After years of teasing and speculation, much of the gaming media got its hands on Spore for the first time at E3 2008. Expectations for the game are sky high but also a little skeptical. Few games have promised so much, so how can anyone expect them to deliver on everything?

It is hard to describe what Spore is until you actually play it. The five game play eras (cell, creature, tribal, civilization and space) all play differently from each other with different goals in the same space. As a tiny organism, you eat food to get bigger and accumulate DNA credits you can spend towards your next evolutionary stage. Once you mate, you cash in that food by adding spikes or teeth or hands. As an animal, new options for collecting these credits are open to you. As a tribe, you need food to heal damaged tribe members and to advance your culture through tools and weapons. Here your biggest threats are those few creatures that have followed you into sentience. The Civ and Space phases follow the pattern of similar but distinct gameplay elements.

Unlike the creature creator, evolution in game proceeds through collection and conquest. Some biological traits can only be collected by grabbing the proper badge once it pops up on screen – think about it as a power up you are saving for the future. Technology in the tribal phase is gained by trading with rival tribes or just wiping them off the planet.

Failure is almost painless. Your dead creature is given new life and an eliminated tribe or city is given a second chance at global dominance by transporting you back to the beginning of that phase. Since you can start the game at any phase you choose, this is a minor concession on EA’s part, but it does strike a nice balance between making the game too easy for the hardcore audience who might most appreciate it and making it too frustrating for the casual gamers that are EA’s bread and butter.