I've been trying out The Universim recently. It has a lot of the same ideas, but gets rid of many which I felt didn't work. Most notably, there is no creature bound to your will. I think the game is better for the omission. Version 1.0 is slated for January, and is supposed to include interplanetary colonization.
I remember all the marketing and promises for Black and White 2 that were never realised. It doesn't feel like they really managed the first sequel, let alone another one.
I remember playing this game when it first came out as a mobile game. Super cool concept, but I also remember hearing the drama from the start. I definitely thought this game had been abandoned a looong time ago.
I remember loving it when it came out for mobile and really liking the updates for a while. Then I didn't play it for some time as I had done most stuff and when I came back it had had some big update that completely changed it and I really didn't like it.
I remember reading those Dev journals too, but I feel like they helped me to get more out of B&W than most other people.
Yes, it was all about building hype, but it meant that I played more in a "find-your-own-fun-and-set-your-own-goals" way, which I think was what the original intent was.
Everyone's biggest complaint was that the missions were half-baked and felt like they were thrown in right at the end. And they were right.