Patch 1.1 will need to be installed before updating to Patch 1.2.ĭouble click the Black & White® 2 Patch 1-2.exe.
Path of Neo might not be The One, but short of actually becoming Neo, it's an admirable second choice.To install Version 1.2 of Black & White® 2 you will need a full copy of the game installed onto your machine.
What it lacks in precision and design, it makes up for in bombast, fluidity and accessibility. In full flow, Neo makes DMC3 look like a 1930s Belgian cartoon - and oddly, Path of Neo's greatest strengths, and weaknesses, are almost exactly the opposite of Dante's adventures. It's a glorious mess - a patchy, yet thrilling, scrapper with a last boss that can be beaten using, ooh, two buttons, a soundtrack heavy on pan pipes but missing the Propellerheads tune from the lobby scene, and several levels that devolve into tedious screen-clearing slogs - but still a staggering glimpse of the future, with unparalleled animation and imagination.
And yes, you do fly in a rain-soaked showdown with Smith. There's an astounding 'Red Pill' Healer mission, with jaw-dropping neon lights and reflections, plus a train level that requires cute lateral thought.Ī climactic scene in the White House outshines the burly brawl, with laugh-out-loud levels of pole-wielding expertise. The best - and worst - bits are those invented for the game. In contrast, the subway battle with Agent Smith is as epic as the film, and the first time you glimpse - and revel - in Neo's comically deific higher abilities. The 500-agent burly brawl is technically impressive, until you realise that about 490 of them just circle around watching the 10 or so agents you can actually fight. The opening stealth level borders on comedy, with baby-friendly 'stealth' zones and clumsy collision.
The weapon throwing animations look rubbish, the early levels are depressingly green and the ugly dripping-code loading screens brutally interrupt the (confusing and initially impossible to skip) cutscenes, destroying the illusion of (un)reality.Ĭonversely, in other sections, like when you fight Seraph at the cinema and the movie is projected in real time across your body, it's an achingly beautiful experience. The jumping bits are imprecise - if undemanding - and you'll get stuck looking for unmarked 'collision' zones. Legs poke through walls, polygons tear, the (normally excellent) camera throws a wobbly or punches barely connect as your foe goes flying. Visuals are infuriating - for every glorious animation, there's a glaring flaw. The best moves require complex button presses, but the game helps you out with God of War-style on-screen prompts if you're a button-press short of something spectacular. You unlock new abilities as you progress (via a neat multi-layered skills circle) creating a compelling sense of progress, attachment and empowerment. Neo begins the game with a solitary 'push' attack and has to avoid agents in a clumsy stealth section.
In the pole-wielding sections, Neo will balance it between foe's shoulders, and kick it squarely in their faces.Īt the end of the game, you're literally flying around effortlessly dispatching agents using every signature move from the films - including code vision, bullet stops, bullet dodges, and that 360 degree pole sweep thing from the burly brawl. The game reads your intentions, and flatters them with absurd acrobatics. Press circle when surrounded by enemies to build your attack combo - so, for example, instead of punching one guy, then the other, Neo will subtly, yet automatically, position himself between the two and perform a deadly split kick. You can plough through with basic punches and kicks, but to really enjoy the game - and finish in style - you've got to master the deceptively structured controls.