<Attn: Possible Spoilers Within>

So after playing through Spore, I have decided it is finally time to write something about it. I am reluctant to review Spore because I am still unsure if I like the game. I believe it is a matter of waiting for every video and detail of information on Spore, preordering the Galactic edition, and then twiddling my thumbs in bed the night before the release… and then the downfall of actually playing it.

Hold on! Hear me out here… Here’s my unbiased version of my Spore review:

Gameplay

Spore goes through five stages of evolution – cell stage, creature stage, tribal stage, civilization stage and finally space stage. The beginning of Spore proves to be gloriously simple within the cell stage and creature stage. In these two stages, you are the creator of your own little organism and get to swim/run around to find different parts to create even more interesting beings. You try to eat food, run away from powerful enemies, and fight or make friends with other creatures to gain DNA that acts almost as a monetary system. The more DNA the more complex your creature can become, and the better parts you can equip to your creature to benefit them in the wild. The two first stages of Spore give sense of what this game has to offer… but the next stages just let you down.

The tribal stage really wasn’t all that bad. Your creature has now become a race, and you have a small tribe to take care of. You can clothe your creatures, and build some simple buildings to allow them to use tools to again, befriend or fight the enemy. This stage of Spore is the beginning of a culture, and the first time that you are involuntarily responsible for all of your creatures. Creatures must gather food that acts like money and energy in this phase. You must have enough food to build the right buildings, have more creatures, and keep creatures fed.

In Spore’s civilization stage it is an upgrade of the tribal stage. The best part about this stage is that you can create buildings and vehicles to exercise that creativity muscle. You gain the ability to interact on a deeper level with other civilizations, and have more tools available – cars, airplanes etc. Your race of creatures attempts to take control over the world by military, economic, or religious means. Spice is a natural that is mined and used as the monetary system to buy more buildings and more vehicles. Overall the civilization stage is the least memorable stage for me. It is possibly because I actually like Sid Meyer’s Civilization IV, and this seems like an extremely watered down version of it. I am honestly having a hard time remembering anything about it, and it is still my least favorite part of the entire game. Enough said.

Oh and space. Spore’s space stage is definitely daunting at first. It was frustrating to go from a small wolrd to a galaxy and not really know what was going on. Basically at the end of the civilization stage you build a space ship that becomes your mode of transportation and central unit for this entire stage. You maneuver this one space ship around your little planet to gather spice and sell it to other planets, fight other space ships, take over other planets, terraform planets, and to prevent eco-disasters. You make many more alliances/enemies in this part because there is an infinite area of occupation by other civilizations. To advance in this part you obtain medals or badges to commemorate different things that you have accomplished. From finding hidden artifacts on planets to starting the most wars… you honestly can play (and win) any way that you want to.

<Attn: End Game Spoiler> So here’s the final deal – You get a badge for winning. And nothing happens. No unlockables. No upgrades. Not even a short clip that only the few and brave get to see… The ending is lame. I am a little biased though, because I played to the end before anyone else I knew to achieve whatever it was that was to be achieved… and then was the one who got left out of Mercenaries 2, and got nothing for it. Two days of my life… And in the end I got Spored.

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