"How did Spore ever come to this...?"

Many people know Spore. That fun little PC game that gives you the ability to create creatures from scratch. The game that was immensely popular for a while. Intrigued after hearing about it, I decided to pick this up. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.

Simply put, the game stars your little alien who you create from scratch, like the PC version. However, you crash-land on a planet, where you learn about a set of corrupt, cursed medals given to any creature who wins a tournament. However, these medals drive their wielders power-crazy and thirsty for blood, increasing their power and making sure that these medals are taken from them. As such, it is charged to your creature to retrieve them. Not bad... right?

Gamplay: 1/10
This... is just... awful! Without any real good control, your creature can sometimes wander off on its own path, not going anywhere you want it to go. Not only that, but the game itself is boring, repetitive, and of course, the combat is extremely flawed, which brings the difficulty of the game too high for someone like me- it takes a while for me to get used to controls. I played this game for a day, before giving up and putting it down.

Story: 5/10
This game's only redeeming factor, as mentioned before, you have to get the medals back from power-crazed other creatures. It isn't a bad story, certainly, but where it makes up for the game in its sheer uniqueness, it happens to be the generic 'defeat the bad guy' story- something which doesn't do well in one of the Spore games at all.

Graphics and sound: 3/10
Like everything else in this game, the graphics are awful. Sometimes, I've seen myself leaning forward, thinking 'What on earth is that I'm fighting?' Things that can be seen are somewhat indistinguishable and awful, and what you can make out is just passable. Nothing more.

As for music... what music? Though it may just have been me, I haven't heard any music in this game aside from the creating, the spaceship and the main title screen. I have never noticed any others at all. Other generic sounds are also rather grating and EXTREMELY annoying.

Play time/replayability: 2/10

The playtime is rather short, as I completed nearly all of the planets in the torturous day that I played it- though it seemed longer. As well as this, I doubt that ANYONE would replay the game at all due to its sheer repetitive nature, and how it is so boring.

Final recommendation:
Stay away from this game at all costs. Don't even rent it. If you are given it, return it to where your friend got it from. Just don't play it at all. You won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10 | Originally Posted: 09/10/12

Game Release: Spore Hero Arena (EU, 10/09/09)

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