Be warned if you buy Spore: Electronic Arts has had the excellent idea to lock the product to get you to buy it back if you change computers often. But that's not all. While the game is very heavily based on the Community side, with the ability to create his creatures, buildings, vehicles, and share it all with players around the world, it is impossible to share anything with her own family - except by having multiple computers and multiple copies of the game. Spore makes it possible not to create multiple user accounts with the same serial number of the game means that in a family, everyone has to play as same name and in the same game. For a game designed to let everyone create things, developing its own universe, it's a huge shit. And for a game billed as the new game from the creators of The Sims, the family game, it's a huge double bullshit.
Through these stories of technical restrictions imposed by the publisher, Spore has an average rating of 1.5 of 5 on Amazon.com (see explanation here), lots of unhappy people who decided to find out through the Amazon rating. Well done. I hope that Electronic Arts will sell less than expected because of it. But I doubt it, since there was an advertising campaign on TV, the tests provide just about all a good score in the game, and the general public cares, DRM eventually . Besides Spore is No. 1 selling video game across all platforms, on Amazon.com.
"Yes okay DRM is boring but I do not care, and I am all alone at home so it's okay if there is a user copy of the game. Is what the game is? "
The game itself is not bad, but not exceptional. I find that very good marks for test sites are unjustified.
I have not yet made a complete cycle from cell to space; I just started the spatial phase. I'm still looking the enormous complexity that was mentioned here and there in the tests.
The cell phase is a mini arcade game Centipede to: we must move (in 2D) to catch food and fat, while avoiding hostile creatures. Very nice but very simple.
The creature looks like a stage MMORPG in many ways: we must complete missions (5 chase critters X; Y critters impress 3) to earn DNA points. The shares are made by clicking the buttons after selecting the target, and then there was a "cooldown timer" that prevents repeat the action right away (as in World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies old formula, for example). An MMORPG but without the other players because everything we encounter is controlled by the computer. It is actually quite fast repetitive.
The tribe is an early stage RTS: we manage some villagers we can equip the choice of weapons, musical instruments, fishing rods ... But it's still very limited (3 types of weapons, 6 buildings maximum).
Civilization phase is also an ultra-simplified RTS. There is absolutely no concept of history as progress in Civilization (for example): you start civilization stage with vehicles, and there is always the same vehicles at the end of the phase in question. No discovery of new technologies apart planes in phase medium. City management is limited to select the number of houses, leisure complexes and factories: 3 types of buildings only. Management units during the civilization phase is also very limited: there are only three categories (religious, military, economic), and you can only have one type of each (one can not therefore constitute a army from a combination of fast but weak and strong but slow vehicles vehicles: it's one or the other). There is only one type of resource to be exploited on the planet. Even the first Age of Empires was more complex ...
The spatial phase seems more interesting, from what I could see so far (that is to say about 30 minutes). There seems to be many solar systems to visit many different devices to add to the spacecraft. But if the game gets interesting that for this phase there, as playing a game purely spatial management and strategy, such as Galactic Civilizations II turn-based or Sins of a Solar Empire in RTS.
Finally, the basic idea of the big game, the evolution of a species is not exploited enough. Until the tribe phase can do almost what we want, whatever the choice made before the creature. One can spend a creature to 8 feet and 12 eyes a flying creature cyclops without legs, then return to a biped with 4 arms and monkey face to finish with a four-legged duck head. There is no real concept of continuity, and the choices made do not really involve the future of the species - apart from its appearance. From the tribe phase characteristics of the creature does indeed seem more to have any impact on its competencies, as these are the clothes that make it stronger or more talented in combat for social relations. And even before the tribe phase, the link between the physical characteristics of the creature and ability is very limited; a creature with 4 legs only move either faster or slower than a creature with two legs. Customization is therefore primarily cosmetic.
In conclusion:
- There is the DRM problem and limitation to a user copy of the game
- The game is too simplistic, at least until the spatial phase
- The concept around which everything had to turn the game, evolution, is completely watered down
I do not advise buying Spore, surnoté by professional testers. For me this game does not deserve more than 7 out of 10. And when you have no more than 7 out of 10, it is not back with DRM at the con.
