Review of Impossible Creatures...

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-05-04 09:04pm

A while ago I mentioned that I had started reviewing games for the university magazine. Here's the first cab off the rank.

This might well be the most offensive and least politically correct game ever released. Its got it all: sexism, class and gender stereotyping, cloning, genetic manipulation, despoiling of the environment and endless amounts of cruelty to animals. But to counter this, its all done with such a wonderful quantity of cheese that its hard to take the subject matter seriously at all. It has an Indiana Jones-esque hero, his lovely side-kick and love interest, henchmen, mad scientists, evil millionaires! It has everything! But above all, it has critters and that’s what Impossible Creatures is all about: the critters - and what fine critters they are, need a half-baboon half-praying mantis? No problem. Gorilla crossed with a killer whale? I think we have one in stock. It's all very fun, only marginally creepy, and the creatures that you create are absolutely spectacular. Indeed, all the graphics in this game are quite beautiful, which unfortunately means that the system required, for it to look better than a WWF wrestler, is quite hefty. The sound too is similarly impressive with great pseudo-jazzy-swing tracks providing a backdrop for the game. Unfortunately it’s the game itself that is somewhat lacking. As once you get past the initial novelty of generating the freakiest beings that you can, you realise that this is just another generic real-time strategy game. In fact, with the exception of the critters this is just like every other real-time strategy game since time began. And it won't be long before you realise that though you can create as many critters as you want, only a few will ever be useful; and you'll find yourself using the same nine creations for the entire game. Overall however this game is highly amusing and lots of fun, but don't expect a revolution, just a kind of weird and a little scary evolution.

God Emperor · Post by **God Emperor** » 2003-05-04 09:23pm

Impossible Creatures brought to you by the same people that brought you Homeworld.

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-05-04 09:28pm

God Emperor wrote:Impossible Creatures brought to you by the same people that brought you Homeworld.

Except Homeworld was original and my god - I still have flashbacks to the opening sequence the sheer beauty of the mothership leaving dock - the graphics, the music, it was all so amazing.

I can't wait for HW2.

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-05-04 10:17pm

Gaming Forum.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-04 11:01pm

weemadando wrote:
God Emperor wrote:Impossible Creatures brought to you by the same people that brought you Homeworld.
Except Homeworld was original and my god - I still have flashbacks to the opening sequence the sheer beauty of the mothership leaving dock - the graphics, the music, it was all so amazing.

That was great how they timed the launch of the Mothership to Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-05-04 11:08pm

phongn wrote:
weemadando wrote:Except Homeworld was original and my god - I still have flashbacks to the opening sequence the sheer beauty of the mothership leaving dock - the graphics, the music, it was all so amazing.
That was great how they timed the launch of the Mothership to Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Dammit, I have GOT to get my claws on this game, SOMEHOW!

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2003-05-04 11:17pm

IG-88E wrote:

Dammit, I have GOT to get my claws on this game, SOMEHOW!

Shouldn't be too hard, it was only just the GOTY when it came out, and as such has a GOTY edition complete with soundtrack CD. You should be able to find it in any Electronics Boutique/Gamestop/Software Etc., local computer/video game store, and for pretty cheap, now that it's something like four or five years old.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2003-05-04 11:19pm

God Emperor wrote:Impossible Creatures brought to you by the same people that brought you Homeworld.

Same development house, yes, but it was my understanding that the dev team in charge of Homeworld 1 went to work on Homeworld 2 almost immediately after, though I could easily be wrong.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-04 11:21pm

Homeworld Game Of The Year Edition is about $10-20 USD depending where you go. Do get it as it is an excellent game. The patch is also on the soundtrack CD so you don't have to download it.

Pilot view rocks, that's all I can say.

Temjin · Post by **Temjin** » 2003-05-05 12:35am

This just pisss me off.

Relic is my favorite development house. I have not taken Homeworld off my hard-drive since I got it (which, with a 6.5 gig hard-drive, is saying something).

Now, they come out with a new game, and I can't even play it on my old antique of a computer.

I dread the time HW2 is released.....

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-05-05 11:32am

I love the steam-engine experimental hovercraft lab.

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2003-05-05 05:09pm

Except Homeworld was original and my god - I still have flashbacks to the opening sequence the sheer beauty of the mothership leaving dock - the graphics, the music, it was all so amazing.

Really? I bought Homeworld, didnt care for it much actually. I uninstalled it a few weeks later, and its been sitting on my shelf collecting dust since.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-05-05 05:27pm

Jadeite wrote:
Except Homeworld was original and my god - I still have flashbacks to the opening sequence the sheer beauty of the mothership leaving dock - the graphics, the music, it was all so amazing.
Really? I bought Homeworld, didnt care for it much actually. I uninstalled it a few weeks later, and its been sitting on my shelf collecting dust since.

Infidel. Homeworld rests among his breathens Kings of Kings, as one of the best games of All Time.

Also, moved to the gaming forum.

God Emperor · Post by **God Emperor** » 2003-05-05 05:31pm

Jadeite wrote:Really? I bought Homeworld, didnt care for it much actually. I uninstalled it a few weeks later, and its been sitting on my shelf collecting dust since.

Did you ever finish it?

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2003-05-05 11:05pm

Did you ever finish it?

No. I did play it for a couple days, and got through the first couple areas. Then I just got bored with it.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-05-05 11:09pm

According to the PCG review, they should've just named it Impossible Lobsters and be done with it...

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-05-05 11:57pm

Eek, hyperbole! I guess IC does have some weirdness about it, but I don't think it would even make my top ten morally questionable games list.

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-05-06 12:27am

Sriad wrote:Eek, hyperbole! I guess IC does have some weirdness about it, but I don't think it would even make my top ten morally questionable games list.

Its a sarcastic review in a highly sarcastic university magazine. And did you miss the bit about cheese?

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-05-06 12:57am

Exonerate wrote:According to the PCG review, they should've just named it Impossible Lobsters and be done with it...

Heh. That is quite true.