Isabella, High Quality 16x Minecraft Texture Pack Download (Review)
I like 16x texture packs, mostly because they're plug n' play. You just toss 'em into your texure pack folder and you're good to go, unlike so called 'HD' texture packs which need HD patchers to work and then inevitably break Mod Loader, which means you get a choice between textures and mods. As it is a nice 16x texture pack will significantly improve the appearance of Minecraft without sacrificing moddability. Have your cake and eat it too!
Isabella is a gorgeous texture pack, stunning in fact. It's Minecraft customizer compatible, so you can choose your preferred options and it also comes with native Mo'Creatures, Better than Wolves and Airship support.
The word that comes to mind when viewing Isabella is 'smooth', everything is velvet smooth, unlike the default textures, which take a strange joy in being as blocky as inhumanly possible. Grass flows seamlessly across the lands. Sugar cane is thin and elegant. Trees look smooth enough to rub your face against.
The GUI is slick and clear, I especially like the square / rectangular health, hunger and experience bars. Departing from the hearts and chicken legs was a good decision because they're now easier to read and also much less intrusive than the default style.
Mobs have all seen a nice retexturing, the pigs look like they've been enjoying a nice roll in the mud, and / or simply happen to be wild type pigs with light brown coats, which makes a lot more sense than bright pink domesticated piggies which we're supposed to believe roam the Minecraft landscape. Of course, they have no natural predators aside from the player, so perhaps that has something to do with it. We can discuss the potential evolution of Minecraft mobs another time though, right now it's all about the texture pack.
I have Mo'Creatures installed most all of the time (I love having rideable horses) so I'm especially fond of the mob support included. Be aware however, you'll need to visit the customizer site to get the Mo'Creatures compatibility, it's not in the base version. If you don't have Mo'Creatures, you should get it, it's come a long way since early development and now has kitties. Kitties!
If you're looking for a simple, slick texture pack that will improve Minecraft a hundredfold and is compatible with the best mods of all time, I strongly suggest you download Isabella, it might only be 16x, but it packs a HD punch.