As a fan of the Spore (PC) game and having played it through, I wasn't sure what to expect with the Wii version, but here's my take on a decent addition to Spore:

Graphics: The general gameplay graphics and sound effects are very cartoony compared to the PC version. It can certainly be appealing to a younger audience. The colors and graphics are smooth and well done.

Gameplay: You start as a small two legged creature going around doing quests and finding new body parts (mouth, feet, hands, etc) with the goal to improve your creature and proceed to new areas / fight harder creatures. There are similarities to creature phase on Spore PC. You make use of the Wiimote and nunchucks by shaking them to break open or kick objects. I like that you can kick just about anything, and it will anger most creatures to fight you. This brings us to the combat, probably the most fun aspect of the game. You fight arena style by punching, charging, diving, spitting, biting, etc. to where the last creature standing wins. There are also other mini type games throughout the game like singing and dancing, where you have to aim the Wiimote at a certain direction and follow the creature's motion.

Controls: In general, the controls are good. Camera is a bit awkward at times and I wish you could zoom out just a little more, like in the PC version. Still, you can look in all different directions with the nunchuck which is fine. The wiimote and nunchuck are very sensitive during some of the activities like dancing, which definitely takes some practice to master.

Multiplayer: You can do an arena style battle with a friend (2 players max). What's cool is that you can use the character you created during the game. You can also create a new character in Sporepedia (another option in the game) and then use it to fight. There is no online play or Co-op in play mode.

The game is quite addicting and I can see it drawing people in from the original Spore fan base including people who have never played it. One thing that disappointed me is that during the main game, you cannot team up with other creatures and adventure with them - as you could during the Creature phase in Spore PC. Still, it is very fun alone as there are tons of quests and creatures to fight.

• from

I'm writing this from a mom-point-of-view. The Spore game for the computer is a headache! New video cards were purchased, one computer still would not run the program ("it's not fair"). Tech support was needed often. We bought the Wii platform of the game and all of those problems are gone. I haven't played it (Wii Fit is more my speed) but the kids weem to enjoy it, and there aren't any computer problems with it. You just put it in and play. :)

• from

I purchased this game for my grandaughter for Christmas. It was the top game on her list and she loves it!

• from

My 5 yr old grandson loves this game and plays it often. He enjoys creating the characters.

• from

My (almost)10 year old had a lot of fun playing this, and he also loved Spore on the PC. He did beat the game in what I would guess was about 10 hours of gameplay. We just bought it last Saturday, and he played some Saturday and some Sunday, and finished it up on Thursday. I was expecting it to last a little longer, but he seemed not in the least disappointed.

• from

Bought this for my son since he likes the Spore Universe PC game. This is a fun game and has far more action than the PC version. The graphics are fantastic as well. The only problem is he solved the game in 2 days!

• from

My kids love this game and play it often. They are entertained and enjoy the time they are allowed to play it.

• from

This is a fun family game that will appeal to those who like the Spore pc game creature stage and to people who are new to the Spore brand. The graphics are great and the environment is creative with lots to explore. It is easy to learn basic game controls and fairly intuitive to play. The writers have a sense of humor. Over the holidays my family played together and all of us (all adults) were jumping and cheering, totally absorbed. My only criticism is that occasionally we hit a task that took forever to complete because although we had the right idea of how to solve it, we weren't performing the functions quickly enough, in exactly the right order, or with the right timing. That got frustrating, but there are some online hints and tips to be found. Overall, this game was well worth buying and has been hours of fun.

• from

I enjoyed Spore for PC, a little more kidish than I was hopeing, but I could get around it. However, for Spore hero, they made it A LOT more for kids...Didnt know that when I bought it. But it seems to be pointed toward a very specific age group. Because it isnt that much fun for teenagers, but it is to hard for my 6 year old sibling. So, the age they are shooting for is around, 8-12. I'm sure this is stating the obvious for most, but I wish it hadnt been stated obviously to me before I bought it. Oh well. It provided a few hours of messing around with a sorta fun alien creator, then fighting other alien things. So if you are 8-12 or no somone who is, that would enjoy what was previously stated, you should buy it.

• from

I bought this for my 12yr old son. He is quite a gamer, and played it quiute a bit at first. He seemed to lose interest after about a month. He went back to Zelda and some his other games. When I asked why he wasn't playing Spore Hero, he said he had beat it already.

• from

Bought this for my daughter for Christmas. Turns out she enjoys the basic PC game better. Not sure what the difference is, but she hardly plays this Wii version.

• from

I've just about finished wrapping up game play with Spore Hero and overall I will say that it has been a very enjoyable experience. There have been moments of frustration (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to the Moonlit Caverns), but you'll eventually be able to overcome them. The game starts with you crash landing on a planet along with your arch-nemesis. As he goes about making life miserable for the spore tribes already inhabiting the planet, it is your job to evolve to solve quests in order to set things right. Along the way you'll solve quests, interact with the inhabitants of the planet, evolve other creatures, fight, and collect the 327 creature parts scattered across the world (which you can then use to evolve yourself). Combat, which you will do a lot of, places you in a ring with your opponent where you'll be forced to fight each other real time (no turn-based system like in Monster Lab). It's an enjoyable experience, with moderate difficulty. Problem is, the game can be completed fairly quickly (less than 10 hours) and unless you want to evolve and fight creatures, the replay-ability is minimal. In addition the Sporepedia, which with the PC and DS versions allows you to load your creation to the web, lacks that online functionality. This means the Sporepedia is relegated to creating/evolving characters to use in multiplayer battling mode, which is a huge disappointment. EA Montreal could really have pushed this game into the upper echelons of 2009 games by allowing online connectivity (even if simply for the Sporepedia), but it's an opportunity lost. That knocks this game down from a potentially great title to one that falls a bit short. It is well deserving of a good 3-star rating, but that's about it.

• from

I bought this for my 5 yr. olds birthday at his request. He likes it alot and it's easy enough on the eyes that I don't mind watching him play and he can do most of it by himself no problem, but there are a few problem areas where I still haven't been able to get past. for some reason this kids looking game has parts where you must match up close to 100% of your movements with the nunchuck and Wiimote. Imagine playing Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero where the only way to progress in the game is by matching 100%. It's ludicrous. The kids don't want to play anymore, I don't want to shake things for them anymore.

I see people complain about the "help" feature in New Super Mario Bros. but Spore Hero really needs one for these overly-hard couple of sections. Games are supposed to be fun, not 100% matchmaking. If we can ever get past those parts maybe the rest fo the game will be worth it, but we may never know.

• from