So, in an effort to keep up with the wide world of PC gaming, I’m going to start posting what amounts to meta-reviews, or more or less a review roundup from different sources. I’ve seen some other blogs do this and I think it gives you a good perspective on a game’s merits. Also, it helps me share info about a game without having to go through the trouble of playing it(in case it’s a stinker). Here we go!!!

Looking at GameRankings it seems that most reviews for this game are in the 8 or 9 range, averaging around 8.5, which in the world of masterfully overbloated game ratings that would put this game at probably a 3.5 star movie equivalent. It’s good, but not quite great and very far from perfect. It seems that the consensus is that Spore is really five games in one and that makes each of the five games not as enjoyable as they could be.

So, in a sense, Spore is a watered down version of Civilization, World of Warcraft, The Sims or Sim City, Populus, and Flow. Apparently, the best part of the game is the incredible creature creator. People have already made hundreds of thousands of their own creatures, all of which are downloadable and usable by other players, which is a very, very cool feature.

Also, worth mentioning is that Spore has pretty terrible DRM. I don’t remember the specifics, but I want to say it only allows like three installs total. To make matters worse, on Vista I want to say each user profile counts as a separate install, so if that’s true than this game is going to turn into a huge headache for both developers and users. EA should save themselves the headache and just let people play their game. Sure, some people will pirate it, but if they make a great game, they will make money.

If you love Will Wright, this game might be worth checking out. I will probably hold out until the game gets cheaper because I’m backlogged with games as it is and for some reason this game looks like my wife would enjoy it more than I would. I’m sure it’s kind of fun, but it doesn’t sound like the game is “done”, it just sounds like EA got it far enough along to release, and then through expansion packs and whatnot, they’ll “finish” the game to make it what it should have been when they released it. Such is the state of the gaming industry, but I don’t want to end up plunking $200 over 2-3 years for Will Wright’s original vision of Spore to materilize.