it to be a great idea with a whole lot of potential.
The concept was fun, the creature was cool. The scripting and user interface (lack thereof?) and controls killed it for me, though. If you lasted 6 or 7 hours, you beat me by over 3... the controls were so bad that I couldn't even stick with it.
I'd love to see a sequel with some decent control or at least some options as to how it's controlled (keyboard commands, anyone??)
2 - InMarin
I couldn't disagree more. This game is fascinating both in concept and gameplay.
The idea was to create an interface with no on-screen controls. That hand you control is actually amazingly powerful - especially on a PC; right-click performs many tasks that are essential.
I think you've missed the point here. Level 1 is supposed to be spent training your "pet" to perform tasks, like gathering resources, performing miracles that will be used later to impress other villages, etc.
I've played this game for hours and hours and can't wait for B&W2.
You've found one.