Just finishing up Spore...

[TidusZ]

Well I'm just playing through the space age at this point, about 7 hours into the game. I gotta say, I'm slightly disappointed - I didn't have high hopes going in like so many people do, but this game is truly the definition of the overhyped, mediocre game. Even moreso than black and white of yore.

Stage 1 is an arcade style game with some rpg elements (put spikes on your head and ram bad guys or put them on your tail and side swipe them). It is no better than an arcade game you could download free of charge.

Stage 2 is singleplayer WoW with 4 skills - very repetitive, and there are monsters with 1000 hp walking randomly who will one shot you. Luckily death is not terribly meaningful in spore and the difficulty level is low on normal difficulty.

Stage 3 is a rudimentary rts with 3 unit types, 1 resource, and very limited hotkeys/ui which make it difficult to control both your units and the camera. Luckily you can beat it pretty quickly.

Stage 4 is similar to stage 3 except you have towns producing resources rather than units foraging food. Towns consist of 3 buildings which when built beside each other on "nodes" increase or decrease their production (very simple). You get to build land/air/sea vehicles with things that increase their hp/dmg/speed though the differences are fairly negligible on gameplay and if you put a bunch of cool cannons on your unit, you will still get the same attack animation regardless.

Stage 5 I have only played for about 30 minutes, so far it has been the worst of the 5 stages and I took a break from it.

What Spore does do well is the creation of creatures/vehicles/buildings - they don't impact much on the gameplay as one would of hoped, but its pretty easy and quick to make something that looks very cool. All in all I think this game is more of a casual gamer or childrens game, which is reflected in the low level of difficulty. To anyone who considers themselves a gamer, or to anyone who has extremely high hopes for Spore, I highly recommend they try before they buy.

Anyone else here played through it? I'm curious to see what others are thinking, and I cant wait to see what IGN and other sites rate it. Black and white got 9.7 I believe, and that was one of the most disappointing overhyped games I've ever played.

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Oh, I dont deny for a moment that I pirated it. Just as I have pirated many games in the past (Diablo 2, warcraft 3, supreme commander, etc etc) that I bought as soon as it became available.

While you may choose to break the law please don't openly advocate piracy on these forums, you can think about this with your time out.- PC Gaming and Security Moderator Oakenfold. This thread is now closed.

 

[wanderer27]

Sheesh.

I'd heard a rumor out that Spore was already on the Torrent sites.

Since the game's not due out for another week that pretty much infers something here . . . .

 

[CottonRabbit]

I think you'd have more fun in stage 5 if you had access to planets populated by creature from other users, but you probably won't have that...

And Black and White was a very good and revolutionary game.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
I pirated a game and am here to complain about how bad it is.

So, what exactly were you expecting from the maker of Sims?

 

[wanderer27]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: TidusZ
I pirated a game and am here to complain about how bad it is.

So, what exactly were you expecting from the maker of Sims?

LOL

:thumbsup:

 

[mindcycle]

What I find funny is people buying this game are going to have to put up with the activation DRM, and all the headache it causes if it goes wrong, while pirates get to play the game a week early and don't have to deal with it at all.

I'm not buying the game because of the DRM, but i'm not going to pirate it either. Hopefully someday EA will learn.. probably not though.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: mindcycle
What I find funny is people buying this game are going to have to put up with the activation DRM, and all the headache it causes if it goes wrong, while pirates get to play the game a week early and don't have to deal with it at all.

I'm not buying the game because of the DRM, but i'm not going to pirate it either. Hopefully someday EA will learn.. probably not though.

Ditto. I had it preordered, then heard about the DRM.

Shame, looked like a nice game to play on the couch.

Edit: I wish I could find it funny. Rather, I find it somewhat disturbing.

 

[Piuc2020]

Get that stick out of your asses guys, it's already the 4th of September in Australia and I recommend you all to check out when Spore was supposed to be released in Australia.

Yep, hope you feel like an asshole right about now, Spore came out 6-8 hours ago on Australia.

Also, get a ****ing calendar, Spore comes out on Friday in Europe and Sunday in NA, that's 2-4 days, I'd hardly call that "a week".

I'm not denying the possibility that this guy pirated the game but at least give him the benefit of doubt, he could very well be from the land down under.

This game has changed a lot from when it was first unveiled, it looks very simple and not very ambitious either, I don't have high expectations for it but the creative part of it all might just be enough to make it a winner, it seems the actual gameplay is quite mediocre.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Get that stick out of your asses guys, it's already the 4th of September in Australia and I recommend you all to check out when Spore was supposed to be released in Australia.

Yep, hope you feel like an asshole right about now, Spore came out 6-8 hours ago on Australia.

Also, get a ****ing calendar, Spore comes out on Friday in Europe and Sunday in NA, that's 2-4 days, I'd hardly call that "a week".

I'm not denying the possibility that this guy pirated the game but at least give him the benefit of doubt, he could very well be from the land down under.

This game has changed a lot from when it was first unveiled, it looks very simple and not very ambitious either, I don't have high expectations for it but the creative part of it all might just be enough to make it a winner, it seems the actual gameplay is quite mediocre.

Glad you grabbed your calculator for that one. And, no, I don't think I will feel like an asshole. Thanks for the offer though..

 

[KaOTiK]

I'm still voting he pirated it

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Get that stick out of your asses guys, it's already the 4th of September in Australia

Glad you grabbed your calculator for that one. And, no, I don't think I will feel like an asshole. Thanks for the offer though..

I don't feel like an asshole either. Especially with the endorsement of pirating it ('try before you buy..' and there's no demo) at the end of his post, I'll stick with it being a pirate.

 

[abaez]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Get that stick out of your asses guys, it's already the 4th of September in Australia and I recommend you all to check out when Spore was supposed to be released in Australia.

Yep, hope you feel like an asshole right about now, Spore came out 6-8 hours ago on Australia.

Also, get a ****ing calendar, Spore comes out on Friday in Europe and Sunday in NA, that's 2-4 days, I'd hardly call that "a week".

I'm not denying the possibility that this guy pirated the game but at least give him the benefit of doubt, he could very well be from the land down under.

This game has changed a lot from when it was first unveiled, it looks very simple and not very ambitious either, I don't have high expectations for it but the creative part of it all might just be enough to make it a winner, it seems the actual gameplay is quite mediocre.

Don't be ridiculous. It's 9:35 AM Thursday September 4th right now in Canberra Australia. He posted this 3 hours ago (which would have been 6:35). So, unless he bought it at a midnight opening, went straight home and played it for 7 hours, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (which I find hard to believe considering he hates the game), then posted his comments here, you have a pretty good reason to think it was pirated.

 

[TidusZ]

Oh, I dont deny for a moment that I pirated it. Just as I have pirated many games in the past (Diablo 2, warcraft 3, supreme commander, etc etc) that I bought as soon as it became available.

The point of my post wasn't to argue over the morality of downloading games, but rather what I thought of the game after playing through it. Honestly I don't post a lot, and if the game had fallen short of its expectations and just been "good" I would of left it at that. However, its truly mediocre at best, and I truly do think people should "try" before they buy - the quality of the game just is so far away from the expectations that the many years of hype have led many to believe.

And when Fallout 3 is released on the scene before october 28, I'll be one of the first to download it. Just as I am one of the first lined up at EB to purchase it.

ps: I was relatively excited to start playing it this morning and I did play for approximately 7 hours continuously. As of now I'm about 30% through the space age period and have lost interest in continuing on. To the above poster, I wouldnt say I don't like the game, its just not good. It was okay to kill a few hours but I think it's time for some Dota now.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Piracy is not condoned, nor are people that advocate piracy strongly desired to participate here in. You can afford Internet and acomputer to play games on - therefore you can afford to pay for your entertainment.

People who make their living writing S/W deserve to be compensated for it.
Do you work and not expect to be paid for it?

Take some time off to enjoy the game - this saves you the effort of posting here for a while

Senior Anandtech Moderator
Common Courtesy

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Oh, I dont deny for a moment that I pirated it. Just as I have pirated many games in the past (Diablo 2, warcraft 3, supreme commander, etc etc) that I bought as soon as it became available.

If there isn't a demo and you're downloading the game to simply try it out, then I don't see any problem pirating it. As long as you buy it if you continue to play it so you can support the developer. I've actually done that a few times. In this case i'm doing neither since EA doesn't deserve my money since even if I buy the game i'm treated like a pirate.

I did this when Oblivion hit the scene a couple days before release. I already had a collectors edition on pre-order. If you read the .nfo's that come with pirate releases, the release groups clearly state that they think you should buy the game if you like it.

Which again supports the stance that that DRM is unnecessary and a good demo can go a long way to help sales. Then there is no need to download the whole game just to find out you don't like it. But that's best left for another topic..

Thanks for the heads up on the game TidusZ.

 

[Red Storm]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Oh, I dont deny for a moment that I pirated it. Just as I have pirated many games in the past (Diablo 2, warcraft 3, supreme commander, etc etc) that I bought as soon as it became available.

If there isn't a demo and you're downloading the game to simply try it out, then I don't see any problem pirating it. As long as you buy it if you continue to play it so you can support the developer. I've actually done that a few times. In this case i'm doing neither since EA doesn't deserve my money since even if I buy the game i'm treated like a pirate.

I did this when Oblivion hit the scene a couple days before release. I already had a collectors edition on pre-order. If you read the .nfo's that come with pirate releases, the release groups clearly state that they think you should buy the game if you like it.

Which again supports the stance that that DRM is unnecessary and a good demo can go a long way to help sales. Then there is no need to download the whole game just to find out you don't like it. But that's best left for another topic..

Thanks for the heads up on the game TidusZ.

Sorry, but there's never a right time to pirate a game. No demo? Invasive DRM? Not sure if you'll like it? Then don't buy it, or wait till it's in the bargain bin. Games are not an essential aspect to living life; they're a luxury that costs money. Getting around that only makes things worse for the honest people who pay (more invasive DRM, etc).

So many people say PC gaming is declining; well, you can thank the pirates who download games and force good developers to turn to consoles to make money.

 

[wanderer27]

Well this kind of goes along with his impression:

http://www.videogaming247.com/...pore-review-published/

A 91 (which doesn't really read like a 91 IMO), a 79, and a 73.

Definitely not what I expected.

What a shame, I'd probably still pick it up if it weren't for the DRM.

Not going to Pirate it though, doesn't sound like much point anyway.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: Red Storm

Sorry, but there's never a right time to pirate a game. No demo? Invasive DRM? Not sure if you'll like it? Then don't buy it, or wait till it's in the bargain bin. Games are not an essential aspect to living life; they're a luxury that costs money. Getting around that only makes things worse for the honest people who pay (more invasive DRM, etc).

So many people say PC gaming is declining; well, you can thank the pirates who download games and force good developers to turn to consoles to make money.

IMO, if there isn't a demo and you pirate it, then you're trying it before you buy. At least for me. Sure it's still illegal, i'm not arguing that.. but what if you really liked it and ended up buying the game? That's more money for the developer/publisher. $50 or more is too expensive to play a guessing game, especially when the resale value for these internet activated games is $0. I bought Mass Effect, it constantly crashed so I had to stop playing it. I was only a few hours in. Now I have a $50 box with pretty graphics on it.. I can't resell it.

The whole try before you buy thing is for those of us who respect the developers and actually want to support the game industry. This is how I feel at least. If they don't want that to happen they should release a demo.

A pirated copy is not necessarily a lost sale. I'd say in most cases it would never have been a sale. This is what publishing companies like EA need to figure out. Release a good game, offer a good demo, and don't treat your customers like criminals. Then your customer base will support you and there will be no need to pirate the game. IMO, the decline of PC gaming is due to crappy console ports, DRM, and companies not releasing demo's. Pirating has always existed and will continue to exist. Hell, it even exists on consoles.. Console games are just more apt to buy games since they don't have to deal with the crap us PC gamers do.

 

[TidusZ]

Yea exactly. Also something to think about, somewhat offtopic, the biggest and most successful developer, Blizzard (Activision Blizzard you could say) makes games exclusively for the PC - even canceling Starcraft Ghost, their first console game in many moons. Blizzard is doing better than well financially, because they make amazing games and they support them. It's not impossible for a company to do well with pc games, they just need to do a good job.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Yea exactly. Also something to think about, somewhat offtopic, the biggest and most successful developer, Blizzard (Activision Blizzard you could say) makes games exclusively for the PC - even canceling Starcraft Ghost, their first console game in many moons. Blizzard is doing better than well financially, because they make amazing games and they support them. It's not impossible for a company to do well with pc games, they just need to do a good job.

I am going to argue against this. I don't think Blizzard makes 'amazing' games. I think they cater to the lowest common denominater and thus increase their sales. They created an MMO That runs an a laptop integrated GPU which is brilliant, to be honest. It doesn't mean they make a good game, it means they know how to make a game that will sell millions and millions of copies.

Blizzard is brilliant and amazing at making money, but their games are far from it for a gamer who is looking for something more serious. That said, I am not saying their games are bad, I am saying that they are not 'stellar' and 'great' as a whole... Maybe a title or two that stick out (Starcraft), but that doesn't mean all of their games are.

Because if we go by sales, we could deduce that the pieces of shit that were Myst and Riven were 'amazing' games, which they were not! Boring ass shit is what those are called.

 

[Red Storm]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am going to argue against this. I don't think Blizzard makes 'amazing' games. I think they cater to the lowest common denominater and thus increase their sales. They created an MMO That runs an a laptop integrated GPU which is brilliant, to be honest. It doesn't mean they make a good game, it means they know how to make a game that will sell millions and millions of copies.

Blizzard is brilliant and amazing at making money, but their games are far from it for a gamer who is looking for something more serious. That said, I am not saying their games are bad, I am saying that they are not 'stellar' and 'great' as a whole... Maybe a title or two that stick out (Starcraft), but that doesn't mean all of their games are.

Because if we go by sales, we could deduce that the pieces of shit that were Myst and Riven were 'amazing' games, which they were not! Boring ass shit is what those are called.

I agree, Blizzard is a great gaming company, but their overhyped. Starcraft is the only Blizzard game that I ever truly enjoyed (Diablo was a click-click-click-fest, and WOW is.... WOW). And as excited I am about Starcraft 2, I can't shake the nagging feeling that Blizzard doesn't seem to be creative enough to come up with an original idea. They're living off of their previous successes.

Back on topic, I'll be reading all the reviews on spore, but I'll probably be getting it soon after it's out.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Back on topic. I agree with the OP. Spore is really a casual game. Its just like the Sims in that there is no "point" You just take care of your guys and that's about it.

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: Red Storm

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am going to argue against this. I don't think Blizzard makes 'amazing' games. I think they cater to the lowest common denominater and thus increase their sales. They created an MMO That runs an a laptop integrated GPU which is brilliant, to be honest. It doesn't mean they make a good game, it means they know how to make a game that will sell millions and millions of copies.

Blizzard is brilliant and amazing at making money, but their games are far from it for a gamer who is looking for something more serious. That said, I am not saying their games are bad, I am saying that they are not 'stellar' and 'great' as a whole... Maybe a title or two that stick out (Starcraft), but that doesn't mean all of their games are.

Because if we go by sales, we could deduce that the pieces of shit that were Myst and Riven were 'amazing' games, which they were not! Boring ass shit is what those are called.

I agree, Blizzard is a great gaming company, but their overhyped. Starcraft is the only Blizzard game that I ever truly enjoyed (Diablo was a click-click-click-fest, and WOW is.... WOW). And as excited I am about Starcraft 2, I can't shake the nagging feeling that Blizzard doesn't seem to be creative enough to come up with an original idea. They're living off of their previous successes.

Back on topic, I'll be reading all the reviews on spore, but I'll probably be getting it soon after it's out.

The great thing about Blizzard is that they take their time and they spend lots and lots of time with testing and quality assurance so their games are always bug-free, very polished and are also very balanced.

I do hate WoW but that's a MMORPG, not even God could make a decent MMORPG...

Diablo 2 wasn't made by Blizzard directly but rather Blizzard North and didn't have a development cycle and QA as long as Diablo III is sure to get (don't hold your hopes up for a 2009 release, D3 is releasing anywhere from 2010 (optimistic) 2011 (realistic) to even 2012 (possibility).

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Red Storm

I agree, Blizzard is a great gaming company, but their overhyped. Starcraft is the only Blizzard game that I ever truly enjoyed (Diablo was a click-click-click-fest, and WOW is.... WOW). And as excited I am about Starcraft 2, I can't shake the nagging feeling that Blizzard doesn't seem to be creative enough to come up with an original idea. They're living off of their previous successes.

First, piracy is wrong, and people who do it are jerks IMO.

Now, the comment quoted, I think is quite wrongheaded.

Blizzard started with a platformer (The Lost Vikings), and I remember playing it and thinking it was the best platform game I ever played; I was amazed at the quality design.

They pretty much invented a genre with Diablo. They went to the RTS genre with Starcraft and made one of the few most timeless classics.

They took on the MMO industry which seemed 'mature' as many new games didn't make a dent - and they blew it out of the water with sales, twenty times the old leader.

Most game companies seem to have maybe one breakthrough type game (and there are the conglomorates like EA).

I'm not a big fan of various things about Blizzard, but I think the comment above is just very wrong about their games, they are amazing at delivering playable quality games.

It's been many, many years since new games in the Diablo and Starcraft brands, and fan demand is huge. They can innovate within a brand.

(I didn't like Warcraft III, but it was quite different than Warcraft II that I liked a lot, and sales say that a lot of people liked it a lot.)

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Because if we go by sales, we could deduce that the pieces of shit that were Myst and Riven were 'amazing' games, which they were not! Boring ass shit is what those are called.

Myst was a great game. It's not for everyone's taste, but your criticism is like saying that Filet Mignon is bad because you're vegetarian.

It was pretty innovative and revolutionary - the hundreds of clones that followed say something about that. I didn't care much for the sequels for my own taste, though.