"A good game, with a few control/gameplay issues"

Black and White 2 is a strategy game, in which you play as a God. Lionhead didn't include a lot of what people thought would be in the game. Just to clarify, the game does NOT have multiplayer, and doesn't have a sandbox mode.

Gameplay: 7/10- Good

I liked the gameplay in this game, for the most part. You have to manage resources, defend your town, train your creature, and possibly attack other cities simultaneously. As you perform actions, you become more good or more evil depending on what you've done. You can hear peoples prayers if you don't provide for them. Your creature can be trained to do things from basic hygiene (not eating his own dung), to moral lessons (killing and eating people). The controls are...different. You basically use your hand(cursor) for everything. At certain points, the controls can become extremely frustrating, especially performing certain hand gestures. As for difficulty...there is none, really. Very few parts in the game pose as a challenge, and those that do are usually because of the controls.

Story: 3/10- Poor

There really is no story in this game, even though it tries to have one. The only reason I gave it a 3/10 was because certain parts at the ending are very cool, in terms of the story. Of course, the story isn't really very important in this game, anyway.

Graphics: 8.5/10- Very nice

The graphics in this game are very good, all things considering. Once you zoom up on a person, you'll realise they don't look very good at all. However, the landscape is beautiful, and so is everything else that's as big as your creature. You can also zoom away so far that you're above the clouds, and up so close that you can see little groups of bugs running around.

Sound: 8/10- Pretty good

The background noises in this game really make the world seem alive, and it's a definite plus. When someone dies, a creepy whisper will alert you, and it can be bone chilling when you're tired. You can hear background chatter when you're by groups of people, and the wind when you're up in the sky. Also, the battle music really sets the mood for your creature and army marching into battle.

Play time: 5/10- Kinda short

You can breeze through the game pretty quickly. If you start building or conquering immediately, the enemy really doesn't even have a chance to respond, and you can dominate almost instantly in some levels. However, it really depends on your play style. If you take your time, the game can last awhile, but still not a long time.

Replay value: 4/10- Poor

Once you finish the game, there's nothing more to do really. No sandbox mode, no skirmish, no multiplayer. You can play all the non-tutorial levels again with your "tribute" (basically god money), creature, and purchased upgrades from when you finished the game. That would be really cool, if the game wasn't so blindingly easy. It's even easier the second time around. That being said, experimenting with different creatures can be somewhat enjoyable, but I was never compelled to do so.

Final say: 7/10- Not a bad game.

I'd like to say buy, I really would...but if you can rent it for a week, then it's probably just as well. I recommend renting it, seeing if it works with your graphics card, and then buying it if you really want to, or if sandbox mode ever gets patched in (God willing).

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/06