Spore

Location: UK
Age: 19
Time played: Lost count, I have had the game a year now.
Preferred Creature Type: Omnivore

My Review:

Well I dislike all of the focus on a paticular part or moral argument some reviews give, but obviously to fully review this game in depth and fairness I will need to include them. Firstly I am not reviewing the game based on all of the DRM arguments, there is much to read about that on other sites/reviews and I believe as this doesnt really effect the gameplay directly it shouldnt be considered in a review of this type.

Spore was very hyped and I feel some people get blinded by this when reviewing, the game was hyped not just by EA and maxis but mostly by fan generated rumours, this lead to some people being dissapointed at the game. Also previous game junkies were expecting a game level of somthing akin to many modern games, with high functional controls and in depth story line. This is not the case. However I for one am glad of this. The overall gameplay is not heavy, yet like the rest of the game it allows a very creative and personal gameplay style. I have heard some people call certain features pointless, but in my opinion nothing is pointless if you are creative and use them. For example, in the tribal stage you can choose to raid food, I like to do this while also entertianing the tribe so it goes unnoticed. The same applies to the deemed 'empty' creature stage, the way in which you can gain certain abilities does help to craft a style, for example either using sneak to hunt/follow weak 'prey' or to skit around angry enemies to find a weaker one to socialise with. This ultimatley all adds up to the type or path of the creature's race and it is interesting to see what paths these actions create. The point I am trying to make is that the game is open and is what you choose to make it. I feel that people with limited imagination or those who prefer to be given a storyline and clear objectives in a game may not suit to this new style of playing that is so classic of will wrights creations. The gameplay is open to everyone of all ages and whole some more advanced gameplayers may find this annoying or even, dare I add, boring, others who tend to dissuade from the classic this-is-what-you-do-next styles of games will find this refreshing to play.

CREATORS:
I have to admit, like many other players, I spend the majority of my time in the creators. There are several different ones, each for vehcile, UFO, building and of course animals/cells. It is interesting to see how much creativity and freedom there is within the seemingly very set creators. It is almost endless how and what you create. The best thing about this is that it's simple so kids right throuhg to big kids can master it within a short space of time. The online community factor to the creation proces also makes it a constant but enjoyable learning curve that is a brilliant part of the game. Again, the game really is what you decide to make it.

STAGES:
Each of the stages (untill prehaps the space stage) add more to the gameplay and ready you with gameplay skills for the next, similar to how evolution behaves so the choice to skip stages is nice as there will inevetably be stages that you dislike or favour. They encompass different genres of gaming, from arcade style to the more broadbased roleplaying style. The fact that your actions in one stage gives you abilities in another is a nice concept and allows for as much or as little strategic gameplay as you wish, although it does not push the player into strategy it may be more challenging to form a strategy, however this only adds to the creative spectrum of the game.

CELL:
Rightly referenced as an arcade style game, you manouver a essentially 2-D cell around the pools of your planet, this for me is the least enjoyable part. However it teaches you fundamental basics of the game, such as eating, interacting with cells and handling the all important movement. How you eat and interact with the cells determines what food you eat as a creature, highly important as if you desire a certian path not getting the actions needed for that then makes the gameplay demand even more creativity. This can be seen as a good or a bad thing. Nonetheless, it is a fun if not short stage that isnt too heavy.

CREATURE:
One of my favourite stages. You emerge as a poorly equipped cell and your task is to find parts, gain parts from 'alpha creatures' and grow stronger whilst shaping your behaviour and game style. Many people have called this an empty stage and the fail to see the evolution part. I am not sure what some people expected from this, Prehaps a pokemon style evoloution? It is up to you to make the process as realistic or as quick as you desire. If you are creative enough with the parts, open minded enough with the abilities you can fashion a very indiviidual gameplay style. People accuse this of being empty, however i see it as being open. It can be a very rewarding stage, although I do conceed that if you spend too much time in the stage and exhaust al of your methods it can somtimes be a little repetitive

TRIBE:
I think my least favourite part, mainly because this encompasses a multi character style of gameplay where you assign tribes members tasks etc. Again, by combining these tasks you can adpat your style. I have heard complaintes about not having enough spaces for the tools, but this is where you have to make choices further carving your path. You can get through this stage fairly quickly, although for me it was just that, getting past it.

CIVILISATION:
Here you learn the art of economics and diplomacy, or even anti -diplomacy. This is a fun stage where you play as a nation as a whole, either primarily millitary, religious or economic. Each respectivley earns new cities by combat, conversion or trading. You can then choose each city that you earn to stay the type it was or convert to the way it was taken over. This enables high strategic game play as well as deciding your final civilisations path. You get to manage these cities with regards to their structure and what vehicles they have. Both of these factors are important in order to gain spice, money from the spice and how quickly this is produced. This can be a little challenging and somtimes certain actions can get you into sticky situations, but if there was no challenge it wouldnt be much of a game!

SPACE:
Some people find this boring and say that you start off too weak. You get given your archeytype here, basicly the type of nation you have grown into to based on your evolutionary pattern. The aim of this section is to grow your power, hence starting off noobish. You can do this in a number of ways, as well as by earning badges by carrying out tonnes of tasks. You can feel a little bewildered at first and be tempted to jack it in, but once you start to play around with the features you realise what ther is on offer and what you do and do not like. The pushy tutorial is a little annoying but if you spend time afterwards really consolodating your empire it will reap the rewards afterward. Through a subtle story line you realise the main objective of this game and start to work toward it. I really enjoy this part as you can do almost anything so you don't get bored as easily as you may in other stages. Also now with the added extension pack GA there are user created mini game to do which are a nice addition.

ONLINE COMMUNITY:
you really have to consider this when looking at this game. The game is based on this social aspect. I am not always happy with other peoples creations that just don't fit in with my world running around (wit till you get 'supertossi' monsters squirting you from where they shouldnt or grannies in wheelchairs flying past in space), but through the means of buddying people whose creations you like you can have a suprising, fresh and pretty cool world of creations. There is also the fact that you too can build a profile of creations on the sporepedia and if you are into it try and gain a little notoriety. There are also the friendly forums and other extras you get from the site. Annoyingly though it only seems that EA is interested in keeping the american site up and running properly, but this is a minor thing that dosent really matter too much.

BUGS:
Some people experience bugs, and with EA's lack of technical support this can become annoying. I have experienced very little myself, and those glitches and bugs I did encounter i was able to fix myself. The online community is excellent for free techy support too. I don't think that the glitches in this game should detract from how innovative and creative this game is, as it is a problem with EA not restricted to spore alone.

OVERALL:
Don't focus on all of the complaints people have and the whinings about how they got sucked into hype and expected more, by all means take this into account before buying spore but try to look at it fairly, it is only a game and is not the end of the world if it wasnt up to your exepectations. I think this is a game mainly suited for very creative people who don't like the typical game structure and are looking for somthing a little lighter that is just meant as a bit of fun not some meaningful story line worthy of cinematic production. If you are someone who expects this I wouldn't hold your hopes too high.

Primary likes of the game: The amount of creativity in the game. The freedom of the game. The originality of the game.

Primary dislikes of the game: The repetitiveness after a while gets annoying. The tribe stage (personal preference though). The addictivness!

Rating: 8.9 outta 10

Good first post!

The only problem with this review, is it sounds as if it's written for the perspective of a <13 (13 or under) age-group.

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Wishlist:

As was Spore.

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Lol. "Long and in depth."

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I can kill a bear with only my hands... but only when I'm alone and there is no evidence of me doing so.