Spore Creature Creator (Mac/PC DVD)

I just thought I should warn anybody who is potentially confused that this is not the main Spore game. This is an additional kit that lets you design creatures without following the gradual progression involved with the main game. You can import creatures made by Creature Creator into the main Spore game if you own it. But you cannot play with the creatures you make with just this kit on its own. I know 99% of people will already know this, but there is room for confusion.
That said, Creature Creator is good fun. The design system in Spore is amazing. Constructing creatures is as simple as if you were using modelling clay. What amazes me is the freedom you have. You shape the creature's spine, drag limbs to any part of the body and shape them, add other parts and shape those too. The game rarely limits where you can attach things, so if you want you could have a creature that hangs below its legs, with its mouth on it's rear and eyes on it's stomach, or even more bizzare! It's not just a matter of choosing what combination of limbs you want, pretty much every aspect of the creature is controlled by you.
Yet amazingly you don't have to tell the game what moves where: the game animates the movements of even the most unusual creatures. On rare occasions I've had some animations that look a bit unusual, but even these are easily resolved (eg. just thin that part of the body, or move the arms a bit further from the head etc.).
But overall, I would simply suggest that you get the main Spore game (which of course lets you build creatures anyway) and buy this as an extra if you are particularly taken by the creativity aspect. I definitely wouldn't buy creature creator on its own.

My son [12] really likes 'Spore' [the proper game]. When he got a GAME voucher for Xmas he spent it on this cheap 'Spore Creature Creator' CD thinking it was an add-on, i.e. more new fun creature parts for his Spore game. He installed Creature Creator himself without asking me for help [on his 'Spore' PC] and now neither this game or the Spore main game will run - Spore just instantly crashes back to desktop. Major downside was that all my sons saved games were also wiped, which annoyed him intensely, having lost billions of years work - I couldn't repeat his reply to `star rating?'. So great! This 'Creature Creator' is little more than a pre-release demo of the Spore game's creature builder anyway. So for over 10s I'd skip this Creature Creator, and put your cash towards the proper Spore game now it's available as it offers loads more fun [particularly if you're buying for kids age 11-15, the age group who seem to love Spore most]. This 'Creature Creator' first went on sale back in June 2008, for much the same price as now.

The idea of using this Creature Creator on a 2nd PC to create creatures seems the only use for this 'game' if you have Spore, and used this way it offers remarkably similar fun to CBBC's freebie creature building 'Bamzooki' software which was a real hit with my kids. Otherwise, I'd avoid this offering like the plague. Well, unless perhaps you are buying for a child under ten with a 'Spore' free PC, where the simple drag and drop interface and brightly coloured creatures could enthral. Creature Creator works rather like a Barbie makeover studio, except here it's for cute Velociraptor production. You simply drag and drop arms, legs, eyes, beaks, tails, etc.. add colour, and then the Sporie creature gives us a twirl and can be made to run, call, walk, sing, and so on. If interested, you can download a simplified trial version of Creature Creator from the Spore website [and the latest Spore patches].

Irritating though that EA Games hadn't made sure that 'Spore' can't be damaged by attempting to install this older Creature Creator CD sampler. What my son needed to add new body parts to the main Spore game was the £10 'Spore Cute & Creepy Parts' Pack - and I have now ordered this for him as compensation for his bad experience with Creature Creator. Although this is beginning to look like the high cost of SIMS [1 to 3] ownership - what's next 'Spore Night Life' [actually it's 'Spore Galactic Adventures']. Plus EA print the licence code on the inner booklet not the case or DVD - the perfect way to loose it with kids about [I now transcribe the activation code onto the back of the DVD case].

Regarding the Spore corruption, should you encounter it: Four uninstalls/reinstalls later and Spore still wouldn't run. Turns out EA Download Manager was somehow installed twice - I uninstalled one EA Download Manager but another was still lurking about unseen. Only when I looked in Program Files, EA Games did I find a left over EA Download Manager folder was still there, and it had another uninstall exe file [so I ran it]. Once EA DM was uninstalled [again], I reloaded Spore, and it sprang back into life! Internet searches reveal that EA Download Manager often causes this fatal Spore conflict, and ironically you couldn't patch Spore without running it. Once all traces of EA Download Manager were removed I re-installed Spore from it's DVD and the latest version of Download Manager from Spore's website, and all now functions perfectly [with Spore faultlessly patching itself from v1.00 to v1.03]. So Creature Creator is now on the naughty list, and we won't install it on any of our Spore PCs again. Installed on a Spore enabled PC, this Creature Creator 'game' never appeared on the PC anyway.

I bought this game for my 6 year old son and he absolutely loves it. His art work has also improved since then and what is best he does not ask me for so many sweets any more.