2008’s Spore was a game with great promise, and ultimately (in my opinion) did not deliver on all of it. It was broken into four separate parts when one flowing game would have been much better. What was great about the game though was the Creature Creator. It allowed a nearly unlimited amount of organic creatures to be created and then move and act realistically. It is the promise of Spore combined with an action RPG that sets the mood for Darkspore.

We can cut through the basics of the game pretty quickly. The story is some attempt at sci-fi history where the Darkspore have taken over the universe and it’s up to you, one of the last Crogenitors (some super being) to take back what is yours. Basically all you need to know is you are fighting the Darkspore and kicking butt while doing so.

As the Crogenitor you control three creatures in a party, but only one of them is available at a time. These creatures each have special abilities. Using these creatures you travel from planet to planet wiping out the Darkspore. Even though you can only control three creatures at a time, there are 100 of them to unlock as you progress. The game soon turns into a Pokémon “gotta catch ‘em all” game. These 100 creatures only really set the baseline of what types of creatures you can have as the wonderful editor from Spore makes a cameo appearance in Darkspore.

You can use the editor to add different weapons and skills to your creatures, making them more powerful in return. You can also make cosmetic changes, allowing you to create a creature that is truly unique in the entire world. Different textures, colours, pointy horns, sharp wedges, shields, armour, weapons and powers. The chance of you meeting an exact replica of your creature online is pretty slim indeed.

Adding weapons is restricted to certain slots preventing you from adding endless armaments onto one creature to create a super being that wipes out all and sundry in one attack. This counts for armour and other abilities as well.

You cannot create your creature from scratch like you would be able to do in Spore, however, and so one of the most exciting features has been turned into a virtual scrapbooking experience where collected junk is stuck onto your creature. Hopefully this can be corrected in a future update to allow truly unique creatures to be created.

Where the creature editor was used with great effect though is the amount of enemies available. Few games can claim to have this many unique enemies with such a diverse set of attacks. Now if only the enemies were a bit smarter, but then it won’t be an action RPG anymore, I guess.

Right, back to the action then. Darkspore plays like any other action RPG. From an isometric viewpoint you direct your creature to attack the onscreen enemies. You can either use your basic attack or one of the special abilities. These abilities range from your basic missile attack to devastating spells. Fireballs, life steal, healing and power boosting is all here, but with a decidedly sci-fi feel to it. Imagine if a game like Diablo or Dungeon Siege was set in an alien world, and you get the picture.

Along the way you collect DNA, which acts as the currency to the game, allowing you to buy more hero creatures and all manner of special items. Enemies also drop more weapons, skills and decorative items which can then be used on your creatures in the editor. One problem though is that unlike other RPGs you cannot upgrade your heroes in-game. So no equipping your hero with the magic shield until you are back at base and in the editor.

In an interesting twist, you have the option to “Risk it all” at the end of each mission. Rather than cash in on the loot from the mission, you can move straight into the next level and then get not only more valuable and higher level items, but also higher level enemies, making it harder to progress. Lose all three of your hero characters and you lose all the loot. Risky business indeed. I can attest to the immense frustration in risking it all only to lose it all after four consecutive levels. (Dang, that’s harsh! – Ed)

As the game takes you from planet to planet in search of more Darkspore that need slaying, you experience a wide array of different alien worlds. These worlds vary from the mundane to extremely beautiful. A lot of thought has gone into them with fauna and flora feeling totally at home.

The music also needs a special mention. As more enemies appear on screen, the music picks up pace and really helps to build tension. Different worlds also have different soundtracks, adding more to the immersion.

Darkspore has a very big online presence. Firstly you will need to be connected online whether you are playing the singleplayer campaign or not. No internet and you won’t be able to play at all. Another downside of the permanent connection is that you cannot pause the game. If you are inactive for longer periods the game will log you off. This means you can hit the escape key, go to the loo, and get back to see you kicked out of the game. In multiplayer I get this, but in singleplayer this is not on.

The game is also very easy to play with up to three friends online, each controlling their own set of three heroes. On every screen in the menu system you have access to the multiplayer lobby, either hooking up with complete strangers or chatting with friends and setting up games with them. When playing the campaign mode you can search for available partners, but I have found that the first few levels are mostly played alone to get a feel for the game and thus there are not a lot of players available. The higher level players have more success in finding friends.

As in real life, success will get you all the friends.

Darkspore has its faults though. As I mentioned the online requirement is excessive for a game with a great singleplayer campaign. It’s also quite a long game to get into before you get to the real meat of it. For me it was a rollercoaster of emotions.

At first I struggled to install the game. I had the disc version, which would install but not connect to the server. This was a known problem and a few users had success just waiting it out. The alternative was to download an installer which would download the full game for you. Since this clocked in at over 7GB it was not a real option for me. Luckily I found a sponsor of the download and could finally play the game. This was the first high and low moment.

I was really looking forward to the creature creator, and thus I was disappointed to realize it’s the “lite” version. Then I got playing and found it was not too bad. Another low and high moment. Then the game got boring very quickly with not a lot happening. After a good few hours I started realizing that if I play the game as an action RPG it’s much more enjoyable. Then I wiped my eyes and another 10 hours has passed. Any game that can make time go by quickly has to be good.

Darkspore was a big letdown because of the expectations of what it could have been and by what it was not. Ignoring any sort of hype, or link to the original Spore, you will find a very enjoyable experience in Darkspore, sucking you in for hours on end, trying to get to that last boss creature, or not being able to wait to unlock the next hero creature. Few gamers with an open mind will be disappointed.

- The good: Addictive action RPG experience with loads of creatures to collect
- The bad: “Lite” editor and another victim of its own expectations
- The ugly: Losing your game because you get disconnected while on the loo

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