Creatures
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 8:09 |
Creatures 1,2 and 3 Creature Labs / Gameware My Score :: *** Pretty Snazzy *** Read other Reviews |
Creatures 3 is an AI game that I got turned on to years ago. And I LOVE it. It was made by the now-defunct CreatureLabs and was bought by Gameware. It’s a virtual pet type-game. You hatch eggs, raise Norns and teach them things and then they mate, or you gene splice to get the next generation and then they die.
They eat, play, get sick and go thru life stages just like a real pet. There are different strains of Norns as well as other types of creatures altogether. Grendels and Ettins, to be precise. Grendels are vicious and disease ridden and will kill Norns. Ettins are fairly benign - but dumb.. and they have a thing for stealing machines.
Machines are important because you have to build things to help you take care of your Norns. For instance, a medical station that will diagnose their illnesses or a sludge gun that will fend off Grendels. The whole game (3, anyways) is set on a space ship with different terrariums. Norns can be bred to live in any of the terrariums… although that isnt normal. Ettins and Grendels can also be bred.. although that isnt typical either.
Development-wise, there are apps out there that enable you to tweak genes, create new objects for the environment, etc. It’s really a shame that CreatureLabs didn’t continue it. However, never fear! There is an online version of the game called Docking Station that you can download and play for free. I just downloaded it last night.. so admittedly, I have no clue how good it is. At first glance, it isnt nearly as involved as Creatures 3 is. But you still get the experience of breeding and raising Norns - and even exchanging them with friends.
Update: Docking Station turns out to be pretty good when used in conjunction to Creatures 3. I have a new page devoted to Creatures 3.
