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Aces of the Galaxy
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
GAMES: From the mind of Will Wright comes SPORE, a journey that takes you from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and technology and eventually all the way into the deepest reaches of outer space. Begin your odyssey at the dawn of life as a simple microbe just trying to survive, then use the fun, intuitive Editors to evolve the creature from its microscopic origins into an intelligent, tool-using race. Guide your species as it builds (and the player designs) villages, buildings, cities, and vehicles. Along the way to becoming a global civilization you can choose whether to hunt or forage, attack or trade, be nice or play rough. All the action takes place in a huge, lush world populated with creatures evolved by other players and shared over SPORE's central servers. When it's ready, your one-time pond scum launches into space in its UFO on a grand voyage of discovery, planet forming, or destruct-ion. As you explore and play in this limitless universe of unique worlds, your personal Sporepedia tracks all the creatures you've met and places you've visited. Take complete control of your creature's fate as you guide it through the following six evolutionary phases: Tidepool phase: Fight with other creatures and consume them to adjust the form and abilities of your creature. It's survival of the fittest at the most microscopic level. Creature phase: Venture onto dry land and help your creature learn and evolve with forays away from your safe haven. Carnivore or Herbivore? Social or Independent? The choice is yours. Tribal phase: Instead of controlling an individual creature, you are now caring for an entire tribe of your genetic craftwork. Give them tools and guide their interactions as you slowly upgrade their state of existence. City phase: Bring your creatures' race into a new golden era by building up the technology, architecture, and infrastructure of their city. Civilization phase: Once your city is established, your creatures begin seeking out and interacting with other cultures. You can have them do so with an olive branch or a war cry—either way, the goal for your creatures is to unify the planet. Space phase: The time has come to move on to other worlds in your solar system. Make first-contact, colonize, or terraform, then venture further to find other solar systems scattered throughout a magnificently rendered galaxy. A 'mission' structure provides new goals and paths to follow as you begin to spread through the universe. [Electronic Arts]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
100
93
Gamer 2.0
There is no reason not to buy Spore. Whether you take hours of enjoyment out of the actual game or spend days building nothing but city halls, cars, boats, planes, and spaceships, Spore is a delightful work of mastery that strikes a balance between sufficient and excessive, somehow finding a middle ground that satisfies on a primal level.
92
91
91
PC Gamer
It may not be my perfect PC game, but I think it's well on its way to becoming one of my favorite toys. And if there's one thing we could all use more of, it's time to just...play. [Nov 2008, p.33]
90
Pelit (Finland)
Spore is a surprisingly charming game/toy. Except for the civilization part, most subgames are funny, and the final part even feels like a game. [Sept 2008]
90
90
90
Play (Poland)
How to design a game that spans from swimming in a drop of water to ruling the galaxy? Will Wright knows how: as simple as possible. Spore deserves success on "The Sims" scale. [Sept 2008]
90
90
EuroGamer
We're all familiar with the innovative, web-aware customisation cloud that underpins Spore, but nobody's done it better (even though many now do it - apparently years after Maxis thought of doing it here) and the final game is proof that it was all worth it: you're all one big Designer, and Spore succeeds as much because of you and me as the many worlds scattered across the stars and the many ways we've been given to explore them.
90
90
90
90
89
3DJuegos
Spore is an impressive videogame in many ways, although excessively simple in others. The total personalisation or the fact that all of our actions during the game define our future are simply brilliant details. Unfortunately the title fails in its attempt to become a classic, due essentially to gameplay that is varied but too easy and excessively repetitive.
89
88
GameTrailers
Spore will leave you in a state of wide-eyed wonderment one minute, and disappointed the next. The limited online interaction and surprisingly short campaign make it easy to think about what could have been. The fact is, there’s no other game like it, and a lot of things that will be hated by some, will be just as liked by others.
88
IGN
While Spore is an amazing product, it's just not quite an amazing game. I can't help but feel that Spore is ambitious and memorable, but I also admit that, save for the cool Space Stage, there's not a lot of depth here. Rookie gamers are going to feel at home here, but veteran gamers may feel like they need more.
88
85
83
1UP
Strictly as a game, Spore's a flawed effort in five different genres, smushed together in a casual-player-friendly manner. But as a tangible representation of intelligent design, with an emphasis on creation and sharing, it falls perfectly in line with the rest of Will Wright's work. It's not a perfect game, but it's definitely one that any serious gamer should try.
82
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80
80
80
80
80
GameSpot
Taken on their own, its pieces are nothing special. As parts of a singular ambitious vision, they work far better. Throw in the best customization tools seen in years and an enthusiastic community brimming with creativity, and you have a legitimately great game that will deliver hours of quality entertainment.
80
80
Level7.nu
Spore is easily one of the most ambitious games ever made and it's impossible not to be impressed by the finished product. The possible variations in what you can create feel close to endless and the ability to share these creations with other people adds a lot to the package. The five main phases of the game vary in quality, but the final phase that ties the experience together will impress you. Will Wright adds another triple-A title to his collection.
80
LEVEL (Czech Republic)
Stunning, gigantic game with endless possibilities. Most powerful editors ever seen in any game. Spore is outstanding in technical terms, swift and nimble in the beginning. The only flaws on its perfect face are too simple civilization phase and bit tedious space exploration. [Sept 2008]
79
GameStar
Electronic Arts and Will Wright send you on a unique journey through Evolution. But it's less of a game and more of a colourful biological construction kit. Spore is sophisticated and rich in details, but all this is rarely noticeable because of its uninspired game play and lack of a story, which is such a pity. It's a paradise for creative gamers, but an expensive one, too. Electronic Arts asks 10 Euros more than usual - that's a rip off.
77
70
70
60
Destructoid
It's not what we expected, and it's not what the game could have been: it's not perfect, or even particularly great. Yet what it offers is wholly unique, and there's a lot of satisfaction to be had in small amounts throughout its running time. I'm in no hurry to play through it again anytime this week, but heck...maybe in a month or so I'll create a whole new species and send them out to the stars.
The average user rating for this game is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 613 User Votes Panzer S. gave it a4: [Anonymous] gave it a2: Albert E. gave it a0: Steven W. gave it a4: John S gave it a1: D M gave it a3: kr00l Platinum gave it a10: |
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