Spore review (PC)

Spore, as you may already know, is almost indefinable as a game, although one could make a stab at pinning the real-time strategy tag on it.

It is so much more than your usual build-and-rush bore-fest though, bringing with it two important elements: customisation and personalisation.

These two factors are, in essence, the key to understanding why the game both works and sometimes falls relatively flat.

By focusing on these two key elements, the actual game itself has probably suffered for it, with numerous critics already savaging its lack of genuine substance behind the pretty graphics and cute creatures.

This reviewer finds himself in a difficult position, wedged uncomfortably between the two standpoints, like a passenger on a plane who finds he is sitting between Yokozuna and Bam Bam Bigelow.

While there is a definite lamentation of the lack of depth in the majority of the game's stages, there is also the nagging question of whether ramping up the depth would merely get in the way of the main aim of the game - that is, the evolution of your creature.

Do the Evolution

Before we get into the problems of the latter stages, let's start at the beginning. Spore gives you the chance to create a new life form, dragging it from the primordial ooze of the oceans and eventually leading it into the stars to investigate the galaxy.

Starting off in said ocean, the Cell stage, you start as a very basic tadpole-esque creature, swimming about and eating scraps of food and avoiding bigger, more developed predators.

A progress bar at the bottom of the screen shows the progress of your creature's evolution, with various milestones interspersed on it. As each is reached, your tadpole grows and migrates upwards, closer to the surface.

This is definitely the most striking portion of the game in many ways and is an excellent introduction sequence, introducing you slowly to the creature creator utility and the manner in which progress is made.

Simplistic it may be, but it will be the section I perhaps have fondest memories of when I look back on the game in a few years.

Eventually, after paddling about eating chunks of flesh/plant matter and attaching various fins and eye stalks to your aquatic creation, you make the final leap onto land.

This first land stage, Creature, is all about (literally) finding your feet as a new species, being that one of the first things you'll do is glue some legs onto your fledgling species.

From here, you take your first tentative steps into the world, crushing or befriending other new species. Each limb or appendage on your creature gives it different abilities - plumage and so on makes it easier to ally with other races, while spines and talons allow you to rend flesh from bone.

There isn't much else to this stage, though. An issue many have had with the game is that these early levels are both too brief and too simplistic, although one might argue they serve their purpose well enough.

After this is the Tribal stage, in which your creatures start to form more solid communities. Now you need to attach arms, as your charges need to be able to wield primitive weapons, musical instruments or fishing spears in order to progress.

This is where the game first starts to show its real-time strategy elements, with buildings to place, creatures to assign different tasks to and an armed force to maintain and control.

Progress is made by making contact with other tribes and, again, either destroying or charming them, pretty much like the Creature phase, just with added clothing.

This is the last time you get to really appreciate your own creation and those who you are up against. One of Spore's unique elements is that your world will be populated both by Maxis' own creatures and by ones randomly drafted in from other people.

It is certainly interesting to think that your own creature could be getting charmed or exterminated in somebody else's game somewhere.

Creationism

The next stage, Civilisation, is where things start to get more complex. You now get to design your buildings and vehicles, but no longer do you get any more control over your creature's look.

The RTS elements are ramped up, with Spice to harvest in order to fund expansion, while the design of your buildings affects your creature's happiness, security and so on.

This is probably the first time you'll feel in any way taxed by the game, although again most of your time will probably be spent fiddling about in the creator suite.

Finish this section intact and you enter the final stage: space travel. This is the game at its most complex, but even then it isn't like being thrown into the middle of a game of Sins of a Solar Empire or anything.

Your experience in the previous stages means there is no overwhelming difficulty spike when you enter the space stage, as even then you are introduced gradually - your initial warp drive only allows for short distance travel, so you won't be opening up the whole universe too quickly.

This is a good thing, as there have been numerous reports of something that could ruin the game for people - overly aggressive AI enemies. Even on the easiest difficulty level, people have reported problems with exploring too quickly, before they've really built up a solid infrastructure and a powerful armed force.

Essentially, what happens is that certain AI civilisations or factions will attack you mercilessly without ever stopping, either until you or they are destroyed. If you haven't built up your army enough by the time you meet such an enemy, you will effectively be fighting a war of attrition forever.

Obviously, this won't affect everyone, but it is worth noting when you get to the space stage. Another important thing not to forget is that your universe will be populated by civilisations drawn from the already vast collection of user-created content Maxis has at its disposal.

Although it makes little difference in a real sense, the depth of people's creativity will doubtless surprise you, even when you could potentially class yourself as a veteran of the game, way down the line.

Unless these wondrous races proceed to destroy you, of course. You probably won't feel too enthused then.

Revolution

One of the things many people will be excited about is the fact you can create and design your own creature, buildings, spaceships and so on.

But is there a limit to how much you want to create? Tweaking your creature is fun, but designing building after building from scratch gets a bit wearisome after a while, especially as the further you go into the game, the closer together these demands are made.

Entering the Civilisation stage, you are asked to build your Town Hall, which you do. Then you are asked to create your vehicle, which you do. You then have to make more buildings relatively quickly after that, before the Space stage asks for more.

Sometimes you just want to get on with the game, rather than be dragged back into the creator for the umpteenth time.

There is also little real point to the early stages, being that once you get into the Civilisation phase and beyond, your creature's design almost becomes irrelevant.

Allies you've made earlier don't matter in the next stage, which is a shame. There is no real link between each phase, other than your creature itself - and even that can effectively be completely changed between phases.

In some ways, perhaps each stage should be judged on its own merits, rather than as part of a whole. Cell is a fantastic introduction that just manages to be over with quickly enough not to outstay its welcome, while Creature and Tribal generally just involve spending a lot of time in the creature creator before clubbing a few enemies to death / dancing around a bit to make them your friends.

Survival of the Fittest

In the end, Spore is a game that will interest anyone who has a creative spark, even one buried deep inside. Tweaking and creating your creature is always a joy, easily the best part of the game.

It is also a maddening game to review, because so much of it is intrinsically related to the personal - what you do with the game, what you make out of it yourself and so on.

Perhaps the best way to sum it up is that Spore is what you make of it - put a lot of effort in and you get your rewards in seeing your creations evolve, grow and explore the universe.

Merely skim over the creationist elements and you'll find a relatively staid RTS core that won't be winning any awards. Only by putting the effort into the creationist aspect does the RTS element gain any meaning.

8.5/10

David Brown