Review of Spore

There has been a lot of anticipation over the release of Spore and having played it a bit I feel like adding/summerising the pool of thoughts and reviews out there.

Firstly I think Gamers Global sums it up very well:

GOOD: Unique linking of five different sub games (phases)
GOOD: Superb editor(s) for changing the looks of nearly everything in the game
GOOD: Tidal and City phase are worthwhile (albeit short) experiences
GOOD: Space phase is very motivating for about 6 hours
GOOD: The streaming of user generated content into your game
GOOD/BAD: The interface shines in the editor and works well in many parts of the game – but is also cumbersome in others (especially in Space phase)
BAD: Far too much micromanagement, especially in Space phase (e.g. the need to collect Spice periodically by visiting your solar systems)
BAD: Diplomacy does not really feel like interacting with a wide variety of aliens, they mostly act like humans although they “speak” differently. Diplomatic options are limited, too.
BAD: Not enough mission types, combined with an abundance of unsatisfying standard missions (attacking pirates, eco disasters) that “force” you to delay what you’re currently doing.
BAD: The design editors are about looks, not about functions: Where you put a weapon or some body armor is not important, the part will give you its bonus anyway. Also, the influence of your designs get less important with each phase.

My first impressions with spore were, WOW! The game is huge and the level of detail is crazy.

Initially in the first few stages you mold your creature together or grab already created creatures from the sporepedia. As mentioned above the design editor is about looks but the bonuses (attack, charm, etc) tend to determine what your create. Therefore there is a trade off between functionality and looks.

Once you get to the civ stage you get the ability to create vehicles (land, sea and air) which are almost effortless to create yet look remarkably good and before you know it you are in space.

What I like the most about the first few stage were that they blend so well together. You really start enjoying this creature you are creating and are sad to leave him/her behind.

Once you get to space the game expands like crazy and is very addictive. Although after about half of a day's play, the micro management does start to kill you -- or rather -- the constantly having to return to your planets to get rid of ufo's/enemy invaders or clear up ecological disasters.
Personally for someone like myself who loves the civilisation series I was looking forward to a game which had a bit more strategy to it. I really liked the creativity involved in spore but feel that so much more could have been done in the city and space parts.