Spore

I'd like to start this review with a disclaimer: I'm not here to review the DRM and the debacle it's fueling online. That's for some one else to deal with. This is a gaming site, period. With that out of the way, let's get to our Game du Jour, Spore.

What is Spore? Is it a god game? An evolution sim? An arcade game collection? A creative toy? All of the above, at least to some degree, and then some. Let's start with the first part you'll get to when you boot up your first planet: Cell phase. Many people call it a spin on Pac-Man, but I don't think that's a fair assessment. Pac-Man is very simplistic in that you run around the same maze, over and over, with almost no variation whatsoever. Cell phase, on the other hand, is different each time, depending on how you play it. Sure, you'll see the same cells in every game, but your interactions with them will vary greatly based on how you're playing your current creature. My first species, the Budillas, were herbivores. I ran from anything with so much as a spike on it, and used the 'jet' part to get to plant buds faster. My second species, the Jobaba, were carnivores, and I learned that I needed to be faster and more agile to catch my prey, so I focused on more flagella then spikes. My third species were the Bluubies, and they became omnivores once I secured the proboscis mouth. The proboscis can't eat the meat blobs floating around, but it can be used to feast on living critters and plant buds. There are only six parts to collect in this phase, but they each add to your creatures' personality.

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