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E3: Black White 2 Peek Makes Me Want To Play God (again)

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Please take our . E3: Black & White 2 peek makes me want to play god (again) Posted May 20, 2005, 8:56 AM ET by Ben Zackheim Related entries:

A lot of us have been looking forward to for a long time. The original was a love-it-or-hate-it affair. Lovers loved the open-endedness and sandbox feeling. Haters hated the open-endedness and sandbox feeling. Around 2 years ago, a truce was drafted between the two camps. Its held since. Black & White 2 looks to be an improvement in every way, so the peace may last. Yes, it looks better. It probably sounds better too, but I havent heard a damn thing for three days straight on that expo floor. Most importanly, BW2 plays better. Theres no question about it. The original control scheme was known for being elegant, simple. All you needed was the hand and some glowing symbols and you were set to play. This time around that simplicity has been preserved, but with additional feedback.

Which is necessary because theres a hell of a lot more happening in BW2 than the first title. This time around you arent only converting, youre also building and warring with soldiers and the old, faithful beast at your side. But with more power comes more repsonsibility, and the interface provides detailed breakdowns of game data. The one touch that impressed me most was the resource map that pops up when you roll over, say, a farm house. You see a number of windows appear. They show you every detail of the farm, and how those details break down resources, cost, yield its all there in a way the original didnt provide. You also get more direct feedback from the beast in the shape of a word balloon. Im scared or Im hungry are now clearly stated. But the clincher was a battle I saw play out. Picture one large lion, a few hundred detailed soldiers and a massive landscape. The player threw a slew of tricks at the battle scene. Lightning bolts flew from man to man. Meteor showers rained down. Earthquakes shook everyone to the ground. Yes, even his own soldiers. In the meantime, the beast, loyal to you as always dropped in when it was safe and made pizza out of some opponents. The battle was a hell of a lot of fun to watch, especially when we zoomed in for a closer look. The only concern I have with the game is its choppiness. When the action gets fierce, the image suffers. This means theres more work to do on the graphics front, which means that more compromises on visual quality will probably be made. I wouldnt expect to see a game that looks as pretty as the first of screenshots, but it would be nice if we came closeor if we didnt care because the game is so fun. That would be okay, too.

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» (5/22/2005) » (5/22/2005) » (5/21/2005) » (5/21/2005) » (5/21/2005) () Reader Comments Posted May 20, 2005, 9:51 AM ET by

I never played B&W the first time around, unfortunately, so I'm glad that the second seems to be shaping up nicely. Posted May 20, 2005, 12:08 PM ET by

Well I did play B&W when I saw it as a $10 cheapie at Wal-Mart and didn't know that a lot of the features that Molyneux wanted to put in had been taken out. I found the game restricting and too difficult. I wanted to be a benevolent God but I felt forced to be evil. When I got to the fireball level the game became so difficult that I had to quit to save my sanity.I don't think I'll buy this one on release (Spore is beating it in terms of god games) but I'm going to keep my eye on it anyway. The concept of B&W is still very intriguing. Add your comments

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E3: Black White 2 Peek Makes Me Want To Play God (again)