Is anyone playing Spore?

I got hold of the game last week and although I've not had too long to play it yet I've been really enjoying it. My first lifeform has just reached the end of the tribal stage, so I'm looking forward to the next civilisation part.

With the magazine previews for this game I was unsure what to expect. Many of the previews gave the impression the game would end up being like a simulation type game such as sim earth. While this would be interesting I find these games can get quite boring after some time. Most just showed the life form evolving screens and the types of life forms you could make. So I was very glad Spore didn't turn out to be like this.

The game has great scope, taking you though 5 stages of evolution, from the very beginning, though the evolution of small celled creatures in a rock pool, though to the evolution onto land, the forming of a basic tribal structure, and then onto a full civilization that eventually becomes so technologically advanced that the final stage is in space with you exploring and colonizing other planets, while defending your own. So the scale and scope of Spore is amazing.

The first stage focuses right in on a single life form early in its evolution floating around in some water. You pilot this single creature eating and trying not to be eaten. Finding a mate and then evolving it with new body parts into something better.

After this you eventually evolve enough to grow legs and venture onto the land. At this stage you start to be allowed to explore and to interact with your environment and other evolving creatures. Having to kill and eat some of the other species can be a little sad at times because some of them are quite cute and defenseless. However that is evolution!

The game really gets interesting once you reach the tribal stage. The controls switch from the direct control of a single life form form your evolving species, into a more RTS based control system with you able to select one or more of your tribe and give them orders. This is also the first stage where you are given initial management of buildings and how the tribe evolves as a whole.

The tribal stage reminds me a bit of megalomania and similar games. With you managing your little tribal village, collecting food, producing more tribe members, constructing buildings, and then visiting other tribal villages to either make friends or war with them. The main goal of this tribal stage is to defeat your strongest enemies and at the same time secure peace and good relations with other tribes. As you do this goals are met and your tribe's totem pole is built. Eventually your tribe evolve beyond the tribal stage into a civilization, and this is at the point I have reached.

Past this point the game is meant to get even better. With the civilization stage mentioned as being similar in a way to that of the Sid Meier classic. And once your civilization evolves enough there is also the similar goal of the space race.

But Spore then takes it further, because after the civilization stage and you reach space, you then get to explore space, visiting and conquering other worlds, and defending your own in a space based RTS final stage. I'm really looking forward to playing this final two stages.

So who else is playing Spore? And what do you think of it?

For me the best way was to not know too much about it prior to playing it the first time. That way it is all a great surprise as each part unfolds and evolves as you progress. great game and so far deserving of 9/10 from me.
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