An interesting game with many improvements to be made.
Cell stage: swim, swim, swim is basically all you do in the cell stage which begs the question: why is it so much FUN?! I suppose the best bit is watching your creature evolve as you get more DNA points and parts. Not a lot more to say on this stage but improvements to be made are minimal. Just make it a bit more complex really, or change it altogether. score: 8/10
Creature stage: The creature stage is like the cell stage as in most of the fun is in gathering new parts and watching your creature slowly evolve. But since its the longest stage (bar the space stage) it can get slightly repetetive ESPECILLY if you're a carnivore. Go to enemy nest, eat, evolve, other nest, eat, evolve...although having wings (good one's) makes this a lot more enjoyable as its fun to just fly around instead of walking. One thing about it that needs to be said is that having a pack of creatures from your own tribe makes this FAR TOO EASY! score:8/10
Tribal stage: This is probably the worst stage on spore which doesn't make it bad, just not as good as the rest. First thing is again, IT IS FAR TO REPETETIVE! build up tribe members to max, get weapons kill/impress other tribe, fish for food to get more tribe members, repeat, is it. I was expecting a more age of empire like stage but its far too simple. Improvements: more resources, weapons, instruments. score:7/10
Civilization stage: OK, so after you complete the tribal stage you'll be taken to the building creator, which is awesome. Its great that you can create buildings of almost any shape. Make a long building with seemingly impossible overhangs, make it look completely crazy, or even make it look like a human! The vehicle creator is just as varied and allows your imagination to run wild. Again the civ stage is far too simplified. It needs more types of buildings with advantages and disadvantages, and also needs some pre-made buildings for those of us that are: a)lazy and b) have no imagination. There is also a weapon that lets you destroy all other civilizations instantly. The price of this needs putting up. Once you have taken over 1/2 of the cities its easy to just sit there, wait for money to build up and nuke everyone. score: 8.5/10
Space stage: OK, you've built up your civilization and are ready to go into space. This stage is in my opion by far the best and could be a good game by itself (although many reviews here seem to disagree with me there). Once you get there you can, destroy other aliens, ally with them, expand your creature's empire or just explore the universe. Best thing in this stage (and indeed the game) is terraforming. Its so satisfying to improve the conditions of a planet and turn it from a barren rock to a planet bustling with life, and then look down upon the life you have created. Also the sheer size of the galaxy makes your empire feel tiny. One star in god knows how many others, all with at least 1 planet in it. You can explore many systems out in space including binary star systems (posh phrase for twin suns) and black holes. The main aim is to get to the centre of the universe but once you've done this the game goes strangely empty. Mainly because you got what was in the centre and there are no more goals to complete, except maybe finding Earth. (such a momentus task I don't dare to try). It is quite fun to go out and find all the other creatures you've created. Improvements: more complex side missions (rather than just: abduct X, go to planet X and find an artifact.) score: 9.7/10
Overall a good game although very over-simplified. One improvement that needs to be mentioned is the fact that with its vast galaxies, spore is such an obvious candidate for online play! After getting bored of my own galaxy it would be way fun to go into my friends galaxy and wipe out the most powerful civilizations in the galaxy, or terraform masses of planets, or play silly made-up games such as "first to get to the centre of the galaxy wins", "first to capture a star system", "kill each other!". Or it would be even more fun to do this with multiple friends (5-10 say?). Of course they could go all out and create an MMORPG out of the online play for the more hardcore players maybe. Either way spore DEFINITELY needs online play. Hopefully maxis will create a sequel that is more complex, and with online (and a longer story). IMO, if they get it right spore 2 could be the best game ever, easily.
Final word: The concept is there but the execution is slightly off.