Spore Hero

If I were foolish enough to open this review with a reference to an impossibly endless debate between strongly passionate sides that could completely derail whatever I had to say about the game itself, I'd probably do it like this: Spore Hero is a pretty good argument in support of Intelligent Design. Well, at least in terms of game design, because if going from Spore to Spore Hero was entirely a process of evolution, it was one that went horribly, horribly backwards. Unlike the universe-spanning PC simulation it's spun off from, Spore Hero is a disappointingly generic third-person platformer with some very light "Metroidvania" influences. You start the game with a barely evolved creature that crash lands on an unfamiliar planet, and you then explore the different locations, help out the inhabitants in different ways to earn new creature parts, and evolve/unlock more complex -- and exploration-opening -- abilities.

It lives! But it wishes it didn't...

There’s something undeniably impressive going on at the heart of Spore Hero; some kind of alien technology that means if you stick a third leg on the creature you create and put its eyes on its belly, it will walk around looking as pitiful as it sounds. The first thing we did was give it a mouth so it didn’t starve to death. See how the sorry thing uses its bellyeyes to look for food. Horrible. ...

"The game itself puts focus on platform-style exploration while incorporating Spore-like mechanics, just like last year's DS game. As you work your way through the world you'll earn body parts with special abilities, enhancing your character's power during fights as well as within the exploration portions. So, in a sense, there's a bit of Metroid or Castlevania here: you won't be able to access certain areas unless you find the specific part that'll give you the ability to, for example, fly or double jump across wider chasms. "

Sick of today's gaming heroes? Then create your own. In case you somehow missed it, Spore was one of the most popular PC games of last year. It spawned a mediocre DS spin-off but what we really wanted was a Wii version with the power to let us create our own critters. Spore Hero isn't quite that, but it's close enough. Click here to read the full article