Spore first impressions

Who knew creating life could be so much fun?

We've been playing with Spore for about a week now, and the embargo has finally dropped. What this means is that we can finally share our initial thoughts on the game, as well as give you a look at the kind of things our wicked minds have come up with in the game's truly robust creature design.

Okay... thoughts.

Well, to put it simply, the game is awesome. From the very casual single-cell stage, to the galaxy-spanning exploring space stage, this game is just so well crafted as to defy comprehension. It's also damn cute, too.

Anyway, to showcase the kind of flexibility Spore gives you, here is one of Justin's more... extreme creations...



Yeah, he - it? - is a handsome devil, that while quite striking, is actually woefully equipped to actually live. One of Justin's more successful creations actually made it out of the tribla stage (which Mr Handy above is still languishing in) and got this far:



Since then they've moved on to start exploring the galaxy and colonise and terraform other worlds. I took a slightly differnt tack, and decided to use Spore to try and create something close to my heart. Tyranids:



Which I think worked pretty well. Of course, they are super carnivores, eat every creature they meet, and do not know the meaning of "sing songs to impress your tribal neighbours".

What's particularly impressive is the way the game's animation system can keep up with whatever monstrosities you create. And with the game importing other players' creations at each distinct stage, each replay of the game is, so far, quite unique.

For a full review of Spore, be sure to pick up issue 94.