Black & White: Creature Isle
| Black & White: Creature Isle | |
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| Developer(s) | Lionhead Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts Feral Interactive (Mac OS X) |
| Platform(s) | Windows PC, Macintosh |
| Release date(s) | WIN
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| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy, God game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Distribution | CD-ROM |
Black & White: Creature Isle is an expansion pack for the PC game Black & White by Lionhead Studios. It was published for OS X in November 2002. This expansion pack focuses on the creature and there are no levels as there were in the original game. It is played as a separate game, and presents several main differences from the original Black & White game:
- There are no other gods.
- The AI for the creatures is more complex, and they can have pets as well
- There is a female creature named Eve and your creature must find her and become her suitor
Gameplay
The new creatures are Crocodile, Chicken, and Rhinoceros.
Tyke is given to the player early in the game. Tyke will learn from the player's creature. It will treat it as a father. It will ask for food, attention, and playtime. The player can put Tyke into a daycare, relieving the creature of his fatherly duties. But if it is kept in there too long, the advisers will complain, and Tyke will get angry. During the trial which the player raises Tyke, they are encouraged to teach it. The advisers will tell the player when they are ignoring Tyke. Tyke can learn miracles also, which adds more impressiveness. It will also learn and try to mimic what the creature does. It will try to have a similar personality, too. After beating the game, Tyke will turn into an AI around the isle, and whatever creature the player beats the game with will become a new tyke. So if the player beats the game as the chimp, the new Tyke will become a chimp. Players can also have an identical model creature, but different ones. (Ex. Polar bear as a tyke, brown bear as creature) The new Tyke will know all the spells and lesson of the old tyke. Many players dislike Tyke because of its tendency to distract the creature.
Tyke's learning system is also the same as your creatures. It will learn spells if they're cast. It will watch your creatures actions instead of yours. The creature also praises and scolds Tyke for things he dislikes. So if a player has taught the creature not to eat villagers, and tyke does so, the creature will scold it. Tyke can also be used with multiplayer and skirmish, though some players make rules against Tykes being enabled. Tyke can also interact with the creature during fights, serving as a battle aid.
Some players have the problem with the old tyke after they beat the game. It tends to harass the villages. Some players can remove them with scripting the levels, which is dangerous. But tyke has the tendency to be knocked out for a long time.
Players should also note that Tyke can suffer neglect. If left in daycare, ignored, or even hurt by your creature, they may become more hateful. Tyke may not turn out how the player wants them to. They may soon ignore you, or possibly defy your creature's teachings.
Plot
The story of this game involves the player controlling his or her creature (either a new one or the creature they used in Black & White) and completing missions, which are given to the player by members of a Brotherhood. The members are all creatures that are not controlled by a god, and they all wear bracelets to show their membership in this Brotherhood. Once the player completes a mission, they can then fight the creature that gave them the mission or choose to fight that creature again or use that creature at will. Once the player has successfully completed all the missions and won all the fights, they will be able to see Eve and have a baby pet for their creature. The player's pet will then have a pet, which can help both the creature and the player. Also, there is the speed miracle, though no skirmishes included in the game carry it. It can be used to get past various trials more easily. If the player does not have a creature of certain height, the creature will be enlarged. It will also automatically know the three basic spells (food, water, and wood). The default creature for newly created profiles in Creature Isle is the Ape.
Reception
Black & White: Creature Isle received moderate scores, however many reviewers felt that the game lacked a lot of what made the original Black & White great, and was more of a mini game collection than anything else.
References
External links
- Official site
- Black & White: Creature Isle at IGN
- Black & White: Creature Isle at GameSpot
- Black & White: Creature Isle at MobyGames
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