Product Details
 | Spore Creepy and Cute Parts Pack |
| List Price: | $19.99 |
| Price: | $6.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by NYC Electronics
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Average customer review:
Product Description
Add horror and humor to your universe with the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack. With over 100 new parts and paint styles, create grotesque creatures with insect-like limbs, tuberous eyes, and thorny armor plates or make cartoon-style characters with big eyelashes, feathery hair and furry skin. Mix and match 60 new creature body parts, apply one of 48 new paint styles, and bring it all to life with 24 new animations.Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1421 in Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Model: 19076
- Released on: 2008-11-17
- ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
- Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X
- Format: CD-ROM
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .10 pounds
Features
- Expand your creature creativity, with over 100 new Creepy & Cute items
- 60 new creature parts - senses, graspers, feet, mouths, limbs
- 48 new paint styles - make monstrous beasts or cutesy critters
- 24 new creature test drive animations - moonwalk, 'the robot', zombie walk, break dancing and much more
- Requires Spore or Spore Creature Creator to play
Customer Reviews
A fair and balanced review - price is the issue here.
Hello,
This is a long
review, so read the quick points first, but unlike other reviews i've
not done a 10 point summary, you should read all of this really, I just
hope it gets published and amazon don't consider it too long.
If you
are reading this - that hasn't happened.....
I will not rant
about EA, but I do mention them.
Firstly it is important to note
some things about this expansion/parts pack.
1) It adds NOTHING
new other than items, paint and animations - nothing else.
2) It is
quick and easy to install
3) The animations are great - BUT do not
seem to work in-game, just in the creature creator test centre, which in
all honesty is pointless.
4) Let me summarize EXACTLY what this pack
gives you:
a) 12 new parts per Mouth, Senses (eyes only), Feet,
Hands and Details.
b) Everything is split 50/50 between cute and
creepy parts, the creepy parts are by far superior to the cute parts,
which sometimes look like cheap knockoffs of some originals
c) So
unlike amazon states, there are 60 new parts, not 72, however the Spore
1.3 patch provides you with 24 new limbs, 12 arms, 12 legs (which look
like they were originally meant to be in this pack), they are very
insectoid in design and are all creepy, no cute.
d) There are 12
'pre-defined' paint jobs, 12 undercoat, 12 overcoat and 12 detail. These
are not a lot to shout about, but some are nice, and it takes a long
time to get the combinations right, so I reserve some judgement on these
paint schemes, but at first glance, only a couple out of each category
look any good or different from the originals.
e) 2 new backgrounds
to view in the test centre, they are very nice, but again this is just
asthetics. There are some lovely new animations, 24 in all, 12 creepy,
12 cute - they are very very nice, BUT seem to serve absolutely no
practical purpose. They do not surplant the original animations.
5.
No furry parts, so no realistic creatures i'm afraid - big
disappointment.
6. Obscene cost, simply outrageous.
7. You cannot
share these creations with those that don't also have the pack - that is
annoying but understandable.
Secondly, i'll give you my
impressions and opinions of this pack, and summarize why I gave the
marks I did.
(This is a short preface, skip it if your not
interested, but it does contain some interesting and very relevant
info)-->
So I bought this yesterday, and in all honesty it was
highly anticipated by me. I know it is a rip, I know it is just a money
maker for EA, and I should note I do not believe in these kinds of
business practices. This is especially highlighted by the FREE release
of the quite wonderful 24 limbs, 12 arms, 12 legs, that came with the
1.3 patch - proving that they can make and release this stuff for next
to nothing. Also (despite being a European myself) i'm in America right
now, and did not therefore qualify for the 'free giveaway' of this pack
if you bought Spore new. Okay, I already owned the game, bought it the
day it came out, but if I hadn't it seems odd that such a deal does not
exist in the US. It should also be said that this again frustrating as
it shows how little EA need the money for this pack, and that they are
focusing more on pulling in new customers rather than pleasing their
customers who actually made follow-up products a possibility by buying
the original game in the first place. I think this is what the 24 free
limbs is all about - trying to please pre-existing customers. But it
honestly comes across as a little shoddy and rushed. In fact the fact
that amounts of items etc got very confused on various sites and what
was actually in the pack seemed a little mystery is testimony to this.
And ignore the 'over 100 items' spiel on this page by Amazon (this is
not their fault, EA must have provided misleading info), that is very
misleading and keeps you guessing as to what is in the pack. So in all
honesty I also bought this out of pure curiosity. I have the money to do
so, and so putting aside my ethical issues with this game and EA's
practices I decided to go for it.
If you love the game, and focus
little on the creation side of things, it is needless to say this is
not for you. There is no added gameplay, and one potential deal-breaker
here for many would be the afore mentioned (and unmentioned by EA) fact
that only people who own the pack can share content with others who
share the pack. This means that those such as myself are able to
basically obtain whatever we want, but if you didn't get this, you'll be
missing out on some nice creations - and don't think you can download
Creepy & Cute creatures and edit them with their parts! I had
thought of this and it isn't happening people. I should also note at
this point that the moment I logged onto my account, all my previous
creations had disappeared. Helpful. This angered me like I couldn't
describe, especially if you are using Vista, the pack doesn't seem to
install some text or help files properly and the manual is useless. In
other words, I know I haven't lost my creations, but I can't access them
to edit them with the new parts - instead I have to create them all
over again. Since i've got 250+ creatures, this is a pain needless to
say. This is very annoying and I hope EA soon explain what this is about
or release a patch to fix it - I'm sure there is just some button
you're meant to press but it is rather confusing and I can't locate it.
Despite
that, the interface is very manageable and they've integrated it fairly
seemlessly. You can easily find the new parts and it doesn't look
messy. The parts themselves are very nice. If you are a creator like me
(I almost never play the game, only my wife does) and just churn out
creatures and units etc then this is indeed a wonderful tool. I was
finally able to make many creatures that were not easy to do before and
looked 'forced'. I would consider myself a very advanced creator,
especially with the creatures, and i'm well aware that with the right
will and determination almost anything could be made but this just takes
that concept and runs with it. The new parts mean that your creative
capacity grows expanantially. It should be noted that the new parts may
not seem too numerous, but for every part you obtain you gain a dozen
new combinations.
The cute parts are fairly simplistic really and
i'm not sure they add all that much. I could make cute creatures if so
desired before with little difficulty and I felt they didn't give me
that extra 'umfph' that I would have expected. Having said this, I
focused very much on creatures that were not cute and so others may
benefit from this more and see uses, the cute parts look like something
out of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' half the time, which is kind of nice I
guess. The creepy parts steal the show however. especially the mouths
and eyes, coupled with the new limbs you can make some truly sickening
creatures, not just 'close to creepy' creatures. It also halves the time
a creator needs to actually make something, it does make your life much
easier. It also demonstrates EA has an ability to think a little
outside of the box and not just pander to kids. Some of these parts are
right out of the film 'Alien' and would have made me rather weirded out
if I was a child. Let it be said, there will be some very freaked out
children seeing some very nasty looking creatures online, which is
always a good thing I guess. However if you are a parent, don't dispair,
of course you can ban these creatures if you like. Some of the
animations also show some dark humour, electrocuting your monster is
certainly bloody satisfying and quite humourous in a slightly disturbing
way. The zombie walk and vomiting animations again seem to hark to a
more adult theme which is a nice relief from the childishness that was
forced down our throats previously. Even some of the cute animations
like the moonwalk may go over the heads of some kids other than getting a
cheap laugh. So this shows EA moving in a slightly surprisingly more
mature direction - though this could just appear so in comparison to
what we got originally. It is not as cutesy as you may think.
You
will feel like only half the items are any good. I'll tell you that
now. However this is the same as the normal creature creator, people
seem to have favourite parts they are able to apply to nearly everything
effectively. Trying to mix old and new parts is also quite a fun
challenge, not just to go overboard on the new parts. So after I got
this my net feeling was, well neutral. I had low expectations in some
ways but high in others. I thought there'd be more parts, and I thought
the animations would work in-game as the EA advert rather deceptively
implies. However having said all that, I found the new parts very nice,
and very enjoyable to use, much more than I thought I would. They have
certainly taken their time on them. The pack strangely exceeds your
expectations in what you were not really expecting to be that great, and
let you down hard in the places you were hoping for improvement.
However
the deal-breaker here is, well, the seriously obscene price tag. The
original game cost $45, and this 'parts' pack (NOT an expansion
remember) is a staggeringly ridiculous $20. I have to say it, it isn't
worth it. It is not a lot of money per se in the greater scheme of
things but its the cost ratio and the principle. What is more worrying
here, is ... how much will they overcharge the first ACTUAL expansion
pack coming out next year at?? Will it be as much as the original game?
And i've heard that it contains very little as well. This is very
worrying indeed. Though not having played it much myself at all, I was
well informed that the Sims 2 parts pack were half the price and had
just as much. So this is very concerning. Especially as you can see more
free parts content coming out, people who buy this may begin to feel a
little stung. The only way this could be redeemed is if EA release free
content (parts etc) updates with patches which are ONLY given to those
who own the CnC pack. This would be a very pleasant move and would be
most welcome. It would actually make good business sense for them too.
It means that people would see all these cool new parts being given out
but not to them, because they don't have the parts pack, and more people
would go out and buy it. But this price tag is largely laughable. I
must say, when I went to my local store to get the game, it was expected
to be such a flop, store owners (I spoke to them about it) were so
baffled at the obscene cost that they hadn't even bothered to waste
shelf space with it. Let me repeat that - the first new content for what
EA (and only EA) claim is perhaps the biggest game in a decade and most
stores don't even consider it worth putting on the shelves on release
day and after (they had to go to the back stock room to get it - and
were so surpised I wa getting it they started up a chat about it with
me). That in many respects reader should speak volumes. Let me state
they weren't exactly flying off the shelves. The store owners were
annoyed to be even selling it. Piracy is likely to exceed sales with
this product, that must be said openly. Now EA will either take note of
this and say 'We screwed up' or and more likely, they'll just get more
paranoid and up the prices further, so for you the honest customer, this
is going to only end badly i'm afraid. To put this pack in perspective
it would have been an absolute steal at $10, it would have been a show
of good will by EA and would have flown off the shelves. You would have
got home feeling very pleased with your purchase, but as it is you'll go
home having bought this feeling ripped off. As I said, I have the money
to burn on this, but it still left me feeling a little sour. Again lets
put the cost of this in perspective, the full on fully fledged
expansion pack for Dawn of War (an RTS) called Soulstorm which added
brand new races, units, campaigns, maps, abilities, and so much more was
about the same price, perhaps a little cheaper depending on where you
looked. That is concerning. That EA think it is worth this is peculiar. I
have seen comments made by people saying 'well you get a lot of parts,
its only about 35cents a part' but you get over 250 with the original
game, if we scaled that the original game would cost about $150 so that
logic is very flawed. This would have been better as a downloadable
content pack, without wasting money on advertising, packaging and
distributing to stores, EA could have got their money direct and only
charged less than $10 for it. As it is, I have to say reader, that this
is not worth your money, unless you have the cash to burn, or wish to
buy it as a gift for someone (that's a good idea for this product really
and would be worth your money). And this assuming you aren't one of
those who objects ethically to this game and EA's practices and so on,
and they are legion in number. One important final note is that this
does nothing to screw up your PC and nor does it affect your DRM. Oh and
one more final point (this doesn't belong here really) but there are NO
furry textures and parts, this is a bit stupid really. Everyone thought
with this pack we'd finally see manes for lions, and furry coats for
well, furry animals - there are no such things. You can make this sort
of thing with some of the new parts, but this was a let down and the
only part of the cute things I was expecting and looking forward too.
Conclusion:
It is a lot of fun, the new parts are very well done, but almost
exclusively the creepy parts in this instance; the cost is outrageous
and just not worth it. It is only good if you like creation, and the
animations are useless but pretty, the paint schemes are very mediocre
and feel like they were added to boost the numbers of 'things' in the
pack. There will be disappointments, and some pleasant surprises if you
buy it. Truth be told, borrowing this off a friend (since you don't need
the disc afterward) or piracy will be the route most people will take,
but I don't promote either. This game will flop in sales but for those
who for money is no object, i'd suggest you buy this without a second
thought. Everyone else, steer well, well clear. It is four on the fun
stars, no doubt, but only deserves a two on the overall stars, not a
one, it isn't THAT bad - simply and only simply because of the cost. In
other words it's great, just not worth the cash, draw what conclusions
you may from that statement, and think about it. As previously stated,
it would however be a perfect gift, perhaps an early 'secret santa' for
your Sporey friend, lover or co-worker. Or just a good gift for a kid -
no doubt.
I hope this was helpful and unbias. I don't wish to
anger those who like the game or those who object to it in principle -
so don't mark this down just because it may not say what either of your
sides want. I have tried to be neutral and weigh the product fairly.
I
hope this was useful. Thanks for reading.
Pretty good expansion with an odd price
(I'm Deborah's daughter who
owns the game)
EA must enjoy releasing expansion packs (especially if
you take a look at The Sims and The Sims 2) because the game wasn't
released that long before an expansion pack came out.
I, luckily,
received this as a Christmas present and enjoy it. Please read the
summary of the game first! You'll see that it only adds new parts hence
the mini title "Parts Pack."
It contains new mouths, feet, hands,
mini accessories and paint. The only real reason why you should get the
game is if you're a big time creator or you just like seeing different
types of creatures in your game.
If you're looking for all new game
play, different levels, new story lines then forget it. Don't buy it and
then complain on Amazon saying how this game "lied" to you or
something.
The price for it is a bit questionable. I'm not sure
what my mom paid for it but from looking at the price online, it doesn't
seem worth the cost. Buy it used or on Amazon.com. ^^
To people
who are trying to figure out if you want to even bother with Spore, it
depends what kind of person you are. I enjoy Spore because I'm a
creative person who loves drawing and creating new monsters and
creatures. In fact, during High school I wanted to become a Video game
Character Designer and was aiming for the Art Institute before changing
my mind to become a Vet Tech. Spore was a perfect solution. I as able to
create the kind of creature I wanted and see them move around instead
of having to draw it out.
Either way, the question "to buy this
game or not" is really simple. If you want more parts or to download
more creatures from Spore.com then buy it, if you don't care then don't.
Don't buy it and then complain.
Not
much for your money - but will allow you to download more
I guess my opinion of Spore
and particularly the new Creepy & Cute Parts Pack falls in the
middle. For your $20, you get a few parts, a few animations and a few
paint options you didn't have before. Not a whole lot, and nothing at
all beyond the Creature Stage. I understand that the Creature Stage was
the target for this parts pack, I just would've liked to have seen more
content for the price. The nice thing is if you get this parts pack, you
will be able to download all creations made with it. You won't if you
don't.
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