Space Phase
I had, until this point, been pretty disappointed with Spore. Despite wonderful animations and hugely detailed environments, the gameplay was lacking, the controls were somewhat finicky, and although there had been a couple of high points it was looking destined to find a permanent place on my shelf next to Fury.
It had been a relatively frustrating walk through a concept littered with minor failings, and upon reaching the Space phase there was no reason to suspect it was about to get any better.
But get better it does. A lot better.
In fact, it's so good it doesn't deserve to share the same name as the rest of the game, so from this point on I'm going to call it Spore: Space Phase.
In Spore: Space Phase you are the sole commander of a space vessel (naturally, of your own design) that is not only equipped with the latest in rocket technology allowing you to move horizontally and vertically at any angle, and at any time, but which also comes with a plethora of scientific instruments enabling you to explore the galaxy as you see fit.
Using this space ship, you become a kind of modern-day Charles Darwin, flitting from planet to planet checking out the local flora and fauna, perhaps stopping momentarily to set up your own colony that comes conveniently flat-packed in your voluminous cargo bay. You can use your built-in scanner to identify creatures and add them to your Sporepedia, or simply pick them up using your tractor beam and plant them on another planet altogether.
The general idea is to progress through the Space phase by accumulating certain badges, which are earned by performing missions which in turn provide you with a way to level up your character and gain further unlocks. Tools, weapons, and missions form the basis of these unlocks, and despite there being a massive amount of content already, Maxis has stated there will be some that will only be found by truly "hard core" gamers. Yikes.
Unlike Spore, it would appear diplomacy is slightly more important in Spore: Space Phase as the voices of your neighbours are ever present, and from time to time you will stop in at a planet and discover someone managed to get there before you. You can elect to trade spice with them, or perhaps search the planet for hidden treasures, or even simply wage war and destroy the planet entirely. Again, the decisions you have previously made in Spore shape your attributes in Spore: Space Phase.
Planet hopping is ably performed by simply clicking on a local star system and using your mouse wheel (or the +/- keys) to zoom in - right in that is. You simply keep zooming until you reach the surface of the planet, usually invoking a brief loading pause, and before you know it you're surveying countless millions of years of progress, the same progress you struggled through in Spore. Unless you happen to come across a planet that is inhospitable to life, in which case you can use your terraforming tools to set up atmospheric pumps to either raise or lower the temperature and allow a colony to get a foothold.
After that, it's a matter of transporting vegetation and creatures from neighbouring planets to encourage the environment to prosper, and you'll have access to the entire planet. Do you strip it bare of spice and use the accumulated wealth to buy out entire civilisations? Or simply leave it to its own devices and see what evolves there?
It might sound a bit daunting, and without an easy way to track planets it certainly would be. Maxis appears to have incorporated a fairly sensible policy of flagging planets based on your previous involvement with them, so not only is it impossible to lose your home planet, it's a simple task to see where you've been and where you are going. Planetary systems form links with each other too, so one minute you might be doing a certain alien race a favour, next minute you're being attacked by their enemy.
Communication with other entities is performed via a video link, which you can use to initiate a dialogue whenever you're in the same general area as them. Some will be openly hostile, spouting off in Simlish (or should that be Sporeish?) and demanding various loyalty pledges, or you may happen across a peaceful nation who simply want to trade. You can turn around their attitude by being polite, offering to trade and completing missions for them, and this is comprehensively tracked by an enhanced version of the attitude meter seen in the Civilization phase.
Those cultures that are yet to master space travel will try all sorts of methods to interact with you, some may let off fireworks, others may participate in the same musical challenges from the Creature phase. Everything comes full circle here, especially for those who remember seeing alien abductions previously in the game.
Unlike the previous phases, there's nothing specifically asked of you here. You can involve yourself in the universe to whatever degree you want - but in order to really make an impression my money would be on colonising as many planets as possible and accumulating wealth through trade. Perhaps with the odd combat side mission to liven things up. Your results will vary, but then that's the idea.
Spore: Space Phase is far longer than all the previous phases combined, and it's the only reason anyone should seriously consider buying Spore. It's a sandbox world that finally links together everything that you've been struggling to achieve in the game prior to it, and rewards you for your loyalty. It's a triumph of complexity mated with intuitiveness that has to be seen to be believed, and for those out there that have already purchased Spore and are struggling though the aeons wondering what the point is, my advice is to stick with it. It's more than worth it.
