Not a Michael Jackson song.
This time around, all the kinks have been fixed. The interface is quick, and seamless; the creatures actions and thoughts are clearly displayed; and in general, everything is layed out more clearly. Another thing that was a downfall in the preceding game, was to be evil, was not nearly as beneficial as being good was. You would have to wreck buildings, kill villiagers, and pretty much mess up your civilization. Now, evil is defined as taking towns by force, as opposed to winning them over with impressiveness. You don't have to light an entire villiage on fire, or crush villiagers with rocks to gain belief. You merely have to send your warriors into battle.
The creature training system, is also completely revamped. It still follows the basic stroke or slap method of teaching it right form wrong, but this time there is a meter above the creatures head, displaying how often the creature will do action. For instance: if a creature is thinking about eating a villiager, you can stroke him until it says something like, 'I will eat villiagers all the time- they are yummy!' or you can slap him until it says something like, 'I will never eat villiagers, it's barbaric!'. The way the creature learns miracles is also different. Now, you must buy miracles for your creature, with the 'tribute' that you can gain from doing quests, or completing objectives. Right from when you buy it, he will pull the miracle off with ease. For instance, if there is an enemy platoon of soldiers just outside your town walls, he will throw a fireball with deadly accuracy, and eliminate the threat.
The graphics in the game are simply stunning, if you have the right system. You can zoom out, and see the entire island, the sun reflecting off the rippling water, or you can zoom all the way in and see bugs on the ground, and blossoms of flowers amongst the lush, green grass.
The sound in the game is simply phenominal. Whether it's the houling wind way up in the clouds, the screeching of dolphins and the crashing of waves at sea level, the chanting of worshipping villiagers, or the roar of an angry lion. It all really gives the feeling of a real fantasy island.
I can't really think of anything Lionhead did wrong, because all the things that I didn't like in the first game, were fixed. It's almost perfect, for the type of game that they were going for.
If you buy it, you won't be dissapointed. This game delivers.