I’ve known for well over a year now about the upcoming Will Wright game called Spore. I’ve known what it’s about - you start off as like a single-celled organism and go through the entire evolution process right up to an intelligent creature and beyond. I’ve also known that the buzz around the Internet about the game has been pretty good. Lots of people seem to be eagerly awaiting the release. But even though the concept sounds pretty interesting, I for whatever reason haven’t really been all that captivated by it.

That is, I guess you could say, until now. Last week EA released a free downloadable demo for the Spore Creature Creator. I decided I would give it a shot and I’m really enjoying it. The things you can make and the things you can do with the things you make all lie somewhere on the edges of hilarious, cute, depressing, and awesome. I’m blown away at the amount of different ways you can shape and modify your creature and seeing how the different physical traits you give it respond individually to the different actions you can make it perform is really cool. There are also some really great features built right into the game, such as the ability to take pictures (including “animated avatars”) and record video. The video recorder even gives you the option of automatically posting the video on Youtube and THEN lets you send the Youtube link to friends via e-mail. Here’s a short clip I recorded of my first creature:

I think I’m officially excited for the full game to come out.

Last week I was in Gamestop to pick up Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations when I decided to ask about the release date for Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. After he told me, he succeeded in convincing me to preorder it, something I wasn’t planning on at all. In fact, at the time, I wasn’t even 100% sure that I was going to get the game. Well a couple days ago I went and picked it up, and I can safely say I don’t regret it.

I’m absolutely amazed at how fun the game is. And I don’t really know why I had my doubts, but they’re all gone. It’s hard to describe, really. But the idea of Mario flying through space, hopping from small planet to planet, is really enjoyable. The layout of the game is simultaneously unique and familiar. I never played Mario Sunshine (mainly because it never interested me) but the structure resembles that of Mario 64. Instead of Peach’s Castle, you’re in the “Comet Observatory,” which acts as the overworld and central hub of the game. Making up the Comet Observatory are Domes, which resemble igloos. These are basically the main levels or chapters of the game, like the different floors of Peach’s Castle. At the start of the game, you only have access to one dome. From each dome, you have access to specific Galaxies. Each Galaxy is nothing more than a stage, which could be a collection of floating platforms and spheres or miniature planets. Just like in Mario 64, each Galaxy has numerous Stars to collect, each given for individual missions on that Galaxy - each time you visit it, you have a different goal, and a new Star to collect. Each Galaxy requires a certain amount of Stars for it to become “visible” from its Dome, meaning you can access it - just like the doors in Peach’s castle.

The controls handle surprisingly well. I was curious to see how it would play as I watched videos of people jumping from planet to planet, with Mario going upside down and sideways and floating in all directions. The platforming experience has been taken to a whole new level. Difficulty-wise, it’s pretty much what you should come to expect from a Mario game. Overall most enemies and puzzles are simple, but when a challenge comes along, expect to die. Repeatedly. Lives gained while playing are lost when you quit the game, so each time you start it up you’re back to 5.
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