Impossible Creatures: Steam Edition
Overview -
'Impossible Creatures' was released in 2002 by Relic Entertainment and Microsoft Studios. It spawned some expansion packs, but was given lukewarm reviews and was not followed by any other titles. Late last year, Nordic released a remastered Steam edition that includes all of its post-release content and some graphical upgrades, and Steam integration.
Video Review
Some modest improvements have been made in textures, and the framerate is lightning fast, but this game isn’t a looker. Models are fuzzy at a distance and the level of detail is low. Normally the visuals wouldn’t limit my enjoyment with a game to a significant degree - I mean, take into consideration the huge amount of excellent indies these days that look like potato - but in the case of 'Impossible Creatures: Steam Edition', the lumbering animations and overall low quality managed to dampen my spirits somewhat.
Audio Review
Several notable voice actors contributed to the original release, usually with deliberately overdone performances. David Kaye in particular (Nathan Hale from the 'Resistance' series, among many others) does the hammiest New Jersey accent since 'The Sopranos', and it becomes a bit grating after a while. The jazzy soundtrack is a high note, however.
Final Thoughts
'Impossible Creatures' was a decent strategy game upon first release, but time has not been kind. It’s not a bad experience, but there are far better RTSs available on the market.
