"Not a Mogwai! Called Norn!"

Creatures

Whoa. Back in 1998, I've discovered an amazing little game called Creatures Deluxe for the personal computer. I've since dropped this addiction, only to have the mania resume when I saw a little gba cart with a cute little baby Norn on it. Creatures is a game that makes Tamagotchi look primitive. The idea - take care of little hapless creatures called Norns while teaching them what to eat and how to behave.

Story - 6/10

You play as a fairy who gets the job of taking care of Norns on Albia. You start with two Norns and your job is to help them reproduce more of the sickeningly cute creatures. Essentially, you cannot end the game, and the game goes on as you reproduce more Norns. You can, however open up new lands for your Norns to explore.

One annoyance, although. The main character is called Stubby...and he replaces the hand cursor in the PC games.

Gameplay - 8/10

A portable version of the original game. You reward and punish the Norns for doing any action, and this is how they learn not to eat certain things, and not to fall into the water. You start off with two adult Norns, and they can reproduce quite rapidly when they discover tomatoes. As a very open ended game, you can explore the land of Albia by coaxing Norns into new territory or keep them safe in the starting area. The game never ends until your all your Norns die, and I haven't had this happen...yet.

You can interact with the Norns by picking up objects and getting the Norns to play. For example, you can grab a beach ball, and ask your current creature to hold it or you can throw it to them to get their attention on it. Norns also learn what you teach them. You can praise a creature with fairy dust after it does an action to encourage that activity. This sometimes results in amusing actions. I once praised a creature

Graphics - 7/10

Everything looks pixelated and blurry, except for the Norns. They are reproduced faithfully from the PC game.

Sound - 8/10

Cute and cuter. The sounds of the Norns will make even the most jaded FPS gamer smile. The loud sounds of procreation (a lip-smacking sound) and the sounds of the bouncing of toys make you want to hug a Norn.

Control - 7/10

Select chooses your current creature. The shoulder buttons praise and punish. The B button let's you hold an item. Basically, an easier version of the PC game's controls. Personally, I don't like the select button being the button that changes your current creature, but the scheme is quite good at other things.

Final Thoughts - 8/10

This game's not too shabby, if you have the time to invest in all your Norns and Gremlins. If you don't, how about a nice game of Pokemon?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/24/06