Legendary Game : Spore (part III)

Part I or Part II

A few hiccups

Apart from what I think is a skewed game mechanic, the game falls short on a couple of other counts. What I'd have really liked to see is a simple feature called auto-save -- that is not too much to ask for in a game. Although 'death' in the game is of little consequence, an auto-save feature was sorely missed when the game crashed on more than a couple of occasions and I found restarting that stage of evolution all over again. Spore obviously has a save feature; however, the creation tools and the world can be so engaging that you miss to save your game. Some gameplay aspects feel too easy and simple, reaching Armageddon was never so easy, although it's addictive to expand; the civilization phase seems too short. In Space phase, you can't save a game if you are on a planet, one has to exit a solar system to save the game, and the game does not convey as much. Then there is the DRM issue -- you can read about that can of worms here. These are some of the flaws that I hope will be fixed through future patches.

The game is well designed with many amusing add-ons. Funny voice effects and amusing antics by the creatures are found throughout the game. The game looks good, for what it sets out to do, and the interface is smooth. Visually, the game looks perfect for its content.
A few nifty multiplayer features have also been built into the game, mainly encouraging sharing and flaunting of your creations. While in the creation mode, the game automatically captures frames at each stage and creates an animated forum avatar that'll let you show off how you went from that simple block to the uber-cool space ship. The 'My Collections' feature of the game is a repository of your creations and collection that you can share over the Internet. Additionally, you can create videos of your creature in action and upload it onto YouTube from within the game. I am guessing that there are more features that'll emerge after further exploration and hopefully through updates and patches.

As it stands right now, Spore offers a Petri dish, a sandbox, a snow globe -- you can pick your analogy. If you are looking for deep strategic options, you'll find this game wanting. For those who enjoy building things, the game will offer you endless hours of fun (unless the dreaded DRM decides otherwise) and take you back to the days of playing with Lego blocks and play-dough. If you are looking from more 'traditional' form of game play, skip directly to the space exploration stage where creation takes a back seat in the game. This game is a true masterpiece in my opinions and it is one of those masterpieces that brake the mold and fire fresh imagination .