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  Review: Spore

  Navneet Prakash, Sep 10, 2008 1525 hrs IST

  Not quite game, not quite simulation. Spore nevertheless enthralls and entertains. Our review inside

  Fresh and innovative gameplay, Creation tools are near-perfect, Good presentation and design, Space phase will keep you hooked on for weeks to come. A great game for everyone

  Game balance issues, unexpected crashes, no auto-save, may disappoint hardcore gamers

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Page 1 - Introduction Page 2 - The Creature Stage Page 3 - The Civilisation Phase Page 4 - The Space Age Page 5 - Conclusion

After nearly eight years in the making, the world saw the release of Spore from Will 'Toy Maker' Wright's Maxis studio. Spore has been touted and speculated as a god game or a simulation of everything; however, in our humble opinion it's neither a game nor a complete simulation, at least not in the strictest sense of the words. What Spore offers is an opportunity for a controlled experiment in nature, or evolution if you will.

Speaking of evolution, the game tends to throw our traditional understanding of the Darwinian theory of 'survival of the fittest' out the window as you have fair amount of choices to ensure your species survival and dominance in the universe. Having said that, the game design doesn't stray too far from our understanding of evolution and offers the progression stages starting with a single-celled organism all the way to what we may consider peak of a civilization -- space exploration.

Starting your journey

Your creature's journey in Spore begins as a humble single-celled organism, whose sole purpose in life is to consume and multiply. Determining your creature's traits at this stage are two main factors -- your dietary preference (plant-eating, carnivore or omnivore) and your survival tactics (aggressive, passive or adaptable).

This Cell Phase is basically a top-down view of your creature eating and growing on a 2D surface. Since I was an herbivore, I was swimming around looking for plants to chew on. As you eat, a progress bar at the bottom of the screen will track your progress to the next phase. You will have to keep your distance from other carnivores -- since to them, you are on the menu. Occasionally you will discover useful body parts that can be used by you inside the game's editor: such as a spike on your back to hurt those pesky predators.

Irrespective of the means you choose, the end entails making your creature's DNA complex enough to grow 'legs' and move on to the land above. Before exiting to land and entering the Creature Stage you are given a special ability, to survive in the outside world. I was given the Siren Song, for example.

With similar choices offered at the Creature Stage, your main goal is to collect more complex body parts that you will use to enhance your creature through an incredible fun and simple to use tool kit. In this phase, the game will also generate species around you, to balance the ecosystem. The world around you is thus filled with many different creatures; you will also find many dead animals as well as skeletal remains. These skeletal remains can be scourged to discover new parts that can be later used in the editor.

Page 1 - Introduction Page 2 - The Creature Stage Page 3 - The Civilisation Phase Page 4 - The Space Age Page 5 - Conclusion

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