Cute, Creepy and Dangerous...welcome to a new type of action-RPG. Darkspore brings with it a different kind of action-RPG, set in a far away universe where creatures (also known as Darkspores), have begun a campaign to devour the entire Universe and your job (well duh!) is to stop them. Cue dramatic music.
A Galaxy to save...again
Suffering from a predictable storyline (if it’s even possible to call it a story), Darkspore won't bring any intrigue or shouts of “Awesome” to the table. The story is simple, a universe is at peril from a dark sinister threat known as ‘Darkspores’ led by a even more sinister ‘Big Boss’(Ed - Not related to Metal Gear Solid in any way) character and strangely enough you, the last of your kind (called a Crogenitor) have decided or forced to fight the dark creatures after being awakened from your ‘hypersleep’.
Why you ask? I really cannot say. The game is divided up into six different chapters known in the game as ‘Threats’. Each Threat features four levels of encounters which is further divided three more times by unlocking harder difficulties as you complete the campaign. The chapters however, do vary from one another as they feature locations for unique alien environments. For example; on the fourth planet you’re introduced to an environment which has a lush green outdoor landscape and suddenly going indoors you’re brought into a ‘hellish’ red industrial environment with machines still working even after their workers have been spent.
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| Time to play 'Whack a fly' |
Other worlds feature large spanning deserts or frozen tundra, there’s even a level set in space (sort of anyways). What this then translates to is repetition, regardless of how amazing these environments are, you'll notice that Maxis has done a little ‘cost-cutting’ when it came to the layout of those environments. While playing through the four levels of each threat, the layout of the map is recycled over and over and over and over again(ad infinitum). After playing the same map for the fifth time, I decided “Alright, time to hit the sack”.
There’s nothing more boring than playing through the same type of map after you just completed it in your third play through. In its defence however, you can understand why they decided to use repetitive level design, as each map can be played a little differently from the previous run through you did one hour ago. For example: I have just beaten threat 3 - 1 and at threat 3 – 4 the game decides to recycle the layout from 3 – 1 to annoy me. However when I played through 3 – 4 I noticed something odd about it, enemies are tougher, ambush points are at different locations and the obelisk’s (also known as treasure chest in our language) are all located different to where they were before. This is similar to Blizzard’s Diablo games where dungeons are randomly generated, however in Darkspore, it’s the encounters that are randomised.
How to make a monster...or try to make one
Moving on from the story and the environments, comes the creature editor. Unlike Maxis’s previous Spore title (which this title only shares the name), this creature editor is like a ‘crippled’ version of the one in the original Spore. By taking away the ability to create your own monsters (as there’s already 30 of them to unlock), you're left with a template to just add into. What does this mean then? Well, lets say you have unlocked monster ‘A’, and he comes equipped with his standard slashing weapon and whatever alien armour he had. You then decide that you want to change its body shape or weapon type or even its ugly shape of a face. However since this is Darkspore and not ‘Spore’....you cannot do those things (you cannot even remove its limbs).
Instead of getting weapons or piece of armour, you collect 'bodyparts'. Oh look I found someone's eyeball
So what is left? You can add on more armour which then boost the overall statistics of your character and you can also upgrade its weapon to a more powerful version of it (however you wont be able to change the type of weapon a hero uses). There’s also the option of painting your creature a different colour which greatly differentiates it from the rest of the crew or you can change one of your equipment that give a stat boost into a cosmetic accessory. This then brings about the question, so what’s the point to the creature editor? To be honest, not as great as the editor from ‘Spore’.
However, I did notice that I ended up tinkering in the editor for quite a while regardless to the fact of how little options it had offered to me. Just by changing and tweaking my creatures, I’d notice I had already spent 2 hours of my life just changing and adjusting the armour on my creature. (I spent 1 hour actually adjusting a foot for my creature to my dismay)
Say person A has designed an awesome creature with its cosmetic add-on for Creature A. His/Her friend then sees that creation for Creature A and ask 'Cool, could I get that setup, and I'll add my own touch to it and make it even better", Person A then says "Yeah, that be nice, however theres no way to share it' hence the breaking down of community. The way I see this is like a 'miss' for Maxis, whereby theres potential for them to full utilize a template sharing community that (like in say DoTA) comes up with interesting yet dynamic Creatures for others to try and unlock.
There’s also no way to trade items as well which leads to a lot of questions as to why these critical things were not included into the game on release. Not another Hack n’ Slash From the editor, we now proceed to the gameplay, where Darksprore really shines. As you may have already known (if you haven’t then you do now), Darkspore is an Action-RPG. Instead of levelling your character over time (via exp farming), you farm for items or parts. The currency in this game is called ‘DNA’ which is as critical as buying gas from your local petrol station. Why you ask? I'll explain it later on in the review.
So back to the gameplay, the mechanics of the game is similar to that of any other top-down point and click action game. You use the left mouse click to move and the right to attack in place. The skills however are a little bit different, ranging from the first three of the five skills, that are unique to your creature, while the last two skills are skills which are from your other squad members.
You may ask, ‘What’s a squad member?’. Darkspore's uniqueness comes from the ability to have up to three heroes at your command at any one time. After levelling up your avatar also known as the ‘Crogenitor’, you're able to unlock more options. One of them is the ability to unlock new squads (you can unlock a total of up to three squads). You can then choose which hero creature you have unlocked that will be placed into that squad for use in battle. With this feature, the game offers a tactical and strategic undertone to each play through, hence enhancing the overall experience for those who love a little team play.
For the rest of us who couldn’t careless, it’s a nice little feature knowing that you can swap out heroes when you start to feel bored while you’re playing a one hour long map that’s recycled. As mentioned earlier, there are around 30 different creatures to unlock. However, around the 20th level, the creature you see in your ‘Arsenal’ (also known as your creature unlocking menu), tend to be repetitions of creature design you have already unlocked at say level 10(they cosmetically looks similar). What is different about those creatures at level 20 would probably be their skills. This takes the fun out of unlocking new heroes as you will feel as though there’s no real point in grinding up levels. This however does translate to a more casual type of gameplay experience for the less hardcore players (like me).
Overall it’s a mixed bag as some might complain about the repetition while others are not too bothered by it. Items in the game as mentioned are called ‘Parts’, these are different from other similar Action-RPGs (like Titan Quest). These parts are then equipped using your editor on your creatures to level up, there is a downside however. To equip parts you need DNA, as mentioned earlier which is the currency of the game. Without DNA, there’s no way increase the level of your hero.
The Galaxy is big, awesome and scary....because people live in it
In Spore, what made the game great wasn't its graphics or gameplay, it was the community that made crazy and weird stuff. It’s strange to include the community as a factor in a review as usually it’s something immeasurable or seem pointless to try and understand. However in Darkspore this has to be pointed out. In spore, we saw that the community often provided its input through creations they uploaded via their own own game. This helped bring about a sense of cooperation and support from others(Ed - which you wouldn't have if Spore was a closed game).
In Darkspore, you lose all of those unique aspects of sharing and caring, but you gain something else instead. Featuring coop for up to three others players (the 3rd slot for coop is unlocked at later difficulties), this brings along a new kind of experience. And for those who think ‘Hey coop sucks, I rather play Solo’, you actually can, however, you would be missing out of special bonuses only available in coop games.
So how does one get into a coop game? Simple, you click on what map/threat level you want to play in, and then choose your level and then hit start. An option will pop-up asking you two things, Matchmaking or Solo. Once you have chosen Matchmaking, your game goes in and tries to find the best possible ally for you. It’s also possible to invite friends (what’s that?) into your game so it’s not all matchmaking.
So what’s so interesting about that? The game has tendency to feel like an MMORPG, however, games are scattered into private instances (a little like DoTA) where you’re stuck in your own world and only the person who is invited gets to join in on the fun. If you're worried about your friends being on a higher level than you are, don’t worry, the game will scale them down for you so you're all evenly running through the map always ‘needing’ each other. This then brings about a need to cooperate, regardless of what kind of gamer you are. It’s always easy to get a coop game going and you're sure to know that whoever you partner with, can be a great asset.
The game also features a PVP side option, however, unlike the campaign mode, it’s almost rare to even get a game going. (In my review play through, out of the 10 times I tried, I didn’t even manage to get one game going). So, if you’re thinking of getting Darkspore for its PVP component, you might be disappointed with its option regarding this.
Every Choice Changes the Fight
Overall, playing Darkspore has been a little repetitious and that may very well put players off from getting it. However, looking past that and its simplified creature editor, you will find a deep and engaging Action-RPG, with a great community and interesting set of gameplay mechanics. Darkspore is worth getting if you can’t wait for Diablo 3 to be out soon.
Pros:
"Darkspore's uniqueness comes from the ability to have up to three heroes at your command at any one time"
So back to the gameplay, the mechanics of the game is similar to that of any other top-down point and click action game. You use the left mouse click to move and the right to attack in place. The skills however are a little bit different, ranging from the first three of the five skills, that are unique to your creature, while the last two skills are skills which are from your other squad members.
This is your Arsenal, there's Freddy, Johnny, Tony and of course who can forget Fred's twin brother Fredrick
You may ask, ‘What’s a squad member?’. Darkspore's uniqueness comes from the ability to have up to three heroes at your command at any one time. After levelling up your avatar also known as the ‘Crogenitor’, you're able to unlock more options. One of them is the ability to unlock new squads (you can unlock a total of up to three squads). You can then choose which hero creature you have unlocked that will be placed into that squad for use in battle. With this feature, the game offers a tactical and strategic undertone to each play through, hence enhancing the overall experience for those who love a little team play.
For the rest of us who couldn’t careless, it’s a nice little feature knowing that you can swap out heroes when you start to feel bored while you’re playing a one hour long map that’s recycled. As mentioned earlier, there are around 30 different creatures to unlock. However, around the 20th level, the creature you see in your ‘Arsenal’ (also known as your creature unlocking menu), tend to be repetitions of creature design you have already unlocked at say level 10(they cosmetically looks similar). What is different about those creatures at level 20 would probably be their skills. This takes the fun out of unlocking new heroes as you will feel as though there’s no real point in grinding up levels. This however does translate to a more casual type of gameplay experience for the less hardcore players (like me).
In Darkspore, everyone gets a beamy laser...except for you.
Overall it’s a mixed bag as some might complain about the repetition while others are not too bothered by it. Items in the game as mentioned are called ‘Parts’, these are different from other similar Action-RPGs (like Titan Quest). These parts are then equipped using your editor on your creatures to level up, there is a downside however. To equip parts you need DNA, as mentioned earlier which is the currency of the game. Without DNA, there’s no way increase the level of your hero.
The Galaxy is big, awesome and scary....because people live in it
In Spore, what made the game great wasn't its graphics or gameplay, it was the community that made crazy and weird stuff. It’s strange to include the community as a factor in a review as usually it’s something immeasurable or seem pointless to try and understand. However in Darkspore this has to be pointed out. In spore, we saw that the community often provided its input through creations they uploaded via their own own game. This helped bring about a sense of cooperation and support from others(Ed - which you wouldn't have if Spore was a closed game).
In this screen, you can tell which squads are best suited for the battle that lays ahead
In Darkspore, you lose all of those unique aspects of sharing and caring, but you gain something else instead. Featuring coop for up to three others players (the 3rd slot for coop is unlocked at later difficulties), this brings along a new kind of experience. And for those who think ‘Hey coop sucks, I rather play Solo’, you actually can, however, you would be missing out of special bonuses only available in coop games.
So how does one get into a coop game? Simple, you click on what map/threat level you want to play in, and then choose your level and then hit start. An option will pop-up asking you two things, Matchmaking or Solo. Once you have chosen Matchmaking, your game goes in and tries to find the best possible ally for you. It’s also possible to invite friends (what’s that?) into your game so it’s not all matchmaking.
So what’s so interesting about that? The game has tendency to feel like an MMORPG, however, games are scattered into private instances (a little like DoTA) where you’re stuck in your own world and only the person who is invited gets to join in on the fun. If you're worried about your friends being on a higher level than you are, don’t worry, the game will scale them down for you so you're all evenly running through the map always ‘needing’ each other. This then brings about a need to cooperate, regardless of what kind of gamer you are. It’s always easy to get a coop game going and you're sure to know that whoever you partner with, can be a great asset.
May the force be......Oops wrong game
The game also features a PVP side option, however, unlike the campaign mode, it’s almost rare to even get a game going. (In my review play through, out of the 10 times I tried, I didn’t even manage to get one game going). So, if you’re thinking of getting Darkspore for its PVP component, you might be disappointed with its option regarding this.
Every Choice Changes the Fight
Overall, playing Darkspore has been a little repetitious and that may very well put players off from getting it. However, looking past that and its simplified creature editor, you will find a deep and engaging Action-RPG, with a great community and interesting set of gameplay mechanics. Darkspore is worth getting if you can’t wait for Diablo 3 to be out soon.
Pros:
- Amazing environments
- Interesting heroes to play with
- Fun and hassle free coop mode
- Great community
- Lag-free multiplay
- The creature editor
Cons:
- A lot of repetition
- Simplified editor
- No trade or sharing system
Verdict: Something to keep you satisfied until Diablo 3 comes out.
This game is godawful. I wouldn't play Darkspore if someone paid ME $50.
ReplyDeleteNo way in hell would I buy this or even download it, it's not worth the opportunity cost. Stay far away.