This game sets a lofty goal and nails it on every aspect.

Some games get a lot of hype. Most of these games don't deserve the hype they receive, instead doing nothing more than disappointing the fans who bought the hype and thus bought the game. Games like Ultima IX, Daikatana, and a laundry list of others garnered a ton of press but never delivered the expected gaming experience. When I went to E3 last year, there were nearly twenty games that caught my attention, and to date, except for Sacrifice, none of them recreated that aura of excitement when I installed them on my PC. Well, it seems that there is now a second added to the list. In development for what seemed like forever, Black and White, the game that won our award for Best of Show at the 2000 E3 Conference, is on the shelves, and it delivers on every bit of hype, and then some.

Peter Molyneaux, the man behind the Populous and Dungeon Keeper series, formed his own studio, Lionhead, after leaving Bullfrog, to develop Black and White. He wanted to take the God game genre to a new level, and felt he could best do this by being on his own. Ever since he started development, the gaming press has been closely watching his progress, and gamers have been eagerly awaiting the finished product. After several delays, the game is now available. Molyneaux wanted to make sure the game was perfect before shipping, and though this is often used as an excuse for late games, in this case the delays paid off. Black and White plays perfectly.

As stated in the opening movie of the game, Gods are created whenever people call to the heavens for help. As a child is caught swimming in a lagoon filled with sharks, his parents call to the heavens, and thus, you are created. You shoot from the cosmos and sweep up the toddler, delivering him to the grateful parents. You have no choice in this matter, but this will pretty much be the last time events are beyond your control. From there, you can choose to be a benevolent God, or an evil one, thus altering your world accordingly. After an excellent tutorial that teaches you how to move, how to gather objects, and how to rotate the camera, you are on your way to Godhood. There to help/hinder you are the two elements of your conscience; a bearded elderly man representing your good side, and a devilish character representing your dark side. Each one offers you advice on how to handle any situation you face, and will lead you down either the black or the white path.

The initial representation of the game is excellent, with quality graphics and superb sound and voice-overs, letting you know that you are in for a gaming experience like no other. If you were to judge the game solely by the packaging, you might mistake the game for another in the Populous line, but it is far more than that. The game mixes elements of RPG, strategy, and God games all rolled into one. No one aspect of the game dominates; instead this game is a perfect blend of all said genres.

What amazed me most about the game was its overwhelming attention to detail. Every object, every quest, every action, and every goal is perfectly planned out. It's not very often that a game which sets out to do so many things does all of them so well, but Black and White pulls it off, constantly raising the bar of your expectations and consistently meeting those expectations head on.

The beginning of the game is a bit simple, and at first I thought the game was going to be easy. The first few quests and challenges are of the 'go here, do that' variety, but there is a reason for this. The initial quests give you a greater feel of the game and introduce you to actions and techniques that you will need later on in the game. Black and White eases you into its clutches, and though you might think the beginning is too simplistic, you will be happy for it later on, when you are basically getting your butt kicked.

So, you play the role of a God, represented by a large hand that you move about the game with. You get to choose your own symbol, which will be displayed at the totem, the center of the town where your followers go to worship you and seek guidance. Each action you make affects both the village you control and the look of your hand, depicting you as good, evil, or, more likely, in between. Your first task is to get your people to recognize you by building up belief points. This is pretty much set for you with the first village, though there is another village nearby that you need to prove your existence to. The more of a presence you show, the more they will believe in you. Once you have their belief, you can then set tasks for all the villagers and get the village thriving. All of this builds your power, and makes you more of a force to be reckoned with among the other gods.

A significant part of the game is the selection and development of your creature, who is basically the physical extension of your existence. You get the creature early on in the game, and he/she will follow your path through your actions and the actions you have it carry out. As the game develops, your creature will become more powerful, and more important, helping you do battle with other gods and aiding you in the development of your villages. You control the creature through the use of three leashes you are given. There is a learning leash, a compassion leash, and an aggression leash. Whatever one you keep on the creature the most will seriously affect its personality. This aspect of the game is extremely deep, and if you don't pay attention to your creature's progress, you'll have a terror on your hands. Certainly not advisable.

From a graphical standpoint, Black and White doesn't look like it's been in development so long. The graphics are top notch, if not groundbreaking, and they beat any other strategy game by far. Everything is detailed in rich color, and the effects are downright stunning. On the highest level of detail, the graphics are nearly jaw dropping, and to run the game at this level, you'll need an above average system, somewhere in the range of a PIII 600 with a 16MB video card. You can run the game on a slower machine, but make sure you have at least 64MB of RAM (though I recommend 128).

Another big aspect of the game is the magic. You can cast spells through the use of miracles, some which are given to you, others you find, and yet others you develop. You can create food, fire, water, healing powers, and various other spells which help you manage your village and fight other Gods. The key to the game is your followers' belief in you, and the use of spells greatly increases their belief. This adds another level of complexity to an already complex game. Your creature will learn the miracles if you cast them while he is attached to the learning leash, and he will use them, thus expanding your power.

As if the game wasn't complex enough, you need to master your creature's combat to succeed. You can have him go into battle alone, but you won't get far unless you guide him along. Defeating your enemies' creatures is an integral part of the game, and it just might be the most fun. As your creature grows in size and strength, you'll look forward to bringing him into battle to smack some other creatures around. Online play focuses mainly on this aspect of the game, and whatever your creature learns online he will take into the single player game when you return. Everything is incorporated tightly in this game. So, if you get smacked around online, your creature isn't going to be too happy when you return.

In order to succeed, you need to pay attention to every detail of your village and creature, and find a way to make allies that will help you defeat your enemies. You can't really survive the early parts of the game alone, though it makes for quite a challenge if you try. You can choose to be good, a savior to your villagers, or you can just use those villagers as victims of your wrath. The amazing thing is that no two people can play the game exactly the same, and even if you try, the two worlds will still look noticeably different. Good and evil are defined, but this isn't like the Force, where you have the light side and the dark side with no in between. Plus, you can't go around being a complete sissy, because if you don't punish your people or your creature for bad acts, they will continue to do them, and you will rule nothing more than chaos. That's the level of complexity of this game, and that's what makes it so downright amazing. I know not everyone will like this game, but it is really hard to knock a project that is so deep, and so engrossing.

Black and White is more of an experience than a game. With so many different factors affecting your game world, it requires a lot of attention, and most of the game is about watching the effects of your actions. You have to be careful, as I found out when I accidentally threw a rock that crashed off a mountain and destroyed three houses in my village. What makes this even more difficult is the fact that there is no real save game feature. The game saves on its own, and there is no way to go back to an earlier save if you screw up. Some people might think this is a negative, but I think it just adds to the experience. It's been a long time since I have seen such a deep game pulled off so cleanly. From the intriguing storyline to the strategy elements to the RPG elements up to the combat, this game spans several genres and does each one justice. With the limited space I have for this review, I know I have left some aspects of the game out, and thus, might have slighted it. There is just so much here that it is almost impossible to cover it all. With excellent online play, top-notch graphics, and a musical score that you'll find yourself just listening to, Black and White is a quality game all around, and one that ill occupy your hard drive for many months to come.

Reviewed by John Misak.