Think PC gaming has become stagnant? Then you've clearly ignored EA's impending masterpiece Spore long enough. Due out September 7th, it's looking like not only one of the top games of 2008, but quite possibly one of the coolest pieces of computer software ever designed. If that's not enough to pique your attention, maybe these five facts will help you evolve.
1. Where there's a Will, there's a way.
Spore is the brainchild of legendary game designer Will Wright, the man behind landmark simulation game SimCity and the best-selling PC franchise ever, The Sims. He's been recognized as one of the most important figures in gaming and technology by publications like Time and Discover, won every major game industry award, and, rumor has it, can stop bullets with his mind. As a gamer, you simply couldn't be in safer hands.
2. It lets you build a better beast.
When the design team at Maxis released Spore's Creature Creator tool to the public a couple months ago, they were hoping to hit a few hundred thousand critters by the time the game shipped. Instead, they hit a million in a week. Such is the ease and power of Spore's amazing editor, which lets you express your imagination by shaping a three-dimensional ball of clay into pretty much anything you can dream up. And that's just the beginning. Over the course of the game, you'll craft land, sea and air vehicles, construct all sorts of buildings and even design your very own star-hopping spaceship -- all with the same intuitive editing tool.
3. It's five games in one.
So how does Spore simulate something as generally overwhelming as life itself? By breaking it down into five distinct stages: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space, each of which enjoys its own gameplay style. As you guide your swamp bug from the tide pool to the farthest reaches of the universe, you'll nibble on some action, then move into some strategy, eventually bringing both styles together as you skim around the galaxy trading with, chatting up and taking down other intelligent races. Prefer the Civilization stage more than the Tribal stage? No worries -- you can skip right past any stage you're not interested in. If only it worked like that for puberty...
4. Sharing is good.
Wish other people could bask in the glow of your newly created species? Without doing a thing, they will. From the first creatures you meet after crawling out of the primordial soup to the fully-evolved aliens you contend with in outer space, the inhabitants of your virtual world come from the inhabitants of your real world. Each creature, vehicle and building created by players is added to the Sporepedia, a massive compendium of Spore-related content. Every game of Spore pulls from this pool, populating every single-player universe with user-created content. You can even customize your universe by literally dragging content from the Sporepedia directly into your game. Want to play in a pink paradise? It's easy as sorting for "pink."
5. It's easier done than said.
Trying to explain a game as ambitious as Spore takes a hefty vocabulary and a ton of patience. The game itself, however, is made to be played by absolutely anyone. Spore evolves past complicated flow charts and confusing controls with a streamlined interface and simple, straightforward instructions built right into the game. While hardcore gamers will find plenty of nuts and bolts to tinker with, their parents (or kids) won't be stuck on the sidelines wondering how to play. Now that's evolution.
Posted: 30 Aug 2008
