The iPhone port of EA’s hugely awaited “Spore” game titled “Spore Origins” was released yesterday, the game managed to find it’s way into Today’s “Let’s Rock” event as well. Steve Jobs used it to showcase the iPhone as a mobile gaming platform and talked about how everyone loves Spore. So after a day of game play around town on the iPhone, how good is it?
It’s good, it’s real good! Spore Origin’s focus is on the first stage of the PC/Mac game where you are a simple multi cell organism swimming around in a microscopic world. The goal of the game is pretty straight forward, eat or be eaten.
Most of the game is spent on levels where you need to gobble up enough smaller creatures to fill up your DNA bar, earning you evolution points to add things like weapons or armor to your creature. Other levels are more maze like an require you to “go with the flow” and find your way out. There are also a few Boss levels where your goal is to slowly eat up a creature much bigger then you piece by piece.
The controls are pretty straight forward and don’t take too much time to get used to. You move your creature around with the accelerometer. In later levels when you evolve more abilities you will be able to activate them by tapping little icons in the corner of the screen.
The game is not without it’s own issues however small they may be. One thing I didn’t like was, during game play the iPhone still adheres to power saving settings and will dim the screen or even lock the springboard if you don’t tap anything. The intro movie is a little annoying, how many times do I need to see a movie of the EA logo? It can be skipped but it would be much nicer if it just loaded straight to the Spore splash screen where it loads the game. My last little problem was that I left an evolution point unspent and found it gone after I passed the next level, so make sure you spend those evolution points as you get them!
In conclusion I whole heartily recommend this game it is fun, addictive and offers a unique experience with every creature you create. I have now moved Tris down a rung to my second favorite waste of time on the go. Spore Origins you have earned the crown of my favorite iPhone game.
Gameplay Footage:
From EA on the Game:
Eat-or-be-Eaten in SPORE™ Origins! Put your iPhone’s motion-sensing accelerometer to the test by tilting, turning and twisting your creature through the primordial ooze. Feast on the weak and flee from the strong to survive 2 exciting modes and 35 challenging levels. Evolve from a single-cell weakling into a ruthless predator with the Creature Editor. Customize your texture, shape and body parts to improve your offense, defense, perception and movement. Rule the tidal pool with SPORE™ Origins
- Tilt, turn and twist your way through the primordial ooze with your iPhone’s motion-sensing accelerometer.
- Pinch, pull, and poke your creation in the Creature Editor, customizing the texture, shape and body parts to fit the way you play.
- Experience 2 exciting game modes: Evolution and Survival.
- Survive 35 challenging levels teaming with bizarre creatures.
- Navigate treacherous caverns to explore various strange worlds.
- Enjoy vivid graphics, dynamic animations and atmospheric music on your evolutionary journey.
The game itself is pretty good. Although sometimes a little too basic, it still has its fun points. If they ever make it more expandle it would be more fun. I played for about an hour and i am almost done with all the levels. Survivor mode itself is nothing worth doing. Other than that its a addictive game and kills time pretty fast. So give it a try.
Great review - thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like it’ll be the next thing that makes it from the App Store onto my phone….
I’m about to get to level 6 and the only evolution point I have gotten was the freebee that I gives you. Afterthe level it says “evolution points 0/1 am I just missing something or is there some trick?
You only get evolution points every few levels, James. That sounds about right to me. I am currently stuck on level 29! Great game, I hope there are future tweaks.
I love it! Unfortunately I got stuck on level 30. 29 is extremely hard so I hear you when you say that you got stuck. What I did to get past it was slowly swimming in circles around the fat one that the mean ones are supposed to ram. You have to kill 2 of them and collect all of the tadpoles that swim out of the dead body. I found that red and purplish sea weed clumps are BAD- try to avoid them. But the green ones that look exactly like the red and purple are health. I hope this helps you and I hope that I can get unstuck. Just keep trying, you will get it.
well ima t lvl 29 and ive got soooo close i killed 2 rams but 1 tadpole went missing so i had to kill another and that had 1/10th life and i died and this happened twice plz help me!
I’m stuck at 29 too, I didn’t realize that the green coral are health, that should help me last long enough to get the fat fish, thanks for the tip Gamergirl22
THANK YOU!! I’ve been trying to crack level 29 for 3 days now and was really getting frustrated. As soon as my phone gets enough charge I’m going to try what you did.
I’m also stuck at 30 - says I need protection to kill the boss, and steal his eggs. I don’t see any eggs - I can find 2 shields, but there’s both a big fish as in 29, but also a huge jellyfish. Probably the jellyfish is the monster, but I have no clue as to how I’m going to kill either of them. 29 was hard, but as it is said, just try to attract the fish that gets red when they see you, to the fat ones, and in a couple (10) attempts they will kill the fat ones and tadpoles are released.. repeat this twice, and be sure to pickup health a couple of times when needed.
In 30 there doesn’t seem to be any health though, so not sure what you’re supposed to do?
Hmm explain you problem at it will be solved..
I didn’t really do what I was supposed to, but I ate the green corals a couple of times (they regenerate if you go away for 30 seconds or so), and then you size increases, and I could eat the smaller octopus’es. They also reappear if you go away for a while, and so just repeat this. So no big fish killed, but got past things..
Issit a bug in the game?
Level 29 - attract the angry fish to the fat one and wait till the angry one becomes red and bites the fat one. Do it 6 times (3 times for each fat fish) and then eat all 5 tadpoles that swim out of the fat one.
Level 30 - assuming you are already a big enough fish, you don’t need to fight with the monsters. First I ate green sea weed (I found it in the far left corner) several times until I got 4 hearts and then I ate a small octopus that gave me some DNA points. Then I touched the green-blue happy fish (it gives health points when it is blue, and it poisons you when it is green) and I reached 5 hearts. After that I ate a couple of more small octopuses and passed the last level.
SPORE: 29
OK, I need some help. I am stuck, despite reading the above. I can get full health from the green plants and the squid, but cannot seem to make the small brown creatures attack the big fat brown one (to realease tadpoles). I swim around it and nothing happens. I bump the little brown ones in its general direction and nothing happens, except they disappear after a few nudges althogether. And if I nudge the big one, by by 9 points until I am dead?
HELP (greatly appreciated)
Stuck on the 30th level.. But will keep trying.. Ya, and by the way great game!
still can’t get past level 29. it is tough to wait for the little fishes to bite the big fish. and if i bite or nudge the fishes too much, they will die and i have to wait even longer. this level is really testing my patience. can someone offer any hints?
OK, here’s my tips:
Level 29:
Get the health from the green coral which rejuvinates. And the green bubble fish when it turns blue. Gain DNA from eating the octopus. There is a bar that is always above the brown round fish. You do need to be patient, and hang around it, drawing in the little fishes to bite it. Each time they do this the level on the bar goes down, and when its at the end, the next time its bitten it will spin around and release the eggs. Dont bother nudging the the angry fish, just cirle around them carefully. A good clue as to when they are biting is to have the sound up as you can hear them nipping one of the big ones. Then just find whcih one is being chomped on and hang around it.
Level 30:
I was the same as another user here, when you dont need to kill the giant squid/octopus thing. Go for the health plants, and when you are big enough munch down the smaller creatures. You will build up enough DNA to get through the final level this way. But I am interested to know how to do it properly if anyone ever figures it out.
Cheers
Here you go…
http://bestiphonesites.com/iphone-game-spore-beat-level-30/
i know people will think im stupid for this, but in stuck on level 25. cant find out of the maze. any help appreciated
How do you get out of level 25? I played it for 30 minutes…thanks.
Level 25, same here… Stuck - been playing it for more than 1 hour…
OK - even more basic help needed! I just got this, played the first 9 levels and I have been “stuck” at level 10. Hearts are all full, I have “eaten” everything except the spiny urchins along the side and have been wandering the caverns for 3 hours now with no level up. What am I missing? Any help appreciated. Thanks Tanney
I got through 10 relatively quickly…I do not even remember why at one point I passed to the next level. It just happens with no real door opening or anything really noticeable. I wish the spore people would give more detail in the help section.
Maybe that’s why no one is offering any help here.
I think I will give my phone to my 10 year old to work past this level.
Does the game officially end at level 30? Anyone…
level 18.
please help me!