Title: Black and White (http://www.bwgame.com/)
Developer: Lionhead (http://www.lionhead.com/)
Publisher: EA (http://www.ea.com)

Black and White is the game that simply everyone is talking about at the moment. From game design legend Pete Molyneux, the creator of such titles as Populous, Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper, Black and White will be another 'god game' but a very interesting one at that. It seems to be a culmination of all his past games into one 'free form' game, with the freedom to do as you please.

Unsurprisingly for a 'god game' you play as a God, one who watches over a community of villagers. With an ingenious and powerful mouse interface you can instruct the villagers to do your bidding - be it building, farming or whatever - cast spells or pretty much interact with the game world as you see fit. The immersive engine allows so much freedom and flexibility.

With the help of two little good and evil advisors and a huge animal pet the game, creature AI, music and landscape will change and adapt according to your style of play and how you treat your citizens. Be mean and callous and the landscape will begin to darken and vice versa.

From the myriad of screenshots, previews and hands-on reports that litter the web you can tell that Black and White is a very ambitious project. With a visually impressive 3D engine and particularly advanced AI routines, Black and White could be an experience that no one should miss. A game that seemingly has something for everything, I just hope it does not suffer from a lack of direction. After a web cam photo on the Lionhead site proclaiming the game was 'done' the finished game should be in stores at the end of March.

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