BigDownload has 'Ten Reasons to Avoid Spore'
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Sep 14th 2008 at 1:00PM }
- Because you want to read an even-handed look at the game's flaws before deciding whether or not it's worth a purchase.
- Because it's presented in visually pleasing Gallery-o-vision.
- Because you're Will Wright, and you enjoy criticizing your latest game's criticisms.
- Because it was written by gaming industry newcomer, Perez Hilton.
- Because BigDownload is totally wrong and you can't wait to inform them of this in their comments.
- Because you've already installed and removed the game three times, so you've got nothing better to do.
- Because we were joking about it being written by Perez Hilton.
- Because it has pictures. Big, beautiful pictures.
- Because we asked you very nicely to read it, and it's our birthday.
- Because you appreciate literature that criticizes a game you believe was crafted by Beelzebub.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Neebs @ Sep 14th 2008 1:14PM
11. It's just a huge disappointment.
Trickob @ Sep 14th 2008 1:15PM
the list on Big Download is a dissapointment?? why?
Hasney @ Sep 14th 2008 6:47PM
Top 10 reasons the list on Big Download is terrible:
1. The list is on Big Download
2. Big Download is terrible.
Repeat 5 times
Trickob @ Sep 14th 2008 1:18PM
you guys are just trying to drum up attention for the relatively unpopular "Big Download" forum.
for shame... ;p
JerJer @ Sep 14th 2008 1:30PM
I enjoy it. I only have time to play half an hour every few days and it certainly satisfies.
Mike @ Sep 14th 2008 1:31PM
Gallery-o-vision is really annoying.
MosquitoControl @ Sep 14th 2008 2:38PM
Yeah it is.
Thank you for using massive, unnecessary screen shots as an excuse to make us go to 10 different pages for 10 different items, making us load 10 different times and making reading it 10 times more annoying.
All so we see the same add 10 different times.
Weak.
Lame.
Desperate attempt to increase ad revenues at the expense of user ease.
Who is your consumer here, really?
Cal @ Sep 14th 2008 2:54PM
Mosquito, use AdBlock
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 2:55PM
I don't mind it.
MosquitoControl @ Sep 14th 2008 4:28PM
Cal, it's not the ads that bother me as I don't see them (by the way, f adblock. Use a host file. Far better.)
It's that the website is designed not for readability but for ad hits. I won't read any site that compromises how easy it is for me to read it for higher revenues. Find some other way to drive up your income. Making readers arbitrarily go through more pages of less content is not a valid way to do so.
Anticrawl @ Sep 14th 2008 4:51PM
Relax-o-Vision and Screem-o-Vision are great though...
Sorry I was watching Freakazoid lastnight before I went to bed.
Poisoned Al @ Sep 14th 2008 1:38PM
Quite a few of those points repeat themselves, and misses out the biggest inbuggerance of all: The space stage alerts.
Want to explore the galaxy, buzz lesser civilizations with your cool spaceship or terraform a moon or two? WELL TOO BAD! You will spend forever running around after pirates and sick animals on your planets, and being attacked by hordes of enemies that hate you just for existing with just ONE DAMN SHIP!
Poisoned Al @ Sep 14th 2008 1:41PM
Oh and after I installed the game, Windows takes forever to shut down! Thanks for fucking my PC up EA!
Slaziman @ Sep 14th 2008 1:49PM
FUCKING QFT
FUCK SPAGE STAGE ALERTS
Mr Khan @ Sep 14th 2008 1:40PM
Like other life sim titles (though it incorporates other things from RTS and onward), its probably better enjoyed in small doses, rather than as the primary game you play in large chunks
Also: My campus house's common 360 RRoD'd, the first time that Rock Band 2 was inserted. Chaos is ensuing.
Ayrkain @ Sep 14th 2008 2:47PM
Is there a mandatory update associated with it that could be the problem, or was it just random?
Mr Khan @ Sep 14th 2008 3:14PM
They have been leaving it on for hours on end, unattended, but since i don't have enough experience with a 360 to know how to turn it off (once again, it was a bad idea to do away with hard power switches on consoles) i couldn't do anything about it
Fortunately there were 2 others in-house who had one, so its been replaced.
ark_keeper @ Sep 14th 2008 3:58PM
See that glowing power symbol on the front? Push it...
Babel @ Sep 14th 2008 2:07PM
It looks like everyone is joining the Spore-Hate Train; I won't deny that Spore is indeed a big disappointment, but a lot of people are acting as though it's a truly awful game. It's not, it's just nowhere near as good as everyone (including me) had hoped/expected it to be.
And that makes me a sad Glomagog.
Red Leader @ Sep 14th 2008 11:15PM
I was never even minutely interested in this game because I learned my lesson a few years ago playing The Sims.
rockintom @ Sep 14th 2008 2:10PM
12. Too damned much drm.
XGM @ Sep 15th 2008 9:40PM
Yea well now I got screwed by that
First install, power went out and corrupted some of it (dunno why).
Second install was on my smaller daily/company laptop, didn't work very well.
Third install is on my desktop replacement laptop.
Fourth is on my gaming rig, oh wait I cant...
Anyone want the game ? Played it for 3 hours and never touched it since mostly because it didn't live up to the hype.
SHAZAM! @ Sep 14th 2008 2:12PM
Is there going to be a "Ten reasons to buy Spore" feature? Because there are definitely more reasons to buy it than not.
A Non E-Moose @ Oct 23rd 2008 4:36PM
PLZ BE LISTING THESE SUPPOSED REASONS TO BUY, BITCH.
Killimus @ Sep 14th 2008 11:33PM
There isn't 10 reasons to buy Spore, there's one. The creature creator. If you already have that by itself, there are no reasons to play Spore.
GC @ Sep 14th 2008 2:21PM
I wish I hadn't bought Spore :(
AtomicPlayboy @ Sep 14th 2008 2:24PM
So I bought Spore yesterday on the strong recommendation of a friend I trust and played a full game over the course of the day. I'm pretty disappointed, and completely agree with all of the criticisms leveled in this article. In the end, it's 4/5ths shallow and boring versions of other games and 1/5th somewhat-interesting streamlined version of Sins of a Solar Empire. It is definitely less than the sum of its parts, and I really don't see any lasting appeal beyond the creature/vehicle editor, which I'm sure will be infinitely amusing to people who enjoy the similar dollhouse-style game play of the Sims, but which is completely lost on me.
Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to unload this game on eBay, now that there are only two remaining installations. Unless some _really_ compelling DLC arrives, this is pretty much $50 out the window for me. Ugh.
Ichi the One @ Sep 14th 2008 2:29PM
Most stupid / pointless article I've seen on Joystiq in a while...
Poisoned Al @ Sep 14th 2008 2:37PM
And?
Come on, spit it out man!
Ichi the One @ Sep 14th 2008 2:42PM
and... that's it. It was a pointless article, there was literally no point.
cpugeek13 @ Sep 14th 2008 2:41PM
Yeah, i bought Spore the day it came out, played it a bit, then asked myself "why did i buy this?" Sure creation is fun and stuff, but if the gameplay is shallow, then no matter how cool the content is, it just gets boring. Depth makes games replayable, not just new content. Luckily, i sold the game to a friend (giving him my account and everything" and bought Civ4. Much better purchase, imo.
And, I really like Big Download. I wish more people would read their articles.
F1 @ Sep 14th 2008 2:45PM
Its such a shame that they didn't flesh out the mechanics of the game.
FotoVerite @ Sep 14th 2008 3:03PM
I'm so sick of the hype. It's a bad game with shitty DRM. The sad thing is that I actually like The Sims for all it's casual glory, but spore is just boring and oh so was not fun for those six hours I put in.
Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 14th 2008 4:10PM
Yeah same. If I had a laptop for gaming on the train or in free periods at school and could only pick one game for it, The Sims would probably be that game.
Even TF2 doesn't have the same level of variety and addictiveness (despite being a better game).
Mike @ Sep 14th 2008 3:51PM
WTF?.. I expected to see REAL reasons not to buy spore. Not some stupid list that's supposed to be "funny".
What a waste of space...
Jacksons @ Sep 14th 2008 4:11PM
Agreed.
Yourself @ Sep 14th 2008 6:22PM
Hey guys... try the "Ten Reasons to Avoid Spore" link for the ten reasons to avoid Spore.
For the ten reasons to avoid reading the ten reasons to avoid Spore, read what you guys are mistakenly complaining about.
Anticrawl @ Sep 14th 2008 4:57PM
As someone who owns and plays the game I can say eh, the game isn't worth the trouble one way or another. Not worth the trouble of complaining and not worth praising. It's just an average game with a lot of unfulfilled ambition and shitty DRM.
Nath @ Sep 14th 2008 8:05PM
Also you forgot the game killing bugs. So far I've had to restart each stage with a new creature because I get about halfway, hit a bug and because there's only one save game and no way to go back to the start of a stage I have to create a new game.
Hot$auce_Magik @ Sep 15th 2008 10:42AM
Thank god for torrents...
As I found after playing through it once, I would have been really pissed at myself if I had bought it.
Will @ Sep 15th 2008 2:02PM
Truth