-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Black and White 2
- Thread starter Dr_Cogent
- Start date
dirtyjfosho
Member
Loved the first one, know it needed some kinda of tweaking, i hope its good
My review will be on Kikizo.com tonight.
It's a fun game, very nice graphics and creature AI. Unfortunatly all the problems people had with the original are very present, the new RTS style stuff isn't incredibly well implemeneted.
However, a fun game which stands out in this year's PC releases. If you want a relaxing, god-game experience go for it, if you're a hardcore RTS player who didn't like the original, chances are you wont like this.
It's a fun game, very nice graphics and creature AI. Unfortunatly all the problems people had with the original are very present, the new RTS style stuff isn't incredibly well implemeneted.
However, a fun game which stands out in this year's PC releases. If you want a relaxing, god-game experience go for it, if you're a hardcore RTS player who didn't like the original, chances are you wont like this.
Projectjustice
Banned
Do you have more control this time? In the first game you being a god and you had to command some pet to do your work. I want to do things first hand and command a pet at the same time. Thats my main gripe with the first game.
Outcast2004
Banned
I'll be picking this up... only to ship to Blackacee ASAP.
FIRE PRO RETURNS GET!
FIRE PRO RETURNS GET!
God's Hand
Banned
Sure does look good... I'm buyin it. I loved the first one until the island you couldn't pass
RaySpencer
Member
Love the game, lots of fun making towns and killing people
couple problems though, it seems the creatures cant get as big as in the first one, or at least it doesnt seem so, and second the creature battles seem less important and dont seem as fun =/ ...i remember getting into intense battles in the first, drawing all sorts of shit with the hand and getting wicked scars from big hits (dont know if you can even get scars in the second one
)
still a really good game, just wish they didnt take out ( or tone down ) some of that stuff from the first one
couple problems though, it seems the creatures cant get as big as in the first one, or at least it doesnt seem so, and second the creature battles seem less important and dont seem as fun =/ ...i remember getting into intense battles in the first, drawing all sorts of shit with the hand and getting wicked scars from big hits (dont know if you can even get scars in the second one
) still a really good game, just wish they didnt take out ( or tone down ) some of that stuff from the first one
tahrikmili
Member
on sale for 20 quids on cd-wow, insta purchase.. bought 
Nobiru said:Love the game, lots of fun making towns and killing people
couple problems though, it seems the creatures cant get as big as in the first one, or at least it doesnt seem so, and second the creature battles seem less important and dont seem as fun =/ ...i remember getting into intense battles in the first, drawing all sorts of shit with the hand and getting wicked scars from big hits (dont know if you can even get scars in the second one
My creatures hight is at 75% and he isn't higher than some buildings in the game :/
Seriously, I love this game but...the creature feels obsolete in most situations, and that sucks, 'cause the creatures were one of the coolest things in B&W1
B-B-Bomba!
Member
*Shots make me long for a Doshin 2 ...
Played a few hours, completed my first island. Not sure how much "new" stuff there is to discover, but so far I'm a little disapointed, though I'm having fun.
The original B&W was a game with seemingly limitless possibilities, but B&W2 feels like everything is explicitly defined, there's no suprises or rewards for creativity. Your creature is less a creature and more a programmable robot. I guess it's nice I'll no longer have to see peope complain about how their creature keeps shitting all over the town, but it doesn't look like your creature will ever suprise you. It doesn't seem like he'll learn by example, either.
I'm also a little disapointed I can no longer roll my villagers down the cliffsides. Nothing made me smile more in B&W1 than putting a villager on the edge of a cliff and watch him scream and tumble. Now if you put a villager on a sheer cliff he just stands there and admires the view. Oh well.
The original B&W was a game with seemingly limitless possibilities, but B&W2 feels like everything is explicitly defined, there's no suprises or rewards for creativity. Your creature is less a creature and more a programmable robot. I guess it's nice I'll no longer have to see peope complain about how their creature keeps shitting all over the town, but it doesn't look like your creature will ever suprise you. It doesn't seem like he'll learn by example, either.
I'm also a little disapointed I can no longer roll my villagers down the cliffsides. Nothing made me smile more in B&W1 than putting a villager on the edge of a cliff and watch him scream and tumble. Now if you put a villager on a sheer cliff he just stands there and admires the view. Oh well.
BobTheFork
Member
I'm having alot of fun with B&W2, I forgot how fun it is to hold an innocent newborn child in the hand of god... and HURL the little SOB over a mountain range. Most of the criticism I've heard is fair. I never got all the way thru part 1, but I felt like I was doing more. This feels more like sim city. I did manage to sucessfully train my creature to crap ONLY on the heads of townsfolk, so extra style points there. Overall, it looks great and has some resigned features like the tribute menu that are nice, but a good sequel shouldn't have you digging thru your closet looking for the original.
tahrikmili
Member
I read in an interview that Molyneux dumbed down the creature system because in the original game most people complained about having to spend too much of their time playing nanny to their creature instead of doing more godly things..
It's fun so far, played it all day today. I'm not sure how long it'll be entertaining though. It's kind of simplistic when you break it down. You take over other villages by force (raising an army and attacking) or by building a great city that people will want to migrate to. Most of the previous B&W gameplay is shoehorned into this mold, but the ambitiousness of the first game has been reined in. Your creature is so obedient and controllable now that a lot of the challenge of raising the creature is gone.
I like the city building elements, building roads and buildings is very intuitive, you rarely have to open the game's toolbar to create things. Want to make another hut? Just click and drag an existing one and you can place a new hut. Same thing goes for roads, walls, and any other buildings (although it can make picking up villagers a pain, since if you miss you'll enter road building mode).
I like the city building elements, building roads and buildings is very intuitive, you rarely have to open the game's toolbar to create things. Want to make another hut? Just click and drag an existing one and you can place a new hut. Same thing goes for roads, walls, and any other buildings (although it can make picking up villagers a pain, since if you miss you'll enter road building mode).
Ah, just wanted to add one thing that I couldn't put my finger on until now.
In B&W2 you simply don't feel like a god. B&W1 was all about being a benevolent lord, or reigning down fire and brimstone.
In B&W1 you took over cities by doing godly acts. When I'd throw a villager over a crowd they'd think "Holy shit, I'm gonna belive in that god because my buddy is airborne!" Eventually they'd believe in you enough to become your worshippers, and they'd be under your control. However in B&W2 the villagers are not impressed by such feats of godliness. Instead you just get good/bad points for doing those things.
In B&W2 you're not so much a god as you are a city planner that can occasionally summon fire and lightning. You don't win over cities in B&W2 by demonstrating how awesome of a god you are, instead you have to make a pretty city to entice immigrants. Or command troops into battle. You didn't control troops in B&W1 because that's not what a god does. A god is too busy cracking skulls with giant rocks, managing troops is for the mortals.
An even better example of this difference is your adversary in the two games. In B&W1 the protagonist was Nemesis--another god, while in B&W2 it's just "the Aztecs." Although all of the other cultures have their own creatures too.
B&W2 kinda strayed from the whole point of what B&W1 was about: being a god.
I'm not saying that makes it better or worse, I just liked how B&W1 had a very specific vision, and it really pushed the envelope in the way it achieved that vision, even if the game was a little flawed because of it. B&W2 pretty much abandons that vision for the sake of a game that's maybe a little more palatable to a wider audience.
In B&W2 you simply don't feel like a god. B&W1 was all about being a benevolent lord, or reigning down fire and brimstone.
In B&W1 you took over cities by doing godly acts. When I'd throw a villager over a crowd they'd think "Holy shit, I'm gonna belive in that god because my buddy is airborne!" Eventually they'd believe in you enough to become your worshippers, and they'd be under your control. However in B&W2 the villagers are not impressed by such feats of godliness. Instead you just get good/bad points for doing those things.
In B&W2 you're not so much a god as you are a city planner that can occasionally summon fire and lightning. You don't win over cities in B&W2 by demonstrating how awesome of a god you are, instead you have to make a pretty city to entice immigrants. Or command troops into battle. You didn't control troops in B&W1 because that's not what a god does. A god is too busy cracking skulls with giant rocks, managing troops is for the mortals.
An even better example of this difference is your adversary in the two games. In B&W1 the protagonist was Nemesis--another god, while in B&W2 it's just "the Aztecs." Although all of the other cultures have their own creatures too.
B&W2 kinda strayed from the whole point of what B&W1 was about: being a god.
I'm not saying that makes it better or worse, I just liked how B&W1 had a very specific vision, and it really pushed the envelope in the way it achieved that vision, even if the game was a little flawed because of it. B&W2 pretty much abandons that vision for the sake of a game that's maybe a little more palatable to a wider audience.
RaySpencer
Member
Yusaku said:
This is pretty much the most spot on and best way to describe or review this game. The game itself is a great game, but as a Black & White game it misses the mark pretty badly, lots of fun to play, but for totaly differant reasons than the first one.
Well said Yusaku
Ghost said:
I didn't think it sucked. It could've been tweaked and enhanced in the sequel, instead of abandoned altogether. The game is no longer really about being good or evil (or black or white, huahuahua). I don't necessarily see building an appealing city vs. waging war to expand as being a purely good vs. evil approach. And in order to amass an army big enough you'll at least have to make a somewhat decently impressive city. In my last island most of the villages had migrated to my city by the time I had an army big enough take on the enemy.
Aaaaanyways
EternalDarko
Member
I was planning on getting this today. But all the impressions have gotten me disappointed about it.
I really liked some of the stuff that they've now taken out. I loved teaching the creature spells and taking care of it, slapping it around and shit. I really liked when the villagers would see your powers and be wowed over and come and worship you. I liked the whole worship system...even though it was buggy at times, the idea was great. I really enjoyed being a god and having my creature grow to great proportions. All the extra little touches that the 1st game had seem to now be gone.
I guess i'll still pick it up from cd-wow or somewhere, but i'm feeling really disappointed that they have abbandoned their ideas from the original rather than fixing em and getting the bugs ironed put.
I really liked some of the stuff that they've now taken out. I loved teaching the creature spells and taking care of it, slapping it around and shit. I really liked when the villagers would see your powers and be wowed over and come and worship you. I liked the whole worship system...even though it was buggy at times, the idea was great. I really enjoyed being a god and having my creature grow to great proportions. All the extra little touches that the 1st game had seem to now be gone.
I guess i'll still pick it up from cd-wow or somewhere, but i'm feeling really disappointed that they have abbandoned their ideas from the original rather than fixing em and getting the bugs ironed put.
Suikoguy
I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
EternalDarko said:
I bolded the parts that are still in the game.
Hehe, in other words its a whole new game in some respects. But really, its not a bad game.
If you ever wanted a RTS in which you were in effect more god then commander, this is the game for you. It also has some populous elements with terrain being effected by volcanoes or earthquakes.
You can play the first few islands strictly by buliding, which is kinda cool giving you a choice, but on the second japaneese island you need to build at least some military to attack the catapults, and defend against the opponents creature.
But, if you just want a pure command and micromanage RTS your better off with something like Empire Earth 2. The micromanagement of your settlers is a pain in the ass in Black and White 2, and easily the biggest detractor in a good RTS game. I would find that often they would just forget about a building, actually they often forgot about a lot of stuff
To get building built in a timely manner I pretty much had to bring the materials to the construction site, cause it would take the settlers forever.
EternalDarko
Member
Yeah i realise that those elements are still in the game, but it seems that they are not anywhere near as important to the game as they were in the original.
[edit]to Ghost, I did say that i was going to buy it later today, but i certainly can be disappointed when things that i really liked from the original are taken out rather than having any issues fixed.
[edit]to Ghost, I did say that i was going to buy it later today, but i certainly can be disappointed when things that i really liked from the original are taken out rather than having any issues fixed.
Nobiru said:This is pretty much the most spot on and best way to describe or review this game. The game itself is a great game, but as a Black & White game it misses the mark pretty badly, lots of fun to play, but for totaly differant reasons than the first one.
Well said Yusaku
Suikoguy said:
They should've called it Populous 4.
With the changes to the gameplay, it feels a lot more like a Populous game with the creatures from B&W added in.
And I liked Populous more than B&W1.