You begin life as a tiny, amoeba-like organism. Eventually you’ll be able to plunge straight into any one of Spore’s six sections, but the first time you’re forced to start at the very beginning of the evolutionary process. Clicking on an “empty” planet allows you to give it a name, then it asks you to pick a stage of evolution. Taking the first option summons a map of the universe, a gateway to your saved games that operates much in the same way as the neighbourhood did in that previous Maxis hit, The Sims. The second of these lets you play with the game’s many content-building tools, while the third opens up the game’s online community – more on this later. When you boot up Spore for the first time, you’re given a choice of three options: Play, Create or Share. In other words, it’s important to get the lowdown and to think carefully before you fork out your hard-earned cash. Most people will be able to overlook these hiccups and just enjoy the fun on offer, but it’s also true that some of you are going to find your Egg of Expectation smashed upon the Kitchen Floor of Disappointment. However, it is also important to understand that the game also carries quite a few flaws – some of them minor, some of them seriously aggravating. With its highly original concept, five distinct game modes and a potentially limitless degree of user customisation, Spore offers an invigoratingly unusual gaming experience. The answer, as most people will be glad to hear, is mostly “yes”. But then, you probably knew that already, didn’t you? People have been desperate to get Spore on their hands for a long time now the big question is this: did they pull it off?
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It’s a goal so lofty that it almost beggars belief – but that’s exactly what Will Wright and the Maxis team have set out to do. As far as video games go, ambition doesn’t get much bigger than attempting to simulate the entire process of genetic evolution.