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It's like Sims...except not.

Gameplay
There are 5 different levels in Spore each with it's own style of gameplay. The first stage you play is Cell which plays similar to an old arcade game like Asteroids. Depending n your choice of mouth you have to eat enough food in order to get DNA points so you can advance to the Creature stage. Depending on which foods you eat in this stage determines your creatures diet for the next and other stages to come also giving you powers for future stages.
After completing Cell you move on to creature which plays like a basic 3rd person adventure game which will have you exploring the island to either make friends with other creatures or kill them all to gain more DNA points to advance. Depending on how you advance in this stage determines your social standing in later levels.
The next stage is Tribal with your creature finally getting an intelligence. It plays like an RTS which will have you creating units to either ally or attack the other villages to gain dominance over the island. Once again depending on how you play will affect your stats.
The next stage is civilization which plays like civilization does now days. You control a city which your goal is to unite all cities in the world either by religious conversion, military conquest or economic buyouts.
Depending on the outcome will again alter your fate for the final stage which is Space and that is where Spore really shines. It's by far the hugest stage in spore with a never-ending universe to explore. Depending on which strategy you used in the previous stages will determine your archetype for space for example. If you were an omnivore in cell, social in creature, friendly in tribe and economic in civilization your archetype would be diplomat and give you that types power. Of course you can undergo a archetype mission to change but I'm getting off-topic. The space stage combines all elements of the previous stages as you'll be forming alliances, funding trade routes, attacking enemy empires, terraforming planets, creating a vast empire all for one goal...whatever the hell you want it to be! It's a little annoying that the first 4 stages pale in comparison to the space stage but the fun you'll be having while playing the game is well worth looking past that fact. Not to mention the vast amount of player created content that will be constantly flowing into your game is just incredible and is just amazing to see what other users around the world have created. It was designed as a Massively Multi player Single player game is it lives up to it!

Story
There isn't really much story in Spore. You're a simple cell just evolving through the ages. Simple as that. There is a little bit of story in the Space stage which revolves around an evil empire known as the grox who guard the center of the galaxy which is home to the staff of life, which is a weapon which has the ability to create life on a planet. Other than that there really isn't a story so it's good enough i suppose.

Design
It's a basic 3D engine which doesn't really make any vast leaps in technology but depending on what you create and what others have created to play in the design will change from place to place. Although for the most part the game is colourful and fun to play around in.

Replay Value
WAY TOO MUCH REPLAY VALUE which in the end is a good thing. The game is literally endless! you'll always find yourself with something new to do in the game whether it be replaying the game over again for fun or downloading others creations to use in your own scenarios. While there isn't much point in replaying the first 4 stages replaying the space stage is well worth while as all your save files are connected meaning you may run into one of your own empires out there to either crush or make friends with. Going around trading spice and funding colonies is surprisingly addictive and a very enjoyable experience and it's just plain fun.

Overall
With all the hype Spore got it was at the stage when people were expecting disappointment...they were wrong. Spore delivers in almost every way! Sure it does give the whole middle finger to religion but whats a game these days without a bit of controversy. The game is huge and will keep you occupied for hours! If you want the full Spore experience just get the standard game but for those wanting that bit more get the expansion and C&C pack too. It's an incredible PC game that's well worth checking out.