Spore

Spore is the latest "sim" game for the PC. But unlike The Sims or sim-city, Spore doesn't focus in on any particular niche. Or if you had to categorize it, Spore is basically Sim-evolution. You start off as a single-celled organsim, and work your way through 4 other stages, all the way to intergalactic space traveler. I'm at the second level, the "creature" stage, meaning that I have evolved to live on land as part of a herd, but have not yet evolved a brain big enough to form a tribe.

The main draw of the game is the customization. With a huge set of options, the creatures that you can create are limitless. Every combination of features and colors is included. I named my first creature the "Trihopper." He has only one leg, (hence the hopper) but two arms (hence the tri).

http://www.spore.com/view/postcard/500051253598 for a picture.

I'm having a lot of fun with this, but it's not a game for everyone. If you just want to make a bunch of weird looking creatures, you can download the creature editor for free.

The game integrates the content of all the other Spore users into your game. Since the game is new, about 3/4 of the creatures in my world are still Spore-creations, but 1/4 were created by other users. I think this is a very cool feature, and guarantees that you will never play the same game twice.

All in all, I find this game very addictive. But if "sim" games aren't your cup of tea, then this game might not be for you. I reserve the right to change my rating once I pass through the rest of the stages, but so far, I like what I see. 5/5 stars.