Creature Village
Ages: Everyone 5+

The Creatures are back!! The Creatures are back!!

Those cute little Norn creatures that I played with inCreatures Adventures five years ago are back. They are creatures that begin from an egg, grow up under your care, mate and after living a full life, eventually die. It comes with an extensive manual with advice to parents who may be a little squeamish about birth and death. The game handles both topics with care an sensibility.

The graphics are childlike and colorful which will appeal to the kids. The presentation of Mendelian genetics will please those who are older. It is much more interesting than the genetics of peas. Time progresses, days turn to nights, rain comes and goes, seasons change, crops grow and become fallow and your Norns grow up.

As I recall, this game has many more activities for the Norns to explore than the earlier one -- ferris wheel, haunted house, carnival amusements, swamps, and a clean up area that acts like an auto wash. You can almost forget the mating part until after about 90 minutes they grow to a mating age, you see a heart , hear a kiss and a pop and you are raising a new generation. The game is engrossing and it is worth reading the manual -- all good things require some effort. With the price of games these days, it is a great bargain at $19.99 and can be purchased at Amazon or on line at: www.kutoka.com

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/05