What’s so great about Spore?

Blogga blog blog. Hi from Katy once again. It’s a cloudy, rainy, and generally unpleasant day here in the Boston area, where I have only lived for about two years now (and I am still not used to the weird weather), but none-the-less, my mood is fine! The Thumbmonkey office is very quiet today and I am listening to some Jose Gonzalez (great for a rainy day) and reminiscing about the hours of play I have put into Spore over the past few days.

Now, I know what you’re thinking (or I like to pretend), and it’s probably “SPORE?! But… why?”. This game has received very consistent poor reviews and without a doubt did NOT live up to it’s initial hype. I won’t BS you, I hate all of the stages of the game that come after the “Creature” stage, which means that I repeatedly only play two stages of the game. The “Cell” stage and the “Creature” stage have kept me entertained for months, particularly in my zone-the-f-out period before I pass out for the night. There is just something so satisfying about creating and controlling an entire species before falling into a nice, deep slumber. Some people zone out with Tetris, and I prefer Spore! (Not dumpin’ on Tetris, though. I <3 it.)

Here’s why I play:

The Cell stage is short and sweet. Create a funky little dude, cruise around looking for food, try not to get eaten by bigger, meaner dudes. How poetic, but in all seriousness, though, it’s a zen thing. I’ve always had a soft spot, too, for the creating and customizing aspect in most video games that offer it, and the Spore creature creator is truly the epitome of what games can offer as far as customizability goes.

Are you the all-out combat type or the passive cruiser type? Carnivorous or herbivorous, it’s your choice. I typically prefer to play as an herbivore for the following reasons: food is extremely plentiful and you don’t have to fight for it (lazy, much?) and it’s fun to add tons of ridiculous-looking armor to my creatures for protection from meat-eaters. Playing as a carnivore has it’s perks, too. There is more play involved, and it’s more fun as you progress into the Creature stage.

The Creature stage! My favorite. I spend hours playing it (even after my species has “evolved” and is capable of moving to the next stage). Understandably, the game play becomes somewhat more complex, but is still simple and does not require an extreme amount of effort (keeping perfectly in line with my whole lazy/zen theme). The point is to expand on your species. In this stage, you have the option of controlling an entire pack, as opposed to simply one creature. The same basic concepts are in place, though. Duh, the game is about surviving and evolving. You eat, fight, explore, and can also choose to socialize with other species.

The idea is to gain “DNA”, which acts as a kind of currency you use to expand on your creature with a HUGE selection (which you slowly accumulate throughout the game) of parts to improve on the quality and sustainability of your species. Prefer multiple appendages? No eyes? A giant tail? Want your species to be giant blobs with tiny mouths? Anything goes. My goal is to eventually move away from my usual type of creature, which almost always ends up looking like a small t-rex with horns and wings. I’m boring, what can I say?

A few ways to make the Creature stage more awesome:

- Get WINGS! Flying through Spore world is WAY more fun than walking. The graphics are not at all what I would consider amazing, by any means, but some of the in-game scenery is still very cool (meteor showers!), and a birds-eye view of all of the other species is pretty nifty. You can also surprise-attack this way, and navigate the world slightly faster.

- Seek out Rogue creatures and befriend them. Screw your species. You want a pack that consists largely of Rogues (yes, you can do that). They’re stronger than you, and it will help you to pwn any other species you wish.

- Find the Epics. They’re the MASSIVE creatures wandering around that can typically squash you with one stomp. I’ve found that there are usually 3 or 4 roaming around, which is very few for how massive the world is. You can’t befriend these guys, but you CAN kill them. It’s a serious challenge (for Spore, anyway), but it’s a lot of fun. They have 1,000 health, and you’ll have no more than 200ish. Good luck! P.S.- You get an “achievement” for killing an Epic. They also provide a ton of food (if you’re a carnivore).

- Lure Epics to Epics. A two-Epic creature fight is a lot of fun to watch, and though i’ve never tried it, i’ve heard of some people reducing the heath on Epic creatures this way, and then finishing them off. If this works, let me know, because I have no idea.

So, that’s that. Here’s to hoping the rain stops, and I don’t have to travel home soaking wet this afternoon. *Cheers with my coffee*

Add comment August 13th, 2009