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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, September 15, 2008 Big Game Hunter: "Spore" In the beginning: "Spore" is the next step in video game evolution. Developed by Maxis, "Spore" is an "evolutionary simulator" that takes the player from his first days as a microbe in the primordial soup to colonizing the stars. I haven't had this much fun playing with bacteria since eating at White Castle. Maxis is an old hand at simulation games ("The Sims" series), which shows in the polished look of "Spore." The game starts out as a meteor crashes into an ocean. You play as a microbe and begin the first steps of your evolution. The decisions you make in the cell phase determine which characteristics you will have when your creature finally crawls from the ocean. My creature, based loosely on my roommate, ate everything and was a generally messy fellow. Earning DNA points, my creature evolved and reproduced to the tribal phase. At this point, the game took on a real-time-strategy bent as I attacked some tribes and made peace with others. Soon my tribe became a civilization, which eventually colonized planets and became a rather cruel potentate -- also much like my roommate. A drawback: The beginning stages are boringly repetitious -- plain easy. Another flaw: You can only install the game -- or use the activation key -- three times. It's odd to me that I can't install this game more than three times, seeing as how I paid for it. Yet despite that, "Spore" is a genius game. For: the PC Price: $49.99 Rated: "E" for everybody Justin Arnold Big Game Hunter jarnold@heraldnet.com READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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