SPORE - the PC version - has been eagerly anticipated for about five years now. You play a god-like entity, creating critters and raising them from single-celled organisms to space-conquering civilisations.
Spore
RATING: 5/10
$49
Adventure (genre)
Nintendo DS (platform)
Unlike the open-ended gameplay of the PC version (see other story 'Kill, feed and evolve'), in which you make up your own story, there's a set storyline in Spore Creatures, played on the Nintendo DS.
In this mode, your best friend, a little squirmy organism like you, has been abducted by aliens, leaving you on an inter-galactic quest to rescue him.
That story, unfortunately, leaves you with a very linear gameplay.
The basic concept is to make your own creature by attaching different body parts on him, like frog legs that are 100 times bigger than normal and a mouth that breathes fire (think dragon).
From there, you have two tasks.
The first is to make friends with some of the critters, andthe second is to fight the hostile ones by slashing at them with your stylus.
You'll find yourself doing these two actions often as you hop between worlds - gameplay's just that repetitive.
As fantastic as the Spore concept of making creatures to your whim and fancy is, game progression is very dependent on having the right body parts attached at the right time.
Irritation comes in the trial-and-error matching: Like when you must find the right torso for your creature - but no clues or descriptions of what's expected are given - before it can cross the ocean.
Add to the frustration, drab and dull graphics: worlds are mostly greens and dark shades of purple. Varying the colours would have made a big difference on the low resolution of the DS screen.
If you must experience Spore on the go, then Spore Creatures is a fine add-on to the PC version. Otherwise, the linear and repetitive gameplay, plus dull graphics, mean that you must love Spore that much to want to buy it.
This article was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on Sep 17, 2008.
