Overview:

Here is a game from the Application Store on the iPhone that caught my eye. I haven’t been too impressed with most of the games that have came out on the application store so far but this one isn’t bad. As most of you know Spore has been one of the most anticipated computer games from Will Wrights’ library for almost 8 years now and it’s finally out. Well for the iPhone they did kind of a dumbed down version which only includes a small stage of the game where you evolve as a cell. But what more could we ask for from an iPhone.

Story:

I guess you could call it a story. The game focuses around the character that you create and you guide it through the levels. The levels are divided into locations such as muddy water or primordial ooze and you make your way through them by eating smaller cells.

Gameplay:

The game play is decent on the game. You control your character via the accelerometer and tilt it in the direction you want him to move. The main fundamental of the game is that you eat cells that are smaller than you and once you eat three, you gain a heart and grow. But it would be nice if your creature looked bigger. The game actually makes all the other cells smaller so it feels less rewarding. As you progress through the levels you randomly collect evolution points which can be used to upgrade your character with new evolutionary advances such as small wings that help you turn better, or a spike which can pop bubbles and stun enemies. For the purposes of the game it does everything it sets out to do well.

Graphics:

The graphics of the game are quite stunning for an iPhone game. The cute little creatures make the game a little bit more impressive when compared to its big brother Spore. The developers made the games graphics good enough to be called a spore game.

Customization:

You can customize your creatures a lot in this little game. Although there are some downsides. Your creature has a sort of skeletal structure that it can’t deviate too far away from. You can make either  side or the middle bigger. That is about the length of it when it comes to shape. The creatures have a main color and a secondary color and you can change the design and the color of them. Now with evolution points, as I mentioned earlier, you can improve your characters looks and performance with upgrades, or more specifically evolve your character with an array of different attachments. For each category there are three parts that you can evolve once you buy one, you can add as many of them onto your creature that you want. For example a flagella or tail, for simplicity, costs 1 evolution point and once you add it you can add 10 of them onto it if you want. The creature customization can add to the depth, but it is still quite limited and will only give you so much enjoyment.

Final Words:

The game delivers as an iPhone game but that’s about it. It is fun for a while, but even with the character customization and so on once you play through it you have seen it all. But for that play through, it was fun while it lasted.

Pros:

• Cute little creatures with nice graphics
• Creature customization
• Decent sized campaign for a mobile game

Cons:

• Can get very repetitive
• Pretty easy to blow through
• Creature customization is limited

Score:

Overall: 7.5/10
Gameplay: 7.0/10
Graphics: 8.0/10
Features: 7.5/10

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