Developer: Maxis

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Release Date: June 18, 2008

Systems: PC, Mac

ESRB Rating: E

Official Web site

0:00 I know this isn't really a full game, but EA is selling it for nearly $10, so I figure it deserves a column. My previous experience with this game is pretty much limited to being live in the audience for this Robin Williams-led demo two years ago

0:01 I'm not including the roughly five minutes of install time in my minute-by-minute count, because I'm a horrible hypocrite.

0:02 I am, however, including the two minutes or so it took to download and install the EA download manager. Fair and balanced, that's me.

0:03 Some gentle bells and synthesizer horns play in the background as I register for a Spore account. I'm KyleOrl if you want to follow my stuff.

0:05 Account registered. There are only two options against a whirling galaxy background: "create a creature" and "load a creature." Well, since I don't have anything to load...

0:07 I'm forced to restart the game to activate a new, higher resolution. This takes a couple of minutes, but it worth it -- everything looks much less fuzzy now. I hope my computer can handle the animation at this level.

0:08 A blue-ish animal torso floats above a pedestal in a forest clearing. Jungle drums play in the background. On the left, an assortment of mouths sit in a menu. Let's play!

0:09 I add my first mouth, a "D'orca," and the torso comes to life, snarling at nothing in particular. Little buttons appear, allowing me to easily rotate and stretch the gaping maw. I decide to give the guy a jutting chin. He looks like a '30s gangster.

0:11 On to the eyes, which apparently don't have to be attached to the head at all. The eight-year-old inside me is tempted to put them on his butt, but the adult in me places them a pair of "periscoptic" eyes atop his developing head. I stretch them out really tall, like a snail's eyes.

0:13 The legs seem divided into "graspers" and "speed" enhancers. I put some "Yumstick" speedsters on the back, "Burly" graspers on the front, and some "Flextor" graspers on the haunches. Yes, I am picking limbs based mostly on their names.

0:15 I just noticed that every feature I add lowers the 2,000 units of creature-making currency displayed in the corner. I still have 1,785 points left, though. Either everything is really cheap or I just pick the cheap stuff naturally.

0:16 I replace the generic front claws with tentacle-like "Succulenders," which are great for succulending, I guess. "Tererwrist" claws go on the middle-arms and the "froggening" flippers go on the back to make my guy more like Michael Phelps.

0:18 I just noticed that my choice of limbs and parts affects creature statistics like health, pose, strike, charm, etc. Shade of The Sims, appropriately enough.

0:21 I seem to have a lot of "money" left over, so I deck my guy out with a variety of horns and tail feathers and such. Despite forcing on as many as I can, I still have over 1,000 points. Sheesh!

0:23 On to paint mode, where I can replace the generic blue body with all manner of color combinations. My first choice of paint job slowly propagates itself over the body, starting in a deep orange, than adding yellow stripes and spot accents. The end result looks pretty "realistic," if such a word can be used for an inhuman beast I just created out of thin air.

0:24 The "paint like" buttons let me mimic the coloring of other creatures. After all, why be original when you can copy someone else?

0:28 After playing around in the paint menu a bit, I settle on a green base with yellow stripes. He looks like a Sprite ad, now that I think about it.

0:29 Time for a test drive of my beast. The pedestal and forest melt away and my guy is left standing in a circle. He yawns a bit as he waits for my input. I can click on the ground to make him walk around on his flippery back legs. A bunch of buttons on the bottom make him spin, roar, etc. I'm a big fan of his punch, which includes a step forward and the two forward-right limbs swinging powerfully together. Hoo yeah!

0:31 There are six separate dances pre-programmed in here. SIX! My fave is the hippity-hop, which involves a lot of booty shaking. Where's the Spore rhythm game, I wonder?

0:33 I've apparently made a fighter -- actions like "punch" and "flex" look totally natural, while things like the "cutie" wave look ridiculous.

0:34 Or maybe he's a gentle giant: The "laugh" and "happy" animations are incredibly cute.

0:35 My wife wanders in from the other room to see what I'm up to. "You should make something furry and cuddly," she suggests.

0:38 I show off my creation for Michelle. She's especially fond of the "happy" and "scared" poses, cooing in appreciation. "He's a cutie." You know, he really is.

0:40 I play around with the picture- and video-capturing capabilities. The YouTube video takes a while to upload, but it's worth it. Check out my main man's hippity-hop dance.

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0:42 My wife and I argue about what to name this thing. Michelle thinks it should be a species name, like "Zebra" or "Monkey." I think it should be a personal name, like "Hamilton Q. Whiskers." We settle on Kaboodle, as in "Kit and..." I describe him as "A gentle warrior with fists of fury and a heart of gold." With that, he's saved for posterity.

0:44 Saving takes longer than expected. Apparently I gave him Level 5 charm, without even trying. Good. This ugly guy needs all the charm he can get.

0:47 Browsing around the in-game Sporepedia, I'm surprised that I can't seem to find an option to view beasts uploaded by other online users. Wasn't online integration supposed to be one of the hallmarks of the game?

0:51 I spend the last 10 minutes or so browsing the Sporepedia on spore.com, downloading and playing around with other people's creations. It's a pretty simple process, though I still have no idea why I have to go through a Web browser to do it.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.


Why? Seems like an incredibly accessible yet detailed way to create 3-D versions of my fevered imaginings. Plus, I want a leg up on the competition when the full game comes out.

This column is based on a retail version provided by the publisher.