'Spore' is the Holy Grail: A game for all gamers

Few games charm as quickly as "Spore." Seconds into the game, you slip into the primordial ooze with your single-cell organism. The creature blinks at you with a now-what helplessness that fosters the kind of emotional attachment that so many epic adventure games loaded with 40-hour story arcs and blockbuster cinematics can only hope for.

It's like you've been handed a baby. You want so much for it to grow up and make something of itself. You know, like a four-legged bird with a spiky tail. Or a blobby serpent with 18 eyes going down its spine.

"Spore" celebrates the artistry of evolution. Shepherded by Will Wright, the genius behind the mega-selling "Sims" series, "Spore" starts several zillion generations back from his famous virtual humans. You guide a creature from the first moment of life through its rise as the dominant species of its home planet, eventually sending your creations into the cosmos to colonize the galaxy.

To say the scale of "Spore" is epic is to insult the definition of the word. This is a massive game that requires thousands of decisions to get from a speck in a muddy tide pool to galactic conqueror.

The game is divided into five chapters. Each represents a step on the evolutionary ladder. The initial stage occurs under the microscope, seconds after a comet seeds your planet with the building blocks for life.

Important first decision
Here, you are offered your first important decision: Is your little spore an herbivore or meat-eater? You are choosing between hunter and forager, and the effects of this decision are long-reaching. A live-and-let-live choice at the cellular level can lead to a tribe of creatures that seek power through friendship rather than violence.

Quick facts Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Maxis Price: $49.99 Platform: PC/Mac ESRB rating: Everyone

As you swim through the soup, you collect DNA by feeding on plant life or carving into other cells. Upon reaching certain thresholds, you evolve.

In the evolution screen, you add unlocked extras to your spore, such as spikes or flagellum in hopes of beating the odds in your first round of "survival of the fittest" against other organisms.

The cellular segment plays like a casual game, with the player just clicking around the screen to direct their spore. This is no accident. By offering a simple opening scene and a taste of creature customization, Maxis hopes to get its hooks into the Yahoo! Games crowd.

Soon, you grow legs and enter the second stage of the game. Now on dry land, you work in a pack to befriend rival creatures or drive them to extinction.

Defeating other packs or scavenging skeletons grants additional body parts for your evolutionary growth cycles. Now you can start adding arms, wings, beaks, and other appendages that help you defend yourself or attract other animals.

Charming creatures with a wiggle of your tail is often just as effective at guaranteeing survival as baring your teeth and going for the kill.

MORE FROM GAMES

Games Section Front

Microsoft bans up to 1 million Xbox Live users   "Modern Warfare 2" not so modern? Give the gift of gaming accessories   Controversy surrounds 'Modern Warfare 2' ‘Call of Duty 2’ controversy includes pro ballplayer New 'Call of Duty' could set record Electronics Arts buys game maker Playfish No Doubt sues game maker over ‘Band Hero’ The sorry state of Windows 7 gaming Newsweek: How Microsoft may out-Wii the Wii Games Section Front   Add Games headlines to your news reader: