Spore

Turns out not everyone is as stoked on Spore as I am. A religious anti-Spore website has launched against the well-designed and fun video game, for promoting evolution (game play starts you out as a cell in a pool and you grow and add parts on the way) over Creationism.

They say that Spore is the "biggest attack on Christian values to date." Yes, this is the game with the cute-looking creatures.

I'm no religious expert here, but I didn't really see any crazy subversion in my interview with Ocean Quigley (mostly just a passion for design), but you be the judge.

Is Spore controversial? Is it teaching anyone evolution vs. creationism?

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Although Steve announced its release yesterday at the Let's Rock presentation, I got a chance to play with the newest game to hit the App Store at the Spore Release party last week. Spore Origins officially launched for the iPod Touch and iPhone on Monday and comes in at a cool $10 for your gaming pleasure.

Although the full version of Spore on your Mac or PC will take you all the way through Cell to Space stages, Spore Origins is condensed down into 30 levels in the Cell stage only (which was one of my faves anyway). You still get your chance to create, mold, and evolve as a creature, and of course you still get to hunt your food and (even sometimes be hunted) in your pool of muck. What's so cool about Spore Origins? Find out when you read more

During my interview with Ocean Quigley, Art Director for Spore, I mentioned to him that I hated calling this a game, cause it's much more like a tool for creativity. And after playing Spore every spare moment I could muster for three days straight, I can attest to that statement as being true. It's more than a game (although some will say it's not really a "game" at all), it's a lesson in evolution and a brand new way to watch something you've created come to life.

Spore is split up into five stages - Cell, Creature, Tribal, Civilization, and Space – evolving you from a tiny cell trying to make it in the muck pool, to a space cowboy who travels to other planets in his space ship. Along the way, you are able to evolve by adding new parts, molding, and upgrading your creature as you make your way up the food chain. It's really quite exciting to see something that you've made go from swimming in a tide pool, to walking on land and making friends (and enemies)!

To see my thoughts on the rest of the stages and check out some pics from the game, just read more

We have just a few more days until Spore hits the streets, and I couldn't be more excited! In preparation for the release, I got a chance to speak with Ocean Quigley, Spore's Art Director, about the making of the game, and all the challenges they faced while producing this trailblazing title. We also talked in depth about Spore's Creature Creator; the thing that allows you to mold and sculpt your creatures to life.

I'm assuming that you've already been toying around with it, because there are more than three million creatures created and submitted to the Sporepedia — Spore's answer to the encyclopedia!

Not surprisingly, with all the fun creatures, buildings, and planets you can make (and take over) in Spore, this game has been in development for quite some time. But you won't believe just how long it took to get made! Read on for my full interview!

So exactly how long have you been working on Spore?
A great long time! I started on it back in '99 after finishing up Sim City 3000, doing a few months of conceptual design with Will Wright (the creator of The Sims and Spore), then took a break to work on Sim City 4. So I've been noodling with it, well, geez, since back in the 20th century!

You must be totally relieved now that it's finished!
It's kind of hard to believe that we've come to the end of such a long development cycle. I've accumulated about six months of vacation, so I'm going to disappear for a while!

To check out the rest of my interview with Ocean, and why Spore will change the face of 3D modeling forever, just read more

If you are counting down the minutes until you can start creating, evolving, and planning your galactic domination with Spore, you are not alone. I'm looking forward to hiding out in my apartment to watch my very own creatures perform a special tribal dance around a fire. I know, I'm a dork. Sue me.

So what can you do to maximize your waiting time until Spore is released on Sept. 7? Lucky PC users can download 99 percent of it today, that's what! EA announced yesterday that you can download the game to your PC now (minus that measly last one percent), so you can be one of the first to evolve from microorganism to interstellar cowboy on release day. And we all know how important that is for your gamer status! Since downloading the last chunk will take about 30 to 60 minutes, you can imagine how long it takes to install the other 99 percent — so plan accordingly. Unfortunately, Mac users will have to sit out another week before getting their hands on the title, but considering how much time you'll invest in playing, it will be well worth the wait!

I mentioned Spore way back in January in my 2008 Games Preview, but I'm hoping you haven't forgotten about it since then, cause I'm still totally stoked! Spore is coming this September (finally), but you have your chance to make your own creature now in a free trial download from EA.

If you remember, Spore is an evolutionary game that has you starting out in the first of five "phases" as a single cell organism, collecting enough DNA to evolve into a different creature that you create — which is where the creature creator comes in. I can already see hours and hours of time flying by as I tweak, smoosh, and stretch my creature just the way I want it — the possibilities are endless!

Test out your creative skills now with the free creature creator trial for your PC or Mac, so that you're ready to evolve when Spore hits the shelves this fall on your Mac, PC, DS, and your iPhone!

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As awesome as 2007 was for gaming, with the release of some of the most advanced games yet, 2008 seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve for us, too. Although Super Mario Galaxy, Halo and Guitar Hero will be on heavy rotation for months to come, I have a feeling that we'll need to make room in our closets for some new faves.

In the first of this three part series, we'll look at four of the twelve coolest games to hit the shelves in the next twelve months. Kicking it off will be the newest title in an uber-creepy series, a fast paced racer that encourages destruction, a revolutionary newcomer and a little something to help you work on your fitness. Game On!

Resident Evil 5
If you're a fan of Resident Evil, you will most likely dig the newest installment of zombified Haitians, eerie sounds, and guns, lots of guns, which you'll want to keep fully loaded. Although it might be hard to top the scare factor of RE4 that left me wanting to leave a light on before bed! Sure to scare you this year on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Now for three more games if you read more