Black&White - The Game

[Chowlett]

Indeed I did. I've been getting more and more excited about this game as time goes on. Find, if you can, the Gamespot "Week of Black and White", it's incredible. Especially Peter Molyneux talking about the creature AI. At one point, two of the design team's creatures were playing catch with huge boulders, and one got bored. So it heated a boulder up in a village fire while the other one wasn't looking and nudged it into his pile. Result, one burnt pair of wolf paws. And for that to evolve, I'm speechless.

You can rest assured I'll be preordering from my local EB on Monday. Estimated release date in UK - 6th April. I can't wait.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Isn't that the PC.IGN week of B&W? And Chowlett why didn't you preorder before?

I have done so for about a couple weeks now, and I can't wait for the 3 or so days until I have it!

[Chowlett]

For one simple reason - Uni. When I first heard of the game I was at uni, 400 miles from home. However, I noticed the release date was in my holidays, so there wasn't any point preordering then. I didn't want to order online, since I wasn't sure at the time whether a) I would want it when the time came and b) whether my machine could hack it.

I have now returned home, and I'm certain of a). Still a little wary of b), in case the 3D requirements are too stringent for my aging (but not old) Voodoo3 2000. Shouldn't be. And the processor now is no problem, took my machine to be upgraded on Saturday, I'll have it back next Saturday at latest with an 800 in it. And 256Mb Ram. Nice. And dirt cheap - 256 Meg, £65? Yes please.

(Little bit of plugging - you guys (particularly Brits) would do well checking that computer store out. Abit m'board, 300W case, 256 memory, 800 Athlon, fan and labour was £338 inc. VAT. Everyone I know uses them, I've never heard a bad word said. More reliable than most companies, very helpful and incredibly quick. I've had memory chips delivered 2 days after ordering. Go to www.infiniti.co.uk and have a gander.)

[Chowlett]

Preordered today! Game should be instore awaiting pickup a week on Friday.

[John-SJ]

Pre-ordered it last night from EBWorld. Should have it by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

John-SJ

[Dis]

this game looks absolutely amazing

but I'm not sure what you are supposed to do. I don't understand what you do? do you control 1 creature? what is it? can it be anything? I don't understand

the review on the other thread looks real good. I need to look at it before I buy it though

[Imran Siddiqui]

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!

I have it, and it ROCKS! Wow!

[John-SJ]

When I got home from work last night B&W was waiting there for me. I installed the game and had time to play for a little while. The controls are VERY easy to use, while there are keyboard controls (hotkeys) there are mouse equivalents for most (if not all) of the functions.

The graphics are fantastic! I have a PIII 750Mhz, 256 Mb Ram and a GeForce2 GTS. I am running the game at 1152x864, 16-bit color (same res. as my desktop) and everything is smooth as silk and looks great too!

There is no seperate tutorial, it's integrated into the early part of the game. It would appear that there are no cutscenes either (that I've come across anyway). Rather, they use the game engine itself to advance the story, so the "cutscenes" are seamlessly integrted into the game as well.

I have only gotten far enough into the game that I just got my creature, an ape, so tonight I will begin training him and hopefully start learning about growing my villiage and about magic. But so far, everything I've seen has left a very positive impression.

John-SJ

[Taurus]

I've just got the game today, haven't played it yet.

Hope it's good.

[Bkeela]

I'm in agony. Because of some incredibly lame stuff up with the cover art-work, I will be denied the game until next week, around the 6th. To pour salt on bleeding wounds, all ive been hearing is bugs, bugs, bugs, stuttering gameplay, freezes, blue screens - im a nervous, jibbering wreck. I just woke up from a night full of dreams concerning black and white, and my inability to play it. I think ive finally gone insane.

I cant take it anymore.

Taurus, you get online to tell everyone you have it before you play it. I could kill you right now.

Well, that's it, I think i might go and put myself in a coma for a few days.

Bkeela.

[Taurus]

Well, I played it a bit.

I already have my Tiger.

The game is not as good as I thought it would be.

More to come soon...

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"But as time goes on, they, as all men, will find that independence was not made for man - that it is an unnatural state - will do for a while, but will not carry us on safely to the end..." Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World"

[Chowlett]

I now have no graphics card problems - the upgraders found that my Voodoo was at fault, so I now possess a Creative 32 Mb GeForce 2. It's going back tomorrow to see if they can't work out why a) The CD-ROM drive appears to be faulty when I don't think it was before and b) why my serial mouse stops working whenever Power-Saving mode kicks in.

Bkeela - same as here. I'll get my game about 12 hrs before you

[Imran Siddiqui]

quote: The game is not as good as I thought it would be.

WHAT were you expecting?!

And Chowlett, I got a Voodoo3, and it seems to work fine for me.

[John-SJ]

Hmmm, to me, B&W is an awesome game, but I can't put my finger on why. There is not one thing I can say that "this" makes the game great, it's just that I can't seem to stop playing it. It's one of those games that just captures the imagination and won't let it go. I find myself thinking about the game, the world, my creature, a lot, whether I'm playing or not. Whenever I'm away from the game I'm thinking about what I need to do next, what skills I want to train my creature to, how to increase my influence (and hence, my power) in the world, I'm just totally preoccupied by it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you already have the game I pity you, just as I pity myself. If you haven't gotten it yet, DON'T. If you do, all will be lost! Your life will NEVER be the same again!

John-SJ

[Bkeela]

That's what I like to hear. Anyone who doesn't like it can go and play Tribes 2 for all I care.

Bkeela.