Spore
PC (minimum 2Ghz, processor) or Mac (Intel, Mac OS Leopard)
Electronic Arts
5 stars (out of 5)
Review by Simon Kemp
I must admit to being a bit apprehensive as I installed Spore.
It's been hyped to monumental proportions (mainly due to it coming from the mind of Mr Sims, Will Wright) and, after playing the Creature Creator earlier in the year, I've been waiting for this to come out for ages.
Also, and I'll say this quietly, I didn't really like The Sims; I got bored really quickly . . .
Well, I've spent a few hours with it already - not long enough to get through everything, but enough to confirm it has been worth the wait.
Spore is split up into five separate stages; Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilisation and Space.
You start off as a single cell attached to a comet which crashes into a barren planet.
The initial Cell stage of the game involves you playing a survival of the fittest battle in the primordal ooze.
This is where you make the first of the decisions which will shape your species; speed or strength, carnivore or herbivore.
Throughout the game, the choices you make affect your character and decide every character trait of your creations.
Once your creature is finished, it is automatically uploaded to the Spore servers and will appear in both the "Sporepedia" and also will be used to populate other players' planets.
The first two stages are controlled incredibly easily by using the mouse - in tandem with the excellent on-screen tutorial messages.
Once you reach the Tribal stage, additional controls mean a change to a keyboard/mouse combination but, again, this is easy and well presented.
The control section of the game is pretty much flawless - you have massive control over hundreds of different things but it is handled and presented so well that it is incredibly easy and not intimidating at all.
Each of the sections I've played have been well paced and not too long-winded - once you reach a certain DNA level, you get the option of playing on and improving your creature more by evolving new body parts and finding new species or you can advance to the next stage.
This caters for both gamers who want to find everything and take their time and those who want to get to space ASAP.
Visually and aurally, Spore is excellent - the character models are superb, the backgrounds well detailed and the musical score and sound effects are brilliant.
The animation also rates a mention - all the creatures move seamlessly as well as singing, dancing and playing instruments (used to charm and impress other tribes).
They also interact with each other - you'll notice them discussing things, laughing between themselves and getting into the occasional rumble after a disagreement.
It has to be said that each separate stage would not be enough as a game on its own - there's not enough variety in each one to keep you going forever - but the fact that each is only a stepping stone on the way to galactic domination is reason enough to keep you going; something The Sims didn't do for me.
I think deceptively addictive is as good a description as any . . .
Spore really is a sum of its parts; the whole package is excellent and will appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers and, with the constant evolution promised from the game's creators, it should keep people happy for years.
I think The Sims have finally met their match.
