| Spore Spore is a revolutionary game idea that is soon to be a reality. Spore is a game straight from the mind of Will Wright (who designed The Sims series). The game is based around the idea of evolution. Spore is hugely expansive, the game starts with you as a simple bacteria ,leads on to fully grown animals, progresses to civilization and finished with a massive space exploration level. Spore was released on the 5th September in Europe and 7th to America. The game has been well recieved. To find out more visit the official Spore site. [Under construction] The Stages The Cell Stage: The cell stage is the first stage in Spore. It is a fundimentally 2D level where ou play as a simple micro-organism whos only goal is to eat, mate and survive. To adapt your cell you have to mate, after doing so you are shown the editor screen. From here you can use DNA points, gained from eating food, to spend on new parts such as defences, mouths or senses. The Creature Stage: Once you've collected enough DNA you can advance to the creature stage. At this point your cell becomes a creature and you are asked to give it legs. The game changes to full 3D and you see your creature rise up out of the ocean and climb onto the land. The creature stage is all about fighting or befriending. You still need to eat, however your key objective is to join with or remove other species as you work your way to sentience. The Tribal Stage: When you reach intelligence your race becomes capable of using tools, fire and having buildings. The emphasis here is on destroying or befriending other tribes as your creature works towards global dominance. The Civilization Stage: The civilisation stage is an extension of the tribal stage where you can start to construct your own buildings and vehicles. From here the game plays as a Real-time strategy game in which you attempt to take over all the cities on the planet. The Space Stage: Once you have reached the end of the civilisation stage you begin the space stage. For this you design a 'UFO' and take of into a vast galaxy of stars and planets free for you to explorer. Aspects of the civilisation stage still remain but in the form of space outposts. My Review Rating: Graphics: 8/10 The graphics is highly appealing and unique in style. It follows a slightly Disney Pixar feel, along the lines of Monsters INC. There is very rarely any graphical glitches and the whole expansive world remains detailed and diverse, however the style can become weary-some and often you find yourself wishing for a little more reality. Game play: 5/10 The game play unfortunately lacks some. The most compelling stage is sadly the cell stage as it is the most simple and attractive. The other stages lack the depth and captivity of game play and can become very repetitive after the first play through. The game is also very easy to complete with no really challenge, even on hard mode, and no cost of failure really presented. The other problem is that you are forced through the game way to quickly, finding yourself a galactic master within a few hours. Edge stage is short, where as the space stage is endless, making you feel that all the game really is, is the space stage. Story: 3/10 As far as I can tell no real story presents itself during Spore. There is no higher goal or aim until the space stage where you are given a simple enemy: the Grox. This however is no really done in depth. Innovation: 9/10 As far as creative ideas go Spore might as well deserve a 10. It is extremely unique and the concept is beautiful. It just lacks execution. Total: 6.26/10 Generally a good play but only really once as a novelty. Don't expect it to last and try not to be sucked in by its innovative appeal. |  |
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