After playing many more hours of Spore, I am not sure that I really like the game.
Or, is it a game? As Theo Moore states, it is "more of a toy than a game".
Indeed, Stephen Totilo says in a widely cross-linked review: "Do you want to play this thing or look at this thing?"
And that is the core beef that I have with the game. Don't get me wrong - the Creature Creator and building creator are nothing less than spectacular, and definitely raise the bar on what should be done in every MMORPG from here on out.
Look, my ugly creature from Creature stage is now all grown up and civilized!
I like the building editor alot. I don't care much for the vehicle editor. But still, these are TOYS! I still want to see them work in a real game. The problem is that this is not a very engaging game.
A couple of weeks ago, in the hype leading up to the game release, a site had Will Wright's Top 5 Favorite Games. One was Civilization. I don't remember the other two.
The problem with this game is that Levels 2 - 4 (Creature, Tribal, Civilization) are like poorly made rip offs of other games! Level 2 is like a weak MMORPG world that my creature can run around in, complete with the dancing and singing with other creatures. I played this stage again when I created a new creature and I was bored. Tribal stage is like a simple RTS, and Civilization stage is like a RTS Command and Conquer. Very weak gameplay (although I haven't beat the Civ level yet, mainly because I was bored).
The only two things Spore has going for in these stages is that my creations are running/driving around, and the game imports creatures and vehicles that other people have shared with the world (which is admittedly a nice touch).
I wanted a little bit more of an Evolution simulation. Perhaps like a Live SimEarth. Maybe Stage 5 - Space will be more like that, but from what I understand it is a planet-painting stage.
I really like the initial Cell stage. The graphics and gameplay are fresh, I can play it casually and relax while playing it. And the creator software is simply amazing.
To sum up : If I want to use Spore as an artistic device/toy then that is fine. Because it really isn't a game.