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Spore is a game that had a ton of ambition. From The Sims and SimCity creator Will Wright, people were expecting a deep simulation game – from cell stage to controlling an entire galaxy. What they got was a fusion of a casual game and deep, customization toolset. That being said, these leaves people who were expecting a real simulation or strategic game elements sadly disappointed.
[singlepic=94,115,100,,left]Before Spore was even released, the put out the Spore Creature Creator. This was pretty entertaining, it was full of customizations, different ways to make creatures, and limitless possibilities. It was incredibly creative, and it allowed a certain ease of use along with a ton of features. This felt really well done, and it was fun to make about a half dozen creatures in maybe two hours. After I had my fun with the editor, I eagerly awaited the game.
Sadly, the editor is by far the best part of the game. It is relatively easy to use, yet it is incredibly deep, has tons of options, and you feel both creative and accomplished. You get similar editors for building cells, to buildings, to tanks, to spaceships. These editors aren’t exactly a draw for me, though. I wanted to bite down into some deep, interesting gameplay.
[singlepic=97,115,100,,left]Spore lacks any sort of deep, interesting gameplay. The gameplay, put simply, is shallow and boring. You could call it “casual,” sure, but Spore is a prime example of an excellent idea being dumbed down to appeal to a mass audience. Sadly, it loses all respect from any gamer looking for an actual challenge or anything genuinely interesting. It has the most basic ideas when it comes to each of the phases, but lacks any sort of depth or strategy beyond the surface. How could expanding from the cellular level to the galactic level be such a bland, boring experience?
Spore does have good graphics, and runs relatively smoothly. The real gem is all the variety in the creatures, planets, buildings, and other additions. Maxis had a solid base to start on, but the incredibly creativity of the user-built creations makes the game much more fun. This system of downloading user content automatically works well, and you always seem to get cool, unique stuff in your world. This idea works well, and is one the big key points of the game.
[singlepic=96,115,100,,left]My six year old brother probably had more enjoyment out of the game than I did, fooling around in the Creature Editor for hours. I just couldn’t lose myself in all the customizations and creations like he could, and thus I feel I wasn’t really who the game was targeted towards.
I wanted that simulation from the cell stage to the galaxy stage, I wanted to get lost in deep and interesting gameplay, I wanted each stage to be full of strategy and decisions. Sadly, everything was boiled down to a “good” or “evil” decision – basically, do you ally yourself and eat veggies, or do you eat other creatures and conquer other civilizations? Needless to say, I was the “evil” one.
[singlepic=98,115,100,,left]Overall, Spore leaves me torn. All the user-created content, how it’s dynamically added into your world, and the graphic engine make everything look so cool. The editor is fun, for a bit, but editing and creating new “stuff” isn’t really my thing. I’d rather just play the darn game. and that’s where it breaks down. Playing the game isn’t really nearly as fun or deep as it should be. I felt undeniably bored when I finished my first game, and really never felt like digging back into the game again.
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