It was inevitable that when customizable content became the norm in video games, the public would indulge in humorous creations appealing primarily to the mischievous teenage boy in all of us. I’ll admit my eyes grew wide when I set my eyes on Spore Hero for Wii. My mind began to race as I realized the creatures I had created in the original Spore that nearly got me banned from online play could be pitted against those of my friends’ creations in battle. Awesome.
Riding on a blue meteor, you crash land on a planet you don’t recognize. Coincidentally, another meteor (this one red) also just happens to smash through the planet’s atmosphere and land on the planet the same time you do. This red meteor ends up being host to your nemesis. As you try and navigate your way through this strange new place and confront your nemesis, you meet up with other species and either engage them in combat or befriend them. Either way, a minigame ensues. Some will want to challenge you to a friendly dance-off; others will be out for blood. The creatures you befriend will often send you on quests.
As you wander around the planet, you will discover new attributes and body parts to add to your creature. Is violence your thing? If so, you may want to add strong legs for kicking or perhaps a special mouth for spitting poison. Would you rather win over the populace with charisma? Some adornments for charming other creatures may be in order.
There’s a plot for those who care for it, but the real fun of Spore Hero looks to be the nonlinear gameplay, creature interactions and the Creature Creator, also found in the original Spore game for PC. The Hero Arena also has a lot of potential — this is where you get to battle your friends and enemies in hand to hand ... er ... paw to claw ... er ... where you engage your real life friends and game enemies in combat. Period.
Because each character is so highly customized, battles are quite fun to watch. You would be hard-pressed to find two that move and fight the same way. The creatures are all lively, cartoony and charming, regardless of how they have been designed by the player (good job, programmers, artists and graphics folks). I’m actually impressed that the visuals from the PC have been integrated so well onto the Wii. From what I was told at E3, this was actually the biggest challenge in creating the game. Hopefully the quality of the Hero Arena shown this June will carry over to the full game when it is released this fall.
Cat's passion for writing began at the tender age of 10 when she convinced her 5th grade teacher to let her use “sustained silent reading time” for scribbling frantically in a notebook. It took her awhile to work up the testicular fortitude to share her work with anyone, but now she freelances as both a writer and graphic designer. She cites her diverse background as her biggest influence: her artist mom is half-Chinese, half-Greek, and from Hawai'i; her film-loving, world-music DJ dad is from Montana; and she lived in both San Francisco, California and Great Falls, Montana while growing up. She loves at least a little bit about virtually everything and aims to be a Jane of all trades.
