GAME PREVIEW: From out of the ooze and up to the stars

Game Informer Magazine

When "SimCity" and "The Sims" creator Will Wright says that his upcoming game "Spore" has turned out to be "kind of ambitious," it's not hard to see through his modesty. A simulation game spanning eons and a pioneering adventure into social networking, "Spore" is aiming to be his most immense and satisfying game yet, from the primordial ooze to the farthest reaches of space.

It starts in the Cell Phase, which has players taking a tiny microbe and evolving it by eating other microbes to bolster its DNA and ensure its survival. When your creation gets onto dry land, things really start to get interesting. The Creature and Tribe Phases have players evolving in more complex ways in order to facilitate communication skills or combat skills. If you pick a mouth geared more towards biting and less towards singing (the main way to communicate), your social skills will noticeably suffer.

Your learned social skills play directly into the Civilization Phase of the game, where evolution of the species takes a back seat to building the early foundations of your alien society. Allies and enemies are determined by your actions in the previous Phases, so hostile players might find a few more enemies at their gates than if they had played it cool. The communication and combat skill tendencies you could choose from give way to militaristic, religious and economic social doctrines, all of which can be used to take over rival societies and add more strength to your species.

All of your efforts, however, are for a worthy cause - space travel. The Space Phase removes nearly all boundaries on movement, opening up an immense galaxy of planets to explore, terraform and colonize. But real estate is a highly coveted commodity, so you'll need to deal with rival alien species out for the resource-rich planets, as well as working towards exploring the ultimate goal of charting the very center of the galaxy.

While racing for the stars is a worthwhile endeavor, "Spore" has far more to offer. Utilizing an incredibly deep and user-friendly content creation system, players can create creatures, buildings, spaceships and other objects, all with complete control over color, scale and shape. Using the Sporepedia, the in-game hub for all content, players can share their creations with the entire world, subscribe to RSS-type feeds that alert them when buddies have created something new, and even record movies of their adventures and upload them directly to YouTube via a process dubbed "Sporecasting."

Whether you're out to dominate the galaxy or simply flex your creative muscle and create a universe's worth of aliens, "Spore" seems ready to deliver on both fronts. While years in the making, we can't wait to get our hands on the final build of the game in the second quarter of 2008. But for a game offering up eons of gameplay, the thought of waiting a few more months seems like an acceptable sacrifice.

"SPORE"
Platform: PC
Style: 1-Player Action (Multiplayer TBD)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Maxis
Release: Sept. 7

For more video game news and reviews, check out the latest issue of Game Informer or visit the magazine's Web site at www.gameinformer.com.

Wow! Carol Vorderman, 47, reveals her amazing figure

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The Countdown presenter looked terrific last night as she arrived for The Ryan Tubridy Show in Dublin, wearing a figure-hugging grey frock with a low-cut neckline.

Carol showed her ample cleavage as she cut a fashionable and classy figure outside the TV studios.

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Just swell: Countdown star Carol Vorderman stepped out in Dublin last night looking as glamorous and beautiful as ever

She amazed fans last November as she celebrated 25 years of Countdown in the same trousers she wore when she first appeared on the quiz show as a 21-year-old.

The svelte presenter was still able to get into the high-waisted suede trousers, which surprised even her.

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Starring attraction: Carol looked resplendant as she stepped out in Dublin wearing a fur-style jacket and flashing her trademark smile

She said at the time: "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into them - but luckily I just managed!"

Carol has long been a devotee of detox dieting and has released a series of healthy eating books.

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