In the lead-up to the much anticipated release of Spore, I wondered to myself why the only gameplay demos we saw were of the cell and creature stage. I should have seen it coming.

Sure, the early part’s fun, with very simple and user-friendly kill-or-be-killed mechanics. But why didn’t I see clips from the much-lauded Space stage?

When you finally reach it, Space seems great—it’s very bright and very shiny; there’s plenty more to do, see and explore in comparison to the previous chapters. But that comparison should hint to the fact that there’s just not much of a game here.

Read More »

Anyone who considers themselves a gamer knows about Spore (console gamers, you have no excuse).
Ever since that 30-minute gameplay video that we watched and shared with our friends so feverishly, we have all been waiting patiently over the last 2 years for the mind-blowing game to come out. We’ve all watched the video enough times to know that this game is procedural (if you don’t know, watch the video).

For those who don’t already know, a cracked version of Spore has been released on the internet with only days left before the launch. Apparently, an Australian vendor sold some copies a little earlier than the actual launch date. The result? As of this moment, the number of downloads exceeds 120,000. This does not include the number of individuals who have already pirated their copy.

Read More »

While at NVISION on Tuesday afternoon, I was able to watch a few of the Maxis/EA team members demo the Creature Creator with an “inside perspective” as to the infinite possibilities within the game. Wow, that’s all I have to say, Wow. These are some of the best game designers I’ve ever been near. The mere fact that you can create anything you want within the Creature Creator, the Vehicle Creator, Building Creator; it blows my mind. And as the game progresses, the possibilities only get better.

Read More »