PC: Spore Review

Will Wright. For those who don’t know him… he’s that guy who created a ton of titles with the word “Sim” in it. Most notably, “The Sims” which managed to change the way gamers looked at god games. Well, Mr. Wright is back, and this time he’s combining his love of simulations, an out-of-this-world creation tool, and a handful of different genres to create a game worthy of his reputation. What emerged from this technological primordial soup can be described simply, in a single word… “Spore.”

”Spore” is, at its core, a god game. You’ll be guiding your species through its existence as you attempt to become a shining example of Darwin’s motto, “Survival of the Fittest.” How you perform this task is where this game gets its charm.

You begin life as a tiny cell, swimming about, looking for sustenance in either meat or vegetable products using controls that resemble more “Pac-Man” than state-of-the-art PC technology. As you eat in your liquid habitat, you’ll notice that you’re gaining DNA. These building blocks of life work like money when it comes time to evolve your critter into something a bit more powerful than a single-celled, single-eyed blob. Evolve enough and you’ll spring from the water, sprout legs, and take the adventure to the land.

In the creature stage you’ll wander the countryside in search of food, a mate and a warm nest to call your own. Much like the cell stage, you’ll gain DNA to evolve while avoiding the larger, more aggressive beasties that share your living space. When fighting isn’t an option, you can always turn on the charm and attempt to become friends with the ne’re-do-wells that could easily squish you. As you reach various evolutionary stages, you’ll notice that your once pea-sized brain is growing right along with you. Get enough smarts and you’ll make a fire, build a hut and begin the tribe stage.

Tribal life resembles more of a real-time strategy than the more action oriented environment of the past. You’ll be responsible for gathering food and building structures, all in an effort to become the best village on the block. Creating new buildings is a must as they allow you to develop and use new weaponry and items to either destroy or woo your opponents.

Much like every civilization from our past, despite how archaic they may be, technology always improves and society becomes much more organized as time progresses. This leads us to our final two stages, civilization and space. It’s hard to imagine that our tiny, one-celled spec is now part of a fully-functioning city where you’ll now be able to convert and conquer other species in order to rule the globe. Once your world conquest is complete and your technology is at a peak, build a flying saucer, explore other planets, and test your species’ might against the galaxy.

When all’s said and done, “Spore” brings god game to a whole new level. With its unbelievably deep design tools, multiple genre gameplay, and hours upon hours of family-friendly fun, Will Wright has truly proven himself worthy of his legendary status.