Review

Impossible Creatures

By The D-Pad Destroyer
February 24, 2003 13:46 PM PST
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Mixing animals together to create your own RTS army? That?s impossible!

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Imagine a game in which you get to mix and match animals to create the perfect creature soldiers. Now think about a real-time strategy game in which you direct the evolution of your army and cater units to your own playing style. Thanks to Relic Entertainment and Microsoft, you get it all?Impossible Creatures is a hybrid in itself, and thankfully, it?s a beneficial mutation.

Two Games in One
At first glance, Impossible Creatures seems like two games in one. The first game is an RTS with a strong foundation of buildings, units, resources, and tech trees. In this aspect, there?s not a lot you haven?t seen before?grab coal and harness electricity to power buildings that build units to kill the bad guys. The RTS side of the game isn?t as intricately balanced as, say, StarCraft, and the technology tree (which is the same for every player) isn?t exactly expansive or varied in scope. On its own, IC?s RTS part is about average, even with the ultra-cool, stylish-but-simple graphics; slick, hotkey-based controls; and perfectly mood-invoking music that make the game feel much more polished than the rest of the pack.

IC?s second game, that of a creature-creation sim, is what carries it above the overflow of RTS titles. Your army is exactly as strong as you make it?it?s up to you to combine creatures to create units that support your personal strategy?and it takes a lot of experimentation to find units that work for you. The sheer number of combinations is daunting, to say the least, and novices will spend a lot of time losing until they find the right beasts of battle.

Genetic Pedigree
Don?t let the pulpy title and feel fool you; Impossible Creatures is a tough RTS with amazing heaps of nuances and customizable strategies packed in. The huge list of hotkeys, campy voice acting, and intimidating amount of options may frighten some players away, but RTS fans looking for something new will find IC among the best in show.