Spore PC

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critics What's this?

User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1696 Ratings

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  • Summary: 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 justFrom 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]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. PTGamers
    100
    Spore manages quite some feats – it's accessible for casual gamers, but at the same time so real and dynamic, able to offer hardcore gamers a demanding experience and, obviously, a more appealing one than in "The Sims".
  2. PC Gamer UK
    91
    Spore's triumph is painfully ironic. By setting out to instill a sense of wonderment at creation and the majesty of the universe, it's shown us that it's actually a lot more interesting to sit here at our computers and explore the contents of each other's brains. [October 2008, p.64]
  3. Total Video Games
    90
    Using various gadgets the concept is handled impressively; Sci-Fi fanatics will lap up the way in which Wright and Maxis have captured the concept of colonizing planets and expanding your empire across the galaxy.
  4. Game Informer
    88
    Even after years of hype and seemingly impossible promises, Spore is astounding in scope and execution. The creation tools are amazing, the interface is brilliant, and the game’s ability to harness player creativity is unparalleled. The mechanics of the individual phases can make the moment-to-moment interaction with the game feel shallow, but the experience as a whole is thought-provoking and – most importantly – genuinely entertaining.
  5. Game Chronicles
    82
    Will Wright has raised the bar and any game that comes out now that wants to be remembered will need to consider the lessons taught by Spore.
  6. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    80
    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]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Variety
    50
    Rather than match the freedom in the gameplay, however, Spore forces players to use their creations in a series of levels that are derivative and dull.

See all 75 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 166 out of 657
  2. Mixed: 121 out of 657
  3. Negative: 370 out of 657
  1. EmilyE
    Jan 1, 2010
    10
    Spore is one of my favorite games.The story was fun,from cell to space.I absolutely love spore.It was a GREAT idea!Good job,EA!
  2. JeffreyC.
    Sep 15, 2008
    9
    This is a game that's like no other. The originality of the game and the broadness of the game makes it a great game worth playing. The This is a game that's like no other. The originality of the game and the broadness of the game makes it a great game worth playing. The game stages run through many genres. The only issue is its ambition is more than the practicality of the gameplay.… Expand
  4. Wolfie1987
    Mar 26, 2014
    8
    It could have been revolutionary, it could have been the finest game ever crafted. Simplified to the max, catering to the lowest commonIt could have been revolutionary, it could have been the finest game ever crafted. Simplified to the max, catering to the lowest common denominator, content cut out of the game. EA ruined yet another masterpiece. Still, I rate this game 8/10 because it shows the potential of what games are capable of, how far we've come. Like the Jurassic Park Trespasser game, which was a bad game, yet introduced physics and a 3D open world before the Half-Life series came along.… Expand
  5. AnonymousMC
    Sep 8, 2008
    4
    The "game" segments between editing your creature work as a good pacing device and little else. The Cell stage gives you little creatureThe "game" segments between editing your creature work as a good pacing device and little else. The Cell stage gives you little creature options, but lets you play and define what you want. The actual gameplay of the cell stage is superior to any of the other stages as interaction is quick, dynamic, and throws new things at you before you can get bored. The Creature stage is where you really define what your creature looks like and does, but unfortunately it has the worst gameplay. The world feels very empty sterile and your only interaction is attack or socialize, and both options result in the same gameplay mechanics and outcomes. The interactions are dreadfully simplistic. It's basically WoW without other players, stores, or exploration. Now comes the civilization stage and all that fine tuning of your creature now makes little difference. Finally there is more to do than just atack/socalize as resource gathering for once comes as a relief. This is probably the part of the game with the deepest gameplay as what you equip different units with affects how they perform. The next stage puts you on the planetary scale and your fighting your own creations. Oddly this stage is much simpler than the tribal stage as unit choices don't seem to mean a damn thing anymore. Simplified resource gathering streamlines your right into the overly simplistic tactical gameplay. You have one type of unit for land, and one type for water. Since there is no more variety or meaningful differences the gameplay degrades into simply sending a swarm of units to attack and little else. Don't tell me religious units perform different than military, a beam of religion seems to blow stuff up all the same. The Civilization stage does however constantly bombard you with the building/vehicle editors which gives you a chance to exercise your creativity, however the choices you make make no difference outside of visuals.… Expand
  6. DennisE.
    Oct 8, 2008
    2
    Great idea! It's too bad the game turned out to be so dull and linear.
  7. MorelyD.
    Oct 1, 2008
    1
    Un-freaking-believabale. Non configurable controls, no evolution to speak of, disjointed gameplay, and crummy DRM to boot. Why bother?
  8. PaulT.
    Sep 5, 2008
    0
    SecuROM DRM uses unlawful practices to hide on your computer system and limit the game to 3 activations. Product labeling fails to make this SecuROM DRM uses unlawful practices to hide on your computer system and limit the game to 3 activations. Product labeling fails to make this clear. Consumers are being cheated.… Expand

See all 657 User Reviews

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#22 Best PC Game of 2008
#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

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