Black & White: Creature Isle Updated Preview

Black & White was well received for a number of its many technological, gameplay, and even moral achievements. But the one factor that really differentiated this game from any other like it--even others by Peter Molyneux himself--was undoubtedly the creature AI. Your creature's ability to watch your actions, learn from them, and then act accordingly toward your villagers was viewed by many as a feat unmatched in gaming. With that in mind, Molyneux and the designers at Lionhead

Studios set forth to expand on the experience of interacting with your creature. The end result is (or will be) the expansion pack called Creature Isle. This add-on was first shown off at this year's ECTS in London but was only officially announced by Electronic Arts a few weeks ago. We recently had the chance to visit the company's offices in Redwood City, where we saw aspects of Creature Isle that were not covered in our original preview, including more on the storyline, the focal character, Tyke, and some of the game's more unique trials.

It should be noted that Creature Isle is a straightforward expansion pack, meaning that it doesn't add any new gameplay mechanics, control options, or features to Black & White's core formula. The add-on is still about manipulating your creature to do your bidding, and ultimately, anyone who's played Black & White will be able to jump into this expansion without so much as sneaking a single peek at the instruction booklet. Having said that, Creature Isle is split up into three unique gameplay modes. The most important addition to the game is Tyke, a chick that your creature will have to raise from infancy to adulthood. You'll also be able to micromanage several villages in the expansion pack and compete in any one of 24 minigames or trials. Following Black & White's theme of seamless integration between its various elements, these modes in Creature Isle aren't too cut and dried. That is, you don't "log off" playing around with Tyke to go manage your villagers. Everything you can do in the game is done within the same interface, without any breaks, cuts, or interruptions. Those looking for more than just the same content will be glad to know that Creature Isle will also let you control two brand-new creature types--the rhino and the crocodile--and will give you access to two brand-new spells: cancel creature spell, which negates the effects of any magic cast upon your creature by another, and speed spell, which gives your creature a speed boost for a limited amount of time.

As you've probably guessed, Creature Isle takes place after Black & White. The expansion pack actually opens up with the same three (annoying) missionaries that you helped rescue on the first island of Black & White. Their ship crashes onto a strange new island, and they disembark to find friendly, albeit godless, villagers inhabiting this island. The missionaries tell the villagers about their god (you)--that you are almighty, that you have a powerful creature, and that you can travel between worlds. The missionaries explain to these people that if they believe in you, you will come, and sure enough, a vortex opens up onto the island, and out come your two consciences: the old man and the little devil. They tell you that this island lacks the presence of any gods, which means that you'll have the luxury of exploring the land at your total leisure, since you'll never have to compete with other deities. Because of this, Creature Isle will let you micromanage the many villages in the game at your own pace--in Black & White, you were always vying for control against several other gods. This also means that the game should appeal to those who thought the original was a little too difficult. But that doesn't mean that Creature Isle won't be without challenge...

Shortly after your arrival on this island, your creature will follow. This is important because the expansion pack is, after all, all about building on creature interaction. You'll find many strange structures littering the island, one of which is a dojo where a mighty lion creature named Rufus resides. You'll meet Rufus early on in the game, since his is the first and only gold story scroll that will initially be available to you, and he'll tell your creature of his origins. Rufus, now without a master, once had a god, who was defeated in battle by another deity. Rufus wandered his land for months trying to impress the local villagers with his powers, but he failed to do so without the support of his now-banished master. Dejected, Rufus decided to end his life by jumping off a cliff into the stormy ocean. However, fate had a different plan for the lion.

Rufus was rescued by a crocodile creature named Mercurio, who was also godless. Mercurio brought Rufus onto a deserted island, and over time they attracted other creatures like them--creatures who were either godless or who were simply mistreated by their masters. Over time, their numbers grew, and a brotherhood was formed, but the island also attracted those who would disrupt the peaceful lives led by these creatures. And so the brotherhood set in place a series of trials that all visitors were forced to undertake to prove their worth. Being the newest visitor on the Isle of Creatures, you too must take these trials. These trials are essentially the 24 minigames scattered throughout the island, and they include everything from sparring matches to putting your soccer skills to the test. However, the most important trial in Creature Isle will be your creature's ability to raise Tyke from infancy to adulthood. Tyke will be your legacy once you leave this island, and since he'll be left in charge of its villagers, Tyke's upbringing will be more important than your creature's. Raising Tyke will certainly be tough, since instead of interacting with you, he'll be interacting with your creature. Your creature will teach Tyke everything that you've taught it, so Tyke's mannerisms will essentially be a reflection of you, albeit filtered through your creature. But simply getting Tyke to hatch is a chore in and of itself, since you'll have to find his egg, have your creature dislodge it from the tree, force your creature to pick it up, and then carry it all the way to a volcanic area in order for it to hatch. This might sound easy, but if your creature is undisciplined, he will toss the egg around or drop it after losing interest in it, which means that you'll have to start the process all over again. However, you'll have plenty of opportunity to discipline your creature in Creature Isle's earlier trials.

One of the first trials you'll encounter is a bowling match against Madino the Cow. There are five rounds in this match, and standard bowling rules apply. Your creature does the actual bowling, but you're the one who'll be tasked with picking up a marker and tossing it down the lane. Wherever the marker lands will dictate how far and in what direction your creature will toss the bowling ball. If, at the end of the fifth round, your creature's score beats that of Madino's, you'll win. At that point, Madino will head back to the dojo and activate one of 24 plinths surrounding that structure. From that point on, you can return to that plinth to pit your creature against a cow creature, or you can swap out for the cow altogether. Each of the plinths represents a different creature, and if you're successful in Creature Isle, you'll be able to switch to any of these creatures at any time throughout the game.

One of the other trials in Creature Isle involves herding a flock of ten sheep into a pen. The sheep will be repelled away from you, almost like two polar magnets. The process of shepherding the flock into the pen isn't difficult in and of itself, but making the job tougher will be a wolf who'll have the same magnetic effect on the sheep as your creature, which adds a sometimes frustrating element to this trial, upon completion of which you'll receive the sheep plinth. The wolf creature will also host a trial in Creature Isle, one that's basically a glorified version of hide and seek. The wolf turns nearly invisible, even though you'll still be able to see his footsteps and hear his various sayings as he finds a place to hide. If you guide your creature to his hiding spot three times in a row within the allotted time, you'll gain the wolf plinth. As you complete early trials, additional gold story scrolls that lead to more complex trials will become available to you.

Creature Isle will be a great addition for anyone who enjoyed Black & White. It's clear that Lionhead aimed to give fans of the game more of the same type of gameplay, while at the same offering elements that will expand upon and even deviate from Black & White's formula. Arguably, though, the best thing about Creature Isle is the wait, or lack thereof. While we had to sit patiently for four years waiting for Lionhead to finish Black & White, this expansion pack will be out in stores before Christmas this year.