When I first heard of this game back in 2005, it was basically one of the greatest game ideas in history. The ability to create your own stuff was the first thing that got my attention. The other thing that got my attention was how close it resembled real life history. From a microscopic organism, but gigantic space empire, this game had all I could want from a modern game. 3 years later, I finally got a hold of Spore, and I played it non stop the first day. In this review, I will say my opinions about each stage, then review the game itself. Let's start with the Cell Stage.

Cell Stage:
I didn't expect much of this stage really, I just thought about getting it over with. All you got to do is eat food, and try not to become food. In the 2005 preview, the Cell Stage was alot more scientifically accurate. I actually apporve the change since it made it easier for me to understand. I'll give this one a 9/10, thought I should give it a 5/10, I think it deserves a 9/10 since there's really nothing else you can do with it. In about 5 minutes of Cell Stage gameplay, I headed to the Creature Stage.

Creature Stage:
The first thing I noticed when I entered the Creature Stage, was how rediculous I made my creature look (long neck, bird like legs, etc.). The first thing I thought I had to do, was to hunt food, then bring the meat back to my nest mates. Turns out I don't have to bring any back to my nest mates. I also noticed how you can form a pack with your own species. This is kind of forced on you since it eventually becomes imposible to solo hunt, which is a disappointment. I eventually noticed that everything has a nest. Considering the 2005 preview, I expected better realism in the gameplay. First of all, the carnivores you face will almost NEVER attack you for food like they did in the Cell Stage. What the heck? None of the CPU Creatures interact with eachother, they just sit around at their nest all day and all night. Another disappointment. I'm giving this one an 8/10, since the other creatures don't interact with eachother and don not behave as good as they did in the 2005 preview. After a long Creature Stage, I was off to the Tribal Stage. But first, a scene that parodies 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Tribal Stage:
The first thing that disappointed me here was that we cannot build our own Tribal Buildings, and that they were all pre-made. On the other hand, the other tribes actually do more than just sit at their huts unlike the Creature Stage creatures. ALthough I noticed that other tribes do not directly interact with other tribes, although they can interact with you without you doing anything, but they'll try to kill you when that happens. Once I plundered the first enemy tribe, I was disappointed that we cannot build another village over the ruins of the village I destroyed. I give this stage an 8/10, it imporved some of the creature stage, though not all of it, and the Tribal Stage isn't really as fun since it's hard. Anyways, to Civilazation!!

Civilazation Stage:
First things first, other cites FINALLY in interact with other cites that aren't you. Took them long enough. I began to notice how small the planet was in this stage. The cites took up alot of the continents. Only 10 cities manage to fit on the planet. At teh time, I had the super weapons from having all red cards in the past stages. The funny thing is, I never even touched them unlike the other consequence traits. The weird thing is how easily I got conquered cities so quickly. I remember seeing a screenshot in which it showed a hologram talking to people in the Space Stage. Turns out, that pic was actually from the Civilization Stage, and that is how Religious Cities conquered. As for this stage, I'll give it a 9/10, since they got alot of errors fixed, but it was too short. And, we, have, LIFTOFF!!!

Space Stage:
The obvious thing I expected was that the Space Stage would be big. Seeing as how it's in Space, it has to be big. The first time I played in this stage, I never bothered to read what everything said and I got lost. I really couldn't blame myself with how big everything is. The planets look exacly how my planet looked in the Civilization Stage. Afetr several playthroughs, I got the hang of the Space Stage. I noticed how all the important stuff is in the Space Stage. Other empires interact with eachother, The Grox wait for me around the Galactic Core, and Steve waits inside the Core to give my the hailed Genesis Device (now called the Staff of Life). Another thing I noticed is how there are many things you toy with, such as the hologram scout and Crop Circles, but I also noticed how they had no true purpose. I'm atleast glad they put them in anyway, since they give us something to do when we're bored. This stage lives up to the original expectations of the game, which was known as SimEverything at the time. One thing that excited me about the stage was that you can find Earth AND any other saved game planets in the Galaxy. Sure Earth I can understand, but other saved games? How cool is that?? All I can say, this Stage deserves a perfect 10/10, since it has all the great features in the game.

Creature Creator:
First thing that made me mad, was that I did not require the Creature Creator to create things in Spore, so the disc I got is practically useless now. But since the creator came out first, you really can't blame them for why they made it. Anyways, about the creator itself, this can be considered one of the greatest game gadgets in existance. You can create almost any kind of creature you can think of. There's plenty of creature parts and plenty of textures to use. I've seen things such as Godzilla and the might Akantor be created in this very creator, showing of the very customization power of it. I' give the creator a 10/10, but There's only one flaw I can mention about this...

Willosaur:
I'm sure everyone who heard of Spore heard of the famous Willosaur right? Though not the first spore creature to come into existance, it was the first to show us what the game was like, having gone through all five stages in the 2005 preview. Named after Will Wright himself, this creation is considered the icon of Spore, it's a shame it doesn't appear in the final game. Yes, that's right, the best Spore creation ever, and it doesn't make the cut. However, many fans have tried several times to bring this creature back, even I tried. But sadly, none of the attempts could ever live up to the glory of the original. The reason this thing is considered a flaw in the Creature Creator is because of it's unique design, being a three-legged reptilian with it's tail used as an arm. The tail is probably the biggest detail in what prevents all the redo Willosaurs from being great, since it's extremely hard to recreate, and the part at the end of it doesn't appear as a regular part. None of the parts used on the Willosaur appeared in the final game. Also, unless you uses hacks, graspers cannot be placed on tails. In my attempt of the Willosaur, I actually pulled it off in terms of looks, but the tail doesn't animate like it should, so not even I could bring this glorious creature back. Another thing that prevents this creature from returning is that the texture set used is not in the final game either. Weither or not Maxis and EA will ever make it possible for this creature to return or not remains a mystery that has yet to be solved, although considering the work of the patches, it may be sooner or later, or not at all.

Despite all the negativity, this game gets a perfect 10/10. It came a long way, and it finally acheived greatness with it's creators. It just stinks we can't ever meet the roiginal Willosaur in-game.

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