Spore, the latest creation by Maxis, has been long-hyped as the end-all-be-all for the “god game” genre. In my opinion, it is, and for many good reasons.

When I was a kid I played with Lego blocks constantly. Being able to create my own little worlds, and then to be able to destroy them, was nirvana to me. As I got older and made the transition from Lego blocks to video games, the “god game” genre became especially appealing to me: games like Sim City, The Sims, and now, Spore. Ironically, Maxis is the driving force behind all of those games.

Playing Spore is like playing God, only in a cartoony, humorous way. It appeals to the inner deity in all of us, and it’s an almost guarantee that anyone and everyone will find something about it to love.

The Secret to Enjoying Spore

Those that are into “hardcore” gaming may find Spore rather boring, and that’s fine, but anyone can love this game once they appreciate what it really is: Spore isn’t a game, per say, but rather a well-built sandbox that you can flex your creative muscles in.

Spore is divided into several stages, all of which are distinct and separate from the others. What makes this game so great is how seamless Maxis has made the transition from each one.

The microbial stage, the first you’ll encounter, allows you to create a small, microscopic creature. You choose to either eat plants or other creatures, and as you consume you will grow and evolve.

After you’ve eaten (and evolved) enough you will enter the creature stage, where you sprout legs and make your way from the primordial soup and on to land. This stage, in my opinion, is the most fun. You will interact with other species, eat, mate, grow, and evolve. You have complete creative control over how your creature looks and behaves as well. If you want your species to have six arms and four legs, well, so be it. Googly-eyes? You betcha. Spikes all over it’s body? Of course.

The tribal stage occurs after your creature has evolved enough to become the dominant species on the planet. Here is where the game becomes similar a strategy game, where you must control the map by dominating other tribes. Once you “rule the roost”, you move on to my personal favourite: the civilization stage.

The civilization stage is also a strategy game, where you develop your cities, control resources, and dominate rival civilizations. You have complete control over everything, right down to the design of your buildings and vehicles. Maxis has done a phenomenal job with the development tools- building and customizing your civilization is a cinch, and the possibilities are endless.

Finally, once you rule the world, you enter the galactic stage, where you expand your civilization across the known reaches of space. You explore planets, abduct strange creatures, and become the alien race that haunts you during the creature stage (during the creature stage alien ships will come and abduct creatures- it’s hilarious to watch!).

Go Ahead, Live a Little

I’d love to see what you all have created (if you already own Spore), or if you decide to purchase the game, what you will create. E-mail me your creatures (spore [at] handsfreemedia.com) and I’ll make a montage of the best and most funky creatures out there.

So go ahead, play God for a while- it’s so addicting it should be illegal ;).

Screenshots taken from http://wk.typepad.com/weblog/gaming/ and http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2007/08/02/ea-ceo-is-already-playing-spore/ since my screen capture software isn’t working :(