Black & White 2 Hands-on Preview

[Akeldama]

Black & White must stand as one of the most disappointing games ever released, hyped beyond belief, it would have been hard for the greatest of games to please once finally released. However the sequel nears completion and the hype has been kept to a relative minimum. Does that mean we can expect a better game this time around?

Judge for yourself after reading the hands-on preview of Black & White 2 (http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=9201) at Boomtown.

[Offworlder]

As long as my monkey can poo this time around, I'll be happy... In the first one, my monkey just refused to crap. This may not seem like entirely unwelcome behavior, as monkey poo isn't exactly sunshine and roses, but the inability to process food seemed to prevent the poor guy from growing properly. And no amount of coddling could get that stupid little simian to drop a load.

[Ajezz]

I bought the first one and lost interest quickly, I gave up on the frustrating level where your creature is taken from you...

I don't care if the reviews all praise this as the greatest game in the history of the universe (which would basically be a less enthusiatic version of what they said last time), I'm not biting.

[ElPresidente]

To this day I still consider Black & White unfairly criticised both from members of the gaming press and the gaming community at large.

Still I find Black & White an engrossing enjoyable game that refreshes more than many supposed better games. So am I looking forward to the sequel? After the dissapointing Creature Isle I can only say... HELL YES! :D

[Taco]

That's funny, it took months after release before people stopped praising it as genius and the best game ever.

[ElPresidente]

Molyneux bashing has become something of a sport amongst those gaming journos who believe cynicism is still the best way to approach games. I don't number myself amongst them.

Nothing more upsetting than reviewers getting caught up in the hype of something and not asking themsleves "Now wait, did *I* enjoy this game?" and then failing to back those words up down the track. "Oh no.. we always hated this game."

Well poo on them says I. I liked B&W when it was released and I like it now. So there.

[Derella]

I actually liked Black and White, until I got to the level where my pet was permanently shrunk thanks to a bug. Even so, it didnt even come close to living up to the hype.

But that is to be expectd from Peter Molyneaux... and that isn't just mindless bashing -- it's the truth with his more recent games.

[Montgomery_Python]

I look at it this way...

There's no way it could be any worse. I just wonder if it'll be better enough to be worth playing.

[Ventura_DK]

Molyneux bashing has become something of a sport amongst those gaming journos who believe cynicism is still the best way to approach games. I don't number myself amongst them.


I met Molyneux several times and simply love his game ideas. OK, so what if he later on realises that they couldn't be done? Here's a guy with IDEAS, that's not an abundant ressource in today's gaming industry. I for one play all his games and enjoy them fully. Can't wait till B&W2 and The Movies hit my PC :D

[Justin_McElroy]

"Black & White must stand as one of the most disappointing games ever released"

Gaming opinions...with attitude.

[Taco]

It's easy to have ideas. Any idiot can come up with ideas. What we lack is people who can transfer them into fun and profitable games.

[Ventura_DK]

It's easy to have ideas.

Is it?

It's not easy to have GOOD ideas. I'd like to remind you of the 'Egg of Columbus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_of_Columbus)'. ;)

May be a bit childish, but it's still true. If it was so easy to have good ideas, we'd say way more innovations in the games. 'Cause if you have really good ideas, the funding will be there, and you can afford the guys who'll make them into games... at least IMHO :)

[Ajezz]

Good ideas are not necessarily the ones that are easy to get the funding for... There's a big difference between good, innovative ideas and good ideas that were innovative ideas and have since been proven to make money...

Hence, the seeming industry wide stance of "Hey, we've already been innovative... for that one game... you know the one that launched our studio/system/brand and it worked out well and sold a lot of units... That's why we've done nothing but rehash/repackage it since..."

[Taco]

Like Ajezz said. I should of added "with funding" in my previous post. If you have really good ideas that haven't been done before and proven to sell no one is going to fund you. You need to pony up the dough yourself.

Molyneux has the cash from previous games. The jury is out whether he can still make them fun.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I'm kind of looking forward to this, but not nearly as much as I was the first title. I anticipated Black and White for years, and loved the first two levels of it. Still, Molyneux hasn't truly shined since Dungeon Keeper 1 IMHO. Still, the premise of this is so damn good that I will definitely pick this up when the price drops. Watching my giant cow throw his own feces at my poor villagers was just priceless.

[Nameback]

I liked the orignal, I enjoyed it alot and the only reason I didnt finish it was because of my own impatience. I really look forard to the sequal and is right up there with AoE III on my to-buy list.

[netcraazzy]

The original Black & White was fun to experiment with, I remember having a good laugh when I taught my creature to eat his own poo and then watched him yak it back up or when I would recklessly sacrifice villagers so I could launch a fireball attack on the opposing town. It's when they tried to fit it that open-endedness into the constraints of typical levels and game progression that they ultimately failed.

[ElPresidente]

Like Ajezz said. I should of added "with funding" in my previous post. If you have really good ideas that haven't been done before and proven to sell no one is going to fund you. You need to pony up the dough yourself.

Molyneux has the cash from previous games. The jury is out whether he can still make them fun.


The Jury is out? I don't think so.

Populous
Magic Carpet
Syndicate
Dungeon Keeper

...just to name a few. It is well established that Molyneux knows how to make fun games. He has been doing it longer than most people have been in the industry.

In reality Molyneux has only made two high-profile games which have recieved unfavourable press. Black & White and Fable... I'm constantly amazed that when the gent releases two games that don't set forums afire with discussions of their brilliance everyone instantly ignores that 99% of the guy's work has been some of the best PC gaming has ever seen.