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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

Do the dance

The Creature stage of the game ends with the consequence that your creature will emerge as the dominants species in the world, right at the top of the food chain. Since you are the only sentient species on the current planet, the power struggle shifts to intra-species strife for domination or survival.

At the end of the tribal stage, the biological blue print of your creature will be set in stone and the way forward at this stage is through collection and implementation of various tools that'll lead you through to the civilization stage. The game introduces balance by spawning bigger and stronger creatures around you. I turned into a carnivore after a while by editing and adding a new carnivorous mouth piece. I realized that as an herbivore I was very passive and harmless, hence was hunted quite easily. A few modifications later -- I got me an offensive bite ability as well the ability to sprint -- attributes of my new-found body parts.

In the creature phase one can earn DNA points by either eradicating other species -- this is done by killing 5-7 members of the species, or by being friendly and impressing 3-5 members of that species. It's your decision, and as you complete the tasks your progress bar grows towards the next Phase.

An interesting anecdote: During one of my hunts, I saw a huge herd of creatures running away, after a while I heard a strange noise and before I could comprehend, I saw a giant spaceship looming overhead. I was quite shocked and not knowing the ship's intentions, I fled. The ship started abducting many creatures and after a while, it just flew away. I saw a couple of creatures waving at the ship with gloomy faces, as the ship had abducted one of their own.

Every time you are ready to evolve and add new parts to your creature, you have to mate. The creature phase can be quite action-packed if you are a carnivore. After earning a decent amount of DNA points your brain gets bigger and you can now add a member to take along on your adventures. In plain language, you start a pack. You can make allies by singing to others: a small mini-game starts and if you are able to impress, you win an ally. This socialization is not limited to singing and there are other abilities like charm and dance which are earned depending on the body parts you use in the editor. However, a tribe might demand you dance for them to become allies -- whenever one asked me to dance, I eliminated their entire species. I remember earning an achievement (yes the game has achievements) as I eliminated about 20 species to earn DNA points.

Once again, at these stages of the game -- starting from your arrival on land to the peak of your civilization, the course of the species is determined mainly by how you use your acquired technology and your social interaction with other species, tribes and civilizations.
In the tribal stage your goal is to grow as a tribe and dominate others. You start off by hunting and collecting food. Once you have enough food, you have to produce more babies and increase the size of your tribe. More food leads to more development, which can be used to create tools. These tools can be used for making allies or for eliminating rival tribes. I faced five tribes, I dominated and captured 4 of them and made the last remaining tribe my ally. Every time you eliminate or become allies with a neighboring tribe you receive their tribe Totem to indicate your victory. Once all the tribes have been defeated you get to advance to the Civilization Phase.

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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