- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98
- Date added: July 05, 2005
- Total Downloads: 56,988
- Downloads last week: 19
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 30 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
Docking Station is a freeware Internet-enabled version of the popular game Creatures. You play god in a small ecosystem where you watch funny creatures, Norns, grow and die. They explore their tiny world, mutating and learning as they grow. You can punish, reward, and teach them. What's more, you can have them travel from one world to another if you play online. However, many features of Creatures are not available. For instance, you can't edit genomes. On the plus side, you can load new rooms and creature breeds. We were impressed with the graphics and audio and found the game an enjoyable way to indulge our inner mad scientist.Publisher's description
From Creature Labs :Following in the steps of the successful Creatures series of games, Docking Station allows you to raise and nurture loveable little creatures called Norns. Teach them to eat and to speak and then explore the Docking Station environment. Eventually your Norns will want to mate and that's where the fun really starts. You can send and receive Norns online from any other Docking Station players around the world. Docking Station, as with all Creatures games, uses sophisticated modelling of real biological systems to create a title that's as engrossing and entertaining as it is creative and fun.
More popular Other Strategy Games downloads
- 4,044 downloads 1. Navy Field: Resurrection of the Steel Fleet
- 3,092 downloads 2. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
- 2,002 downloads 3. Backgammon Classic
- 1,154 downloads 4. Age of Empires III Trial Version
- 926 downloads 5. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
- See all Other Strategy Games downloads
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.6 stars out of 30 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 23 user reviewsSee all 23 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
30 out of 30 people found this review helpful
Version: Docking Station 1.95
"The ultimate pet game and more."
Pros: Whoever said that this game is limited is a complete moron. Docking Station is the free introduction to the Creatures Series, the most advanced artificial intelligence and only virtual life game on the Internet. In this game, you can hatch creatures called Norns and raise them by teaching them right from wrong, helping them find food and toys to amuse themselves, then later, as a reward for your hard work and training, they will grow up and be able to breed and lay eggs, producing more baby norns! (Your job will be a little easier after that as the parents will help do some of the raising.)
But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. Did I mention Norns have their own biochemistry and genetics? That means that every time two Norns concieve, the parent's DNA is combined and there is the possibility of random mutations, which means that you can breed Norns like cats and dogs, selecting for certain traits (example: colour). OR you can download a Genetics Kit from Creature Labs and play mad scientist, changing everything about your Norns from letting them breathe underwater to making them completely resistant to diseases! The possibilites are endless. You can even use something called CAOS code to design your own toys and food for your norns.
In summary, this is THE game for virtual pet lovers. If you liked Neopets, you'll LOVE Docking Station(as you can actually interact with your pets rather than just staring at an image of them...)
Also, the main feature of this game is that you can connect online, sending and receiving Norns from other users, and the Chat console allows you to talk with your friend in-game.
The instruction manual for this amazing game can be found on the Creature Labs website:
gamewaredevelopment.co.uk/creatures_index.php
Cons: The ONLY thing bad about this game is that the size of the area that your Norns can live in is pretty small compared to the space that they're given in the rest of the Creatures games. But that doesn't really matter, because you can download third-party "metarooms", expanding the space that your Norns can live in! Also, if you buy Creatures 3, you can attach that game on to Docking Station, giving your Norns TONS of more space. :)
-
Version: Docking Station 1.95
Pros: Very good animated picture.
Cons: Nothing.
-
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Version: Docking Station 1.95
"I can't believe this is free"
Pros: So far I've been mostly disappointed with AI driven sandbox games and virtual pets, but "Docking Station" was a very pleasant surprise. Sure, it's just an interactive commercial for "Creatures 3", but it's actually much fun and quite addictive. I'm a complete newbie to the "Creatures" series, so I was totally blown away by the possibilities in this game. It's fun to watch your Norns grow and interact with each other and the gameworld. Teaching them is very rewarding, because they actually seem to learn and give you some feedback, unlike most other games with a similar premise.
Cons: I think there is room for improvement when it comes to direct interaction with the Norns and their environment. The creatures (especially the young ones) and some items in this game are really small, so it happens quite often that you accidentally click the wrong item or action when you try to teach your Norn something. The online registration you have to do before you can get started also annoyed me a bit, but in retrospect, it's not that bad, considering the quality of the game. Finally there's this "banner" (it's actually a giant render image of a Norn) that pops up occasionally, advertising "Creatures 3", which can get on your nerves, because you can't click it off.
-
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Version: Docking Station 1.95
"A jaw dropping, addictive and complex AL game."
Pros: Amazing Artificial Life.
Very pleasing graphics.
The ability to choose your own path in how you care for your Artificial Life.
Different breeds to mate and give birth too.
The option to teach the creatures to speak.
Plenty of add-ons and 3rd party agents around the web.
The ability to trade creatures over the internet.
With the use of other freeware programs to make your own creatures and rooms.
The ability to teach the creature between right and wrong.
The ability to look after the creatures from illness and feed them properly.
Creatures are so advanced they can get genetic mutations in their Digital DNA (DDNA).
Plenty on agents and toys to keep you and your Creatures amused.
Cons: It takes some time to master.
Creatures can be frustrating if they don't like you.
Instructions don't come included in the game (although they are out there).
-
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful
Version: Docking Station 1.95
"Engaging and thought-provoking"
Pros: After the initial effect of the cute graphics and richly detailed backgrounds wears off, you get down to the crunchy bits of the game. For me, that's the agents.
An agent is an object within the game -- a toy, a plant, a bit of food, a gadget, a critter -- basically anything that isn't a norn.
The beauty of it all is that it's extensible. You can write your own agents for the game (and you can engineer your own norns, too, if you are so inclined), and there are numerous community-written tutorials on the game's scripting language, CAOS. Even if you don't have any prior experience with programming, CAOS is easy to get the hang of.
In short, download this game! And don't forget to join the community. :)
Cons: In my opinion, the norns are klutzy and in general only serve to mess up your careful agent experiments :)
- See all 23 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
- See more CNET content tagged:
- games
