Darkspore

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 138 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 138
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 138
  3. Negative: 46 out of 138

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  1. SweetSweetback
    Apr 28, 2011
    7
    Not bad!

    After playing it for just a short while, any doubt I had about this purchase was quickly washed away. My friends all had a blast playing it together and I can see us becoming quite addicted to it. I'm excited to play it again tonight! As you progress through the game, you will increase in levels. Your levels don't actually dictate the strengths of your heroes, but rather how many    Not bad!

    After playing it for just a short while, any doubt I had about this purchase was quickly washed away. My friends all had a blast playing it together and I can see us becoming quite addicted to it. I'm excited to play it again tonight! As you progress through the game, you will increase in levels. Your levels don't actually dictate the strengths of your heroes, but rather how many heroes you can unlock. As you might've already heard, there's 100 heroes. As you increase in levels, you are given access to more heroes but you can only unlock a few. (For example, a few levels into the game will give you access to more than 10 heroes but you may only be able to unlock 4 of them.) There's only a few genuinely different hero characters, then the heroes begin to repeat previous iterations but have different stats and abilities. The hero editor is nowhere near as indepth as Spore's creature editor was, but still proves plenty of options. All heroes have preset appearances and you can add chunks of gear you find onto them to change their appearances. Not only that, but you can move or remove certain appendages and details from a heroes body as well as change their colors and color patterns. The end result is that you and a friend can have 2 of the exact same hero and end up looking completely different from each other. .

    The concept of Darkspore is simple (a bit too simple) You are set loose upon a level, and you kill your way through to the end. Just how "simple" this actually is in terms of difficulty varies, since the enemies on the map are random every time. The maps themselves are not. Which is disappointing given the already linear nature of some of the levels. Other levels are a tad different from "kill-your-way-to-the-end" and require some exploration to complete. The story is unfortunately quite meaningless. You can literally write up your own insane lines to accompany every nigh-pointless cutscenes and it wouldn't make any more or less sense. Levels are visually pleasing, and the soundtrack is amazing.

    Fighting enemies is a lot of fun. Every enemy of different types have unique traits to them, from the massive juggernaut enemies to small grunts, they all have something special to them. In large groups, these enemies combine their strengths and weaknesses and can be a pretty stiff obstacle even if approached with caution. Just as your group of heroes attempt to use squad tactics, the enemies will too. Upon reaching the final areas of the level, you'll encounter a Horde of enemies which can put your group through it's paces, until finally a boss enemy spawns. The bosses are quite tough, are flanked by minions, and definitely require teamwork to bring down. The end chapter bosses are pretty insane too.

    Combining abilities amongst your friend's heroes is a lot of fun as well. The game is marketed as having a lot of "ability combinations" and "squad tactics". I was worried that this would be a load of baloney and just boil down to mindless murdering everything. To a certain extent, it is. But I was quite surprised that these terms turned out to be truer than I thought. Especially when you get attacked by groups of powerful enemies. For those of you who enjoy teamwork with your friends, you'll love combining hero abilities together, and sometimes are even essential to the survival of your team. The large selection of heroes makes squad tactics very interesting, with attacks that cripple enemies, slow them down, and debuff them, as well as supporting abilities that heal your team or provide them with powerful buffs. You can have a squad of 3 heroes active at a time when you enter a level. You can switch between these heroes whenever you want, however upon switching, a long cooldown is imposed to prevent you from switching constantly without any constraint. Switching itself also poses a problem as it leaves you temporarily frozen in place and vulnerable to attack. With a group of friends each with completely different heroes, you can switch "roles" on the fly keeping gameplay constantly fresh throughout the level and never leaving you pigeonholed into one spot. It's a clever system.

    However, for all the positives I mentioned, there is one crucial thing that you must know, this is a coop multiplayer experience and is best played with at least 2-3 friends. Me and my friends are always on the lookout for games like this, and this proved to be up to par with us and gives us a lot of fun. If you plan on buying the game for yourself, then I won't be surprised if you are turned off by this game. That fact alone prevents me from giving it more than a 7 because of the multiplayer "requirement". The price will also turn many people off, as it did with me as well. But seeing how much fun we are having, I have no doubt at all that we will get many hours of enjoyment out of it. And to us, that makes it worth it!    … Expand
  2. QMGames
    Jun 5, 2011
    5
    Darkspore is Maxisâ
  3. bjj8383
    May 12, 2011
    6
    It can get pretty tedious. I can understand grinding for weapons or cash, but the fact is you need to complete earlier missions more than once just to be able to do the next one without dying. IMO, that's just terrible scaling. If you enjoy collecting a lot of loot, the game has a lot of that. Don't let the "creator" fool you though, it's just a glorified equipment screen, not a placeIt can get pretty tedious. I can understand grinding for weapons or cash, but the fact is you need to complete earlier missions more than once just to be able to do the next one without dying. IMO, that's just terrible scaling. If you enjoy collecting a lot of loot, the game has a lot of that. Don't let the "creator" fool you though, it's just a glorified equipment screen, not a place where you can customize your character's look much. Overall, OK if you just need another time waster, but don't feel like you're missing anything profound.… Expand
  4. starwalker
    May 24, 2011
    6
    I like the game and played it for the first time BUT the BUGS... oh MY GOD..! I can't believe EA released a game so full of bugs. I think the character editor is the best feature and can be improved but the bugs frustrate most of the players. Something such as chaining which relies so heavily on network, players get disconnected, lose all there bonus and sit frustrated. This low score isI like the game and played it for the first time BUT the BUGS... oh MY GOD..! I can't believe EA released a game so full of bugs. I think the character editor is the best feature and can be improved but the bugs frustrate most of the players. Something such as chaining which relies so heavily on network, players get disconnected, lose all there bonus and sit frustrated. This low score is just because of the premature release and not for the game's design.… Expand
  5. Gene
    Apr 28, 2011
    5
    Imagine a taking the only worthwhile aspect of Spore - The Creature Creator - and then removing it. Or, imagine taking Diablo II, removing the creative level design and giving each playable character only 3 skills. Yes, you can unlock tons of different creatures to play as in the game, but their looks and skills are locked, all you can do is add superficial changes like extra horns andImagine a taking the only worthwhile aspect of Spore - The Creature Creator - and then removing it. Or, imagine taking Diablo II, removing the creative level design and giving each playable character only 3 skills. Yes, you can unlock tons of different creatures to play as in the game, but their looks and skills are locked, all you can do is add superficial changes like extra horns and twigs, which may or may not increase certain stats but add nothing to the core gameplay. Also the level design tends to be boring, uninspired, and it just doesn't have any tile variation or details that will make one level of the jungle planet look any different from the next level. I'm giving the game a 5 because it executed the basics with competence, but as a game it's just not that memorable of a gaming experience.… Expand
  6. keefbaker
    Oct 27, 2013
    5
    Tries to mix Diablo style gameplay with League of Legends style "heroes". It's a pretty forgettable dungeon crawler that tries to force you into co-op whether you want it or not. Personally I'd rather not be forced to play with other if I don't want to.
  7. moarx
    Apr 28, 2011
    5
    Darkspore fails to offer anything new to the Action RPG genre that actually improves the gameplay itself. Sure, you can customize the look of your characters (which you can hardly notice unless you make everything extremely large) more than most games, but what does that really add to the game? Once you get past that you're left with a repetitive action rpg that's severely lacking when itDarkspore fails to offer anything new to the Action RPG genre that actually improves the gameplay itself. Sure, you can customize the look of your characters (which you can hardly notice unless you make everything extremely large) more than most games, but what does that really add to the game? Once you get past that you're left with a repetitive action rpg that's severely lacking when it comes to actual gameplay customization.… Expand
  8. Orctownorc
    Aug 22, 2013
    5
    Purchased this game on Steam. Attempted to register and game declares an error everytime. UNPLAYABLE. Could be because of region. Anyways. This game has an always online requirement so when the servers are shut down no one will be able to play it. For me, It's already unplayable. Another Maxis-EA POS. Avoid like the plague. You have been warned.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long    Purchased this game on Steam. Attempted to register and game declares an error everytime. UNPLAYABLE. Could be because of region. Anyways. This game has an always online requirement so when the servers are shut down no one will be able to play it. For me, It's already unplayable. Another Maxis-EA POS. Avoid like the plague. You have been warned.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time writing reviews like an anus, think its time to set a few bad habits straight: Stop insulting designers. Show some respect for the design process and getting games in circulation. Hence (1) No Red scores. (2) Game scores as follows: Bad Game 5/10. Poor Game 6/10. Mediocre Game: 7/10. Good Game 8/10. Great game 9/10. Stella Game 10/10. To get 10/10 it must be a game that can be (theoretically) play-able for 1000+ hours. Not only great but near endless fun. Games may be bad or poor but making them should earn respect. Thus even the worst POS will still be a 5/10. 0/10 no longer exists in my vocabulary. Yellow is the new red. For the sake of accountability: you can reply if needed: Orctowngrot: Tim Rawlins: timtimjp@yahoo.com    … Expand
  9. arsennel
    Apr 26, 2011
    6
    If your looking for some diablo style hack and slash its not a bad game. Instead of any character customization (other then gear) there is just a ton of different guys to unlock. I prefer the diablo style character customization better but its ok. If your on a budget i would wait for the price to drop, i doubt you will have to wait long.
  10. neppakyo
    Jun 14, 2011
    5
    I played the beta and got pretty bored of it quickly. It was interesting, and fun at times.. but its just lacking.. I don't know what, no more interest in this game. 5 / 10
  11. Madhatter1976
    Jun 17, 2012
    6
    It's a good time killer. Great for those people who have to unlock everthing. It is extremely linear, though. There's no real exploring to do. It lacks any real storyline. Pretty much just a basic hack and slash. The character editor is kinda fun - it's build around Spore's creature creator.

    Still a better game than Diablo 3.
  12. Imperial02
    Jun 22, 2012
    7
    Good games to play if you like coops rpg game. The Idea is good (monster creation etc). Quite repetitive, sometimes boring, the stages are look alike one another in campaign. Vast Squad & Equipment customization. Overall: Good, but need of CONSTANT internet connection can be found disturbing.
  13. AngryAngelic
    Feb 8, 2019
    7
    Okay this sounds stupid but take diablo Item systems, spore monster Creator but alot more free, Moba controls and then DUMP A DUMP TRUCK OF EDGE and holy **** you have Darkspore. you had 3 playable monsters at all times you could freely switch between with 3 player co-op it was beat'em up action and it was soo SOO good. It was weird as hell and had its own story but dear sweet jesus If itOkay this sounds stupid but take diablo Item systems, spore monster Creator but alot more free, Moba controls and then DUMP A DUMP TRUCK OF EDGE and holy **** you have Darkspore. you had 3 playable monsters at all times you could freely switch between with 3 player co-op it was beat'em up action and it was soo SOO good. It was weird as hell and had its own story but dear sweet jesus If it could ever come back I'd love it. The leveling and grind got really bad towards the late game but man I still think of this game from time to time.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 52 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 52
  3. Negative: 1 out of 52
  1. games(TM)
    Jul 3, 2011
    70
    Just don't believe everything you read on the box. [Issue#110, p.130]
  2. CD-Action
    Jul 1, 2011
    70
    If you treat yourself to the PvE campaign – especially in co-op mode – in small portions, it's a good recipe for a couple of relaxing game sessions. In the beginning at least, because over time watching the experience bar grow simply gets boring. [June 2011, p. 62]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 9, 2011
    60
    Solid enough, if not a candidate for natural selection. [July 2011, p.68]
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