A double dose of Spore Hero in stores this week

Electronic Arts has released Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena in North America with an international date of October 9th. Built specifically for the Wii and Nintendo DS, Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena give players different adventures in the new game universe built by Will Wright and carried on by EA’s Maxis studio.

Spore Hero is an action-adventure game that lets the player become a hero on a quest to save their creature’s home planet from destruction by the evil nemesis, Zarkhator. Along this journey, players engage in battles, solve puzzles, and explore to collect more than 250 creature parts, all with unique abilities. These parts, which can be used to customize creatures in the Spore Creature Creator, can change the way creatures will play and fight in the world. Players can also utilize their acumen in fighting in multiplayer mode, battling their friends with their own customized creature.

Spore Hero Arena is a pared down version of Hero with players taking on fighters in arenas throughout the galaxy or via multiplayer.

Players can create their own unique gladiator hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight enemy creatures, collect new parts, gain upgrades and unlock special abilities that will benefit their hero. Spore Hero Arena also allows multiplayer combat with up to three friends locally or over Wi-Fi and share creature creations over a Wireless network.

Available for $49.99 MSRP, Spore Hero is rated E10+ by the ESRB. Spore Hero Arena is available for $29.99 MSRP and is rated E by the ESRB.

Spore Hero, Spore Hero Arena dated for October

Electronic Arts will release Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena to North American retailers on Oct. 6 2009 and internationally on Oct. 9, 2009. Built for the Wii and Nintendo DS, Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena give Nintendo fans a taste of Maxis’ popular new franchise with some platform specific adventures.

Spore Hero is an action-adventure game for the Wii set in a 3D world where players are charged with being hero on a mission to save their home planet from total destruction. Players engage in battles, and solve puzzles and collect and unlock more than 250 new creature parts, all with unique abilities. These parts, which can be used to customize creatures in the Spore Creature Creator, can change the way creatures will play and fight in the world. Players can also utilize their brawling in multiplayer mode against friends.

Spore Hero Arena for DS is an arena-based combat game featuring a story set in the same universe as Spore Hero. Spore Hero Arena takes players on a quest to save planets in their galaxy from an evil force. They’ll do this by creating a unique gladiator hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight enemy creatures, collect new parts, gain upgrades and unlock special abilities. Developed with multiplayer capabilities in mind, Spore Hero Arena also allows players to battle with up to three friends locally or play with a friend over Wi-Fi

Spore Hero will Retail for $49.99 MSRP, while Spore Hero Arena will be available for $29.99

EA reveals massive E3 line-up

Electronic Arts today revealed the games it will show off at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) June 2 - 4. The year’s lineup features sequels franchises, new intellectual property, and licensed titles across various platforms.

Highlights include Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Army of Two: The 40th Day, Brütal Legend, Dead Space Extraction, Dragon Age: Origins, Dante’s Inferno, G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Mass Effect 2, The Saboteur, MySims Agents, Need For Speed NITRO, Need for Speed SHIFT, Spore Hero, Spore Hero Arena, The Sims 3, Battlefield 1943, and Littlest Pet Shop Online.

EA Sports will be showcasing EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis, FIFA 10, Madden NFL 10, NCAA Football 10, NHL 10, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10, and Fight Night Round 4. EA Mobile will be showing off FIFA 10, The Sims 3, Mass Effect Galaxy, G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Command & Conquer Red Alert, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR.

EA’s entire portfolio will be on display at booth (#1501) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Those that are not at the show will want to check out www.ea.com/e3.

Nintendo-Focused Spore Games Detailed

Maxis today revealed details about Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena - two games built for the Wii and Nintendo DSs. Spore Hero promises an accessible, story-driven action-adventure set in a vibrant 3D world, Spore Hero empowers players to create their own Hero as they embark on a quest to save their new home world from destruction as a dark force threatens the planet. Spore Hero gives players combat, humorous missions, curious puzzles and more. Throughout the game, players will collect more than 250 parts with unique abilities and creatures the way that want.

In Spore Hero Arena players create a unique gladiator Hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight enemy creatures and complete special missions, collecting new parts and abilities, gaining upgrades along the way. In combat, they’ll seek out and defeat each local champion and unlock special abilities that will benefit their Hero. By combining special abilities, parts, and upgrades, players create a fighting style of their own design. Spore Hero Arena will also feature multiplayer capabilities as players can battle with up to three friends locally or play with a friend over Wi-Fi.

Look for both these games later this year.

Spores Galore

EA announced today plans to expand on the relative success of Will Wright’s Spore with a series of new products. These new products include Spore Galactic Adventures, Spore Creature Keeper, Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena.

The first is Spore Galactic Adventures, an expansion pack that promises to add depth to the original space game in Spore. Now players will be able to beam down to planets, play mission-based adventures and create their own customized adventures. Each adventure has a unique reward to upgrade a space creature with special accessories like Energy Blades, Stunning Charms, Jump Jet and more. Players can fight as a Warrior, be a Bard, and much more.

Next up is SporeCreature Keeper, a stand-alone PC game geared towards youngsters. Players create creatures and nurture, train and play with them. The game also promises lots of toys, clothes and gizmos to play with, but no strife.

Spore will also make its debut on the Nintendo Wii with SporeHero, an all-new adventure game focusing on creativity and evolution designed specifically for the Wii. Spore Hero Arena for Nintendo DS builds on Spore Creatures, allowing players to create Spore creatures and take them into battle with an array of other creatures across the galaxy.

Expect to hear more about all these games in the weeks and months ahead. Hopefully the PC games will find a new way to deal with digital rights management.