Spore's first expansion let's you get creative IN SPACE

* - Fantastic adventure creation tool inspires the imagination
* - Successfully brings the charm of the creature stage to the space stage
* - Leveling up your captain adds a nice sense of progression
* - Online sharing tools are unparalleled.

The new adventures are accessible on their own via an in-game menu, but they work better when integrated into Spore's space phase. Adventure missions are available along with other mission types, and when you take one, you fly to the target planet and beam onto its surface. Adventures are somewhat akin to Spore's creature phase: You maneuver your space captain about and have access to movement, social, and attack abilities as you do in the earlier phase. However, adventures are generally short and focus on role-playing-game-like tasks. These include talking to other creatures, fetching them items, attacking and befriending them, protecting them from harm, and so on. You can also take a crewmember (or two or three), whom you can recruit from your allies in the space stage. It may be simple, but it's also charming and engaging, thanks to the hysterical sound effects and appealing visual style. The game's best built-in adventures have you accomplishing tasks from learning how bills become laws in a cute Schoolhouse Rock! spoof to getting a band back together just in time for its big concert. Some of them aren't quite as good, and a few are a little buggy, such as a Godzilla-themed adventure in which pathfinding issues may force you to exit. However, adventures give the space stage welcome charisma and variety, which are qualities the game needed more of in that portion.

If you were into Spore's crafting elements, you now have a new, extensive, and incredibly robust toolset at your disposal: the adventure creator. Warning: There's a much bigger learning curve here than in any of Spore's other creation tools. However, if you take the time to experiment with it, you'll find that this exciting toolset offers incredible possibilities to players with an imagination. The ways you can customize the planet alone are astounding. Using the extensive terraforming and atmospheric options, you can mold the environments as you see fit. Populate the world with creatures of your own or download what you need from other players; create themed villages and drop in any building you can find or make; throw in special effects, music, and objects. Then, use behavioral buttons and sliders to make them act and interact as you like and give them dialogue. Drag and drop goals onto each, separate the adventure into acts, and soon you'll have an adventure to call your own. Before, you got to play as God and architect; now, you get to play as game designer too.

So much new content is added with this expansion that really "continue" the adventure instead of just adding random items, like I feel ALOT of the Sims expansions have been. It's pretty cheap to pick up so give it a try!

Galactic Adventures truly an adventure

Pros: Adds complexity to the space stage of the game, competitiveness among players (for high scores in individual adventures), more outfitting that does more than just look cool (has functions in game), adds another layer of progression to work at, adds a bit of difficulty

Cons: Must have DVD in DVD-Rom to play game (doesn't run directly off of hard drive like original SPORE), slows down the game a bit particularly for starting the game and running complex adventures, doesn't allow great filtering of adventures (occasionally, you'll get hard fighting adventures when you have no weapons and do no more than 2 damage per bite and other times you'll get an adventure that you win as soon as you start it), high price

My Reasons for purchase: Once you reach space stage (10 times) it gets boring pretty fast, even after just one or two progressions to space stage. This adds ability to turn your creatures/creations into more than just a description and occasional meeting in the game- you can make short stories through the adventures that involve your creations. It gives a wide variety of player-made and Maxis-made mini-game style adventures to play around in. Additionally, if you redeemed the EA/Dr.Pepper Promo code through drpepper.com and chose the SPORE bot-parts pack, you MUST have Galactic Adventures installed BEFORE bot-parts pack if you want to play Galactic Adventures. Otherwise, if you install the parts before this expansion, you need to uninstall and reinstall ALL of the expansions in the correct order or it will likely lead to an error. This expansion is absolutely not worth the retail $30 unless you are an avid SPORE addict, but this expansion is definitely worth $20 or less and I got mine for $15. If you can find one for 34% or more off retail price, then it is worth the expense for the new variety available- especially if you have already grown tired of space stage and the game itself besides the editors.

Best Game Ever!

Only been playing for a few days but I am enjoying the extended game play within my galaxy! I got bored pretty quickly in space stage and this expansion has allowed even more possibilities. The only downfall I have noticed so far is a failure to download other people's adventures when they delete parts of it but yet it still stays on my mission list, even though I can't complete it. Also game play boundaries are fuzzy, I have gotten stuck in a few walls. Overall I am enjoying it and I have a lot more to discover!

great game lots of fun and u can let ur imagination run wild, 5 stars .

bought as a xmas present have palyed the game thought it was cool u can create ur own creatures buildings and other stuff in the game great family game highly recomend!!!

Spore

I can't say that I really know what to like or dislike about this game. I bought this as a gift and I know the little man that will be receiving it is completely in love with the whole Spore game. There is something fun about being able to create and soar in a space adventure with your own creature!