Apparently, I’m supposed to be disappointed by Spore. It’s five simplistic games thrown together with some cute creatures and creation tools. That is absolutely what it is, and I am enjoying the hell out of that.

This is definitely a case of hypelash. Nothing can win game of the show at e3 for a few years and live up to those expectations. I couldn’t avoid the hype, but it was never a game I followed closely and sat up at night thinking about. I checked out the creature creator and made my share of sporn. My thoughts at that point were, “Doing anything with these creatures will be pretty fun.”  And I think it is.

I’ve only played a few hours so far and I’m just beginning the civilization stage. The game does an amazing job of representing evolution and making me understand it like I haven’t before. It feels like your creature does evolve in the way it should. I can’t quite tell from just my first planet, but it seems like there is a set of best features for the type of creature you are going for. For example, Plernt is an asshole carnivore. During the creature stage, it seemed like there was were specific body parts that he should have if it was going to be a good fighter. This could be false, since I was going for brute force instead of poisoning or charging.

I don’t have a problem with the simplicity of the actual game modes. This is probably because I’m no good at most of them. I can’t do RTS or civ games to save my life (except for Civ Rev, surprisingly). This feels like a good gateway into those genres. I can see someone picking up Spore and really getting into one or more of the stages and then wondering, “What else is out there like this?” and moving on to more games.

I guess everyone else thought this game was going to be more hardcore. I never thought it would be. It feels like it’s on the same line between hardcore and casual that The Sims was. I sank a ton of time into The Sims when it came out, and I’m not sure why. There is just something about these games that makes me want to keep playing. I want to see my creature progress and move into space.

I do have a theory about the end. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there is a twist or something of the like at the end of the game. As soon as I heard that I immediately thought of a short story by Isaac Asimov, The Last Question. I recommend you read it, but I’m pretty sure that is how Spore will end. I’m going to assume you went and read it and then finished reading this. Spore will end with a new beginning. That’s my guess and I may be wrong, but I’m sticking with it. More on Spore as I play more.

Also, go check out Raptr. It’s neat. I’m there.