Black & White

"Kiss your life goodbye. Long live Black and White!!"

I've been looking forward to this game for years. Through all of the delays and stalls I've become more and more intrested in this game. When I finally got my paws on it, my expectations were high... but not this high. Let's see how it does on Rapskallions Rating System:

Originality: 10/10
In Black and White, you play a god who has been called to the islands of Eden by the villagers. Your job is to try and slowly expand to new villages by casting miracles; you can be nice to the villagers by giving them gifts and doing wonderfull things for them, or you can make them fear you by throwing fireballs, sacrificing children, or other disturbing things. And on top of all that, you have a little titan/creature to take care of. Like yourself, you get to choose if he is evil or good. He can interact with everything; villagers, trees, and even fight other creatures. Honestly, there is nothing new here. The whole creature thing was done a few years ago by a little game called Tomaguchi, the battling of creatures was done by Pokemon, and we've had countless god games over the years (all of the Sim games, Populous...). But no one has ever brought all of these things together the way Lionhead did with Black and White. By combining a bunch of addictive combinations, they created something we've never seen before. Bravo!

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics are breathtaking. Zoom out of your island to see the total beauty of the place. Also, you effect the environment. If you are an evil god, the island will turn dark and scary. However, if you are good, the island will be bright and will have rainbows all over the place. The same goes for your creature; a good creature has an aura of light around him while an evil creature usually has big fangs and a hunchback. Quite a nice effect. However, the graphics aren't perfect. The people look pretty bad if you zoom in on them, and the graphics get a bit choppy at times. Overall though, this game is quite a visual treat.

Gameplay:10/10
The gameplay is about as good as it gets. You can do the entire game with your mouse if you want, or use a mouse/keyboard combo. Between teaching your creature, taking care of your village, and taking over other villages, hours will go by in seconds. Totally addictive gameplay that never fails to satisfy. It may take awhile to get totally used to the controls, but once you do you'll love it. This game is the best parts of Simcity, Pokemon, and The Sims put together. You can't beat that.

Sound:9/10
The sound is great. The voices are very well done, as is the background music. The only problem is that the promised MP3 compatibility isn't there. Lionhead said that Black and White would let you play songs for your creature and he would dance differently to different styles of music, but I've only seen my creatures do 1 kind of dance and I have yet to find an option to upload MP3s. If you don't mind this little quirk, you'll have no complaints about the sound.

Multiplayer: 8/10
The multiplayer is addictive, but not as organized as it could be. There is co-op games, vs games, and peacefull games where you and a friend can just work on your creatures and spells together. However, the multiplayer is very laggy, poorly organized, and really isn't that much fun unless you have a friend to play with. However, if you get on with one of your buddies, you'll have a blast.

Replay Value: 10/10
You'll be playing this game all night long for months to come. There is so much to do it would literally take years of playing to do everything. The single player campaign is pretty long by itself, and then there is skirmish and multiplayer modes to let you work with your creature and make him bigger, tougher, and stronger. Trust me, this game isn't the type of game that gets old in 2 weeks. It's a keeper.

Fun: 10/10
In case you hadn't figured it out already, B&W is a helluva lotta fun. The creatures, villagers, and your consciences are all very funny to watch and play around with. The only problem is that the game can get very frusturating, especially some of the mini-quests. However, any frusturation will be forgotten once you see your creature finally figure out how to cast that damn lightning spell.

Overall: 10/10
This is one of the best games of all time. Anyone who doesn't at least give it a few hours is robbing themselves of a true classic. This game will appeal to almost anyone, from children to adults. All of these years of waiting were well worth it. So what are you waiting for? Go buy it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/13/01, Updated 04/13/01