I’m in 2 minds about it; on the one hand, the scope of the game is literally unrivaled, and it promises a near-infinite amount of user generated content on the spore-pedia (although most of these will be penis monsters).
On the other hand, it could well be the most overhyped game in history, and end up being a hodge-podge of several mediocre games stapled together.
I’m also concerned about the SecuROM that comes with it, which is rumoured to give you only 3 installs on one machine, Bioshock style.
Hey, I was just going to start this thread, but checked the forum first.
I pre-ordered it this morning. I haven’t been disappointed by a Will Wright yet, so buying it is a no-brainer for me. I’ve ignored the hype and don’t base my expectations on it. And while the anti-copying measures will bother me, it’s no a deal-breaker. The main draw for me is the flexibility–I can play for my own goals.
There’s a making-of show on the Discovery Channel this Saturday.
I preordered it months ago, mostly just to get the Creature Creator. I’ve got the game itself 99% preinstalled on my computer at this point, just waiting for that last 1%.
I am not sure how it will work out; on one hand, the execution sounds cool - you build your own creature, it evolves in an evironment, it interacts with other online, and as it evolves you get to play with different epochs.
The only thing worrying me is just that it’s like too many things squeezed into one or it just so incomprehensible like “Black & White” (at least it was to me).
My bet is it’s going to be an extremely mediocre experience for “gamers” but an absolute godsend to more casual players. I’m having trouble looking for any real challenge in the way the game is designed, but so far it looks mostly like a wading pool (wide but shallow.) Of course, the sheer fact that I can SWIM AROUND AS A FUCKING MICROSCOPIC ORGANISM AND GROW SPIKES TO EAT OTHER MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS OH MY GOD THIS SOUNDS AMAZING AND THEN THEY EVOLVE HOLY CRAP means I’ll be buying the game tomorrow.
I am, however, braced for intense suck. What they really should have done was remake SimEarth.
ETA: Oh, and the game’s already been cracked and leaked before release. Hopefully the legitimate antipiracy versions don’t inconvenience me - right now the main incentive to purchase rather than pirate (any software) is one part developer support, four parts instant gratification.
ETAII: If Spore manages even half the innovative gameplay that Black and White introduced, I will be impressed. But I’m expecting something more along the lines of The Sims, Simcity, and Civilization, all brought down to their least common denominator.
Really? I spoke to a friend yesterday who’d stuck it to the man and pirated it. He assured me the microscopic sections were intact.
If you’re correct and he’s a dipshit (highly possible) then I’ll probably be skipping this one. Ubercasual 4X games are never worth the time. Unless you’re twelve.
I’m not a fan of the SecuROM business – while I can understand wanting to minimize piracy (but I’m not interested in getting into a DRM debate), I really do not like the folks that EA is using. I have Sims2 and quit buying expansions right at the point where EA switched DRM outfits due to all the technical issues that people hit when they bought a SecuROM-using expansion. It doesn’t help either that they’re limiting installations as above.
ETA: Oh and, my answer to the OP’s question is “Nah.”
That’s a real bummer. Developing cellular-level animals with flagella, spikey membranes and the like was one of the real appeals of this game. Everything after landfall is going to suck, IMHO.
I think you misunderstand. “Developing cellular-level animals with flagella, spikey membranes and the like” is the Cell phase. It’s in. It’s the swimming fish stage that was cut.
I wonder how they plan on doing a jump straight from cells to multicellular land animals - I could see a smooth progression passing through a multicellular aquatic stage, this seems rather abrupt.
