Gamerzines – Exclusive beta hands-on with Darkspore

It isn’t easy trying to describe what Darkspore ‘is’ to other people, at least, not without drawing comparisons. It was once described to me by a friend as a kind of “Diablo meets Spore” set-up, but it’s not until you finally get to grips with the game that you realise how apt that comparison really is. Throw some Halo and generic Sci-fi into the mix, and you have an experience that’s both oddly unique and riddled with bouts of déjà vu.

It’s quite easy to understand Darkspore though, once you get past the misconceptions. The official ‘Action/RPG’ label works, although it’s definitely more action than RPG. The way the UI is set-up, the way you leisurely plod from A to B, exploring every nook and cranny to make sure you have haven’t missed anything, whilst making sure to blast any fools that get in your way is pure dungeon crawler… Even if it is on a scientific platform orbiting a black hole. The Darkspore themselves are very reminiscent of Halo’s Flood, although they lack they kind of nightmarish quality. And then of course you use the Creature Editor from Spore to upgrade, design and manipulate your genetic heroes.

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