Black & White 2 cover art

Black & White 2

God game blending city building, creature training and conquering by awe or force.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION2 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    2/10

    Gesture casting and creature handling need mild dexterity.

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Creature learning is trainable, not adversarially adaptive.

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    2/10

    Creature behaviour quirks add some unpredictability.

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    7/10

    City impressiveness versus army economy is the solvable choice.

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Final Fantasy XIII cover art

Final Fantasy XIII

Pure Optimization · turn-based JRPG

E
R
V
O
Final Fantasy XIII
South Park: The Fractured But Whole cover art

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Pure Optimization · tactical RPG

E
R
V
O
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Supermarket Simulator cover art

Supermarket Simulator

Pure Optimization · shop management sim

E
R
V
O
Supermarket Simulator
The Medium cover artcross-genre

The Medium

Pure Optimization · psychological horror puzzle

E
R
V
O
The Medium

Game details

Released
2005
Developer
Lionhead Studios
Platforms
PC, Mac
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
73/100
IGDB users
75/100
Real Time Strategy (RTS)Role-playing (RPG)SimulatorStrategyAdventureActionFantasyComedySandbox