Posted on: May 25, 2010
Ghosthande
Verified ownerGames: 24 Reviews: 1
An excellent combination
Creatures was the first game in the series that I played, and after twelve years it is still my favorite. The setting is Albia, a dreamy yellow summertime world of gardens, treehouses and pleasantly welcoming ruins. It is an abandoned world, its masters the Shee having departed for the stars thousands of years ago, and it is yours to explore and enjoy. The ambience in the game is beautiful. Birdsong can be heard in the garden, waves lap at the beach. The music is sweet without being "cutesy", nostalgic without being melancholy, relaxing without putting you to sleep. The backdrop is based on carefully constructed scale models, which gives it a very unique feel. You can literally play the game for years and still discover new details--a bird's nest tucked in the corner of a roof, a kite nestled in a tree, or a long-lost, buried treasure chest hidden in some unexpected location. The best part of the game is, of course, the Norns. Norns are small, sweet creatures that you as the player get to raise and care for, hopefully while teaching them how to look after themselves. Like very young children, Norns are short and slightly chubby, with bright eyes, endearing smiles and floppy ears or soft hair. You raise your Norns from infancy, hatching them from eggs obtained from the hatchery and teaching them to speak by typing in words on your keyboard or using the special learning computer found near the incubator. Norns don't learn their words perfectly right away, and it may take them a few tries before they get it right. A light scratch on the nose will encourage them to keep trying. Creatures is an artificial life simulation, and your Norns will eventually grow into adults, developing a desire to explore their world and meet other Norns. If you raise more than one, your Norns may fall in love and "kisspop". Shortly afterward the mother will lay an egg. You can monitor her pregnancy, and any aspect of your Norns' health at any other time, using the in-game applets, even prescribing cures should one of them fall ill. One of the most intriguing aspects of the game is the fact that your Norns' offspring will inherit their appearance and other traits from both parents, including personality and even biochemistry. Over time, it is possible to breed a Norn that is immune to disease, no longer needs to to sleep, or is even immortal. The Norns that come in Creatures have some of the best personality in the series. Although their vocabulary is somewhat smaller, they have pleasant dispositions. The desire to learn and interact with you, the player, is combined with a growing sense of independence that will lead adult Norns to act out of their own initiative and experience more frequently, for the best or worst depending upon how well you have trained them. These virtual lives are, quite literally, in your hands. Creatures 2 is memorable in its own way. Set in an Albia a few thousand years after the first game, some of the landscaping elements are still recognizable from the original, while much is new to explore. The background is computer-generated, but the world of Creatures 2 is no less engaging, and the colors are much more vibrant. Sometimes it is hard not to see it as a living world. And it is a living world, at least in the sense of an artificially living world. While the original Creatures game is focused primarily on the Norns, Creatures 2 continues to build on the theme of artificial life. It is a literal artificial ecosystem, complete with plant and animal species that not only reproduce themselves but work together to form a living ecosystem. If the carrots grow too numerous, you may be surprised to see a rabbit come out of its hole to nibble on a few. Bluebirds harvest grass to build their nests and ants ferry decomposing foodstuffs back to their mounds. Just like real life, these artificial ecosystems can change over time. Ant mounts and beehives will create new queens to colonize other parts of the world, and plant seeds can be distributed by hand. Sometimes they may sprout and begin a new colony, but put them in an area that is too wet, or too dry, or has too much or too little light, and they may not take root. Just like in real life. Summers in this new Albia are hot. Winters are cold. There are thunderstorms, rainclouds, even snowstorms during which icebergs will appear in the oceans. All of this can be monitored through the use of the game's Ecology Kit, which provides easy-to-read color maps of the world's light, heat, nutrient levels and more. And then there are the Norns. Creatures 2 comes with a variety of new breeds, as well as the original breeds from the first game. The Norns in Creatures 2 have a wider range of facial expression, greater intelligence, and a greater depth of emotion than their predecessors. They are also even more endearing, in their own way. You are likely to see your baby Norn asking, "What dis?" or "What dat?" as they explore their new world. The level of complexity found in Norn-player communication in Creatures 2 is greater than in any other game in the series. They also have the most independence, and although this can make for frustrating gameplay at times, it only deepens the sense that this is an artificial life you are interacting with, and not some simple virtual pet. The Norns are not "hard-coded" to obey your every whim, and you must be persistent and fair if you want to earn their respect and loyalty. Raised from infancy, a Norn may make a very loyal and sociable companion, while a Norn that grew up in the wild may ignore you completely. There were some flaws in the genome released with the original version of Creatures 2, although the one that comes packaged with The Albian Years has been improved and suffers fewer issues. Additional genomes such as the Washu or Canny genome (the latter developed by a former Creatures Labs employee) are also available online, and feature better sleeping and eating habits, among other improvements. All in all, with a little care and attention, Creatures 2 is a highly enjoyable game.
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