Billed as a massively single-player online game, Spore is a solo gaming experience where the whole world can join in.
Designed by Will Wright the brains behind The Sims Spore allows players to control the evolution of their own species, from its lowly beginnings a hungry single-celled organism right through to exploring the furthest reaches of space, via a violent tribal phase and the development of bustling cities.
Combining gentle arcade elements, SimCity-style town planning and real-time strategy, Spore creates a familiar environment that will effortlessly grip players from the get-go but thats only the tip of the iceberg. The real magic happens when you interact with Spores global community, with creatures designed by other players randomly populating the planets you colonise, an online Sporepedia where you can upload details on the virtual monsters youve nurtured, and a dedicated YouTube channel where you can share videos of your beastly achievements.
By its very nature, Spore is an impossible game to review as itll only ever be as good as the effort players put into it. But with simple gameplay, robust creation tools and years of frenzied fanboy hype heralding its arrival, its hard to see how Spore could fail.