Spore DS Titled; Features Online Creature Trading

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Maxis has dropped some new information on the ancillary versions of its upcoming PC title Spore, with details of the Nintendo DS, Wii, and mobile versions leaking in a series of interviews with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal.

Spore Creatures for the Nintendo DS will predictably focus on the creature phase established in the PC edition, with users evolving their customized characters, defeating enemies, and "exploring the galaxy on a quest to find new evolutionary paths and save their home world."

"We even decided to go with a custom look for Spore Creatures so the content is entirely unique to the DS," said Maxis producer Lucy Bradshaw. "Our artistic inspiration came from Japanese flat rod puppets and shadow box art."

In addition to the standard creature-based gameplay, Nintendo DS players will be able to go online and trade their creations with other users. Said creatures will then populate players' games in the offline mode, as in the PC version.

Cellphone gamers will also get in on the creature trading, although that particular flavor of Spore will appropriately feature only the cell phase of the PC game.

The future Wii edition of Spore was also briefly mentioned.

"What interests me about the Wii is that in some sense you have a much higher bandwith controller than you have with any other console or even a PC," said Spore lead designer Will Wright, who elaborated on the idea of building The Wii version of the game around the concept of precise creature control.

"It should really feel like I'm puppeteering this creature very directly, as opposed to I'm just indirectly controlling with a few buttons here and there," he added.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 12, 2008 3:18 PM

    maybe i'm missing something, but the DS is smelling like a complete dumping ground for every imaginable port just to get on the "me-too" bandwagon.... much like the wii it seems....

    • reply
      February 12, 2008 3:27 PM

      And the GBA and GB before it. There's just so many handhelds out there, I guess it makes sense to someone higher up to make "ports" of games for the suckers who will buy them thinking they're just as good.

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        February 12, 2008 4:08 PM

        I've played a couple of these DS versions of games, and more often than not, it's a completely different game. Bionicle Heroes for the DS was a first person shooter with the same control system as Metroid Prime: Hunters, while the console game was a third-person action game. I just wanted a straight-ahead action FPS, instead of the "go for 45 minutes without reaching a save point" crap that was in MPH.

        I know nothing of Spore Creatures, but I highly doubt it features any code "ported" from the PC.

      • reply
        February 12, 2008 5:08 PM

        i kind of applaud them for not trying to squeeze the entire game on the DS, however, and taking a new look at what the DS version would be best at.

        now, until i hear some previews, i'll reserve judgement on whether or not this is a money making scheme entirely, but at the face of it, i think having a spin off game instead of a scaled back spore is a way better approach.

    • reply
      February 12, 2008 5:27 PM

      That's totally not true. Both the Wii and DS are leaders in innovation and are anything but "me-too" Every console get it's share of shovelware.

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