As one of the games industry's colossi, you'd expect Will Wright's latest game to be epic, but Spore is more ambitious in its scope than any game ever: he could have called it Sim Universe. Spore is essentially five games in one, with stages titled Cell, Creature, Tribal, Civilisation and Space. Inspired by the 1977 Eames film Powers of Ten, it starts you off gently by giving you control of a single-cell organism, which you evolve until it can leave the sea and walk up the beach. The Creature phase is the one that has generated the most publicity: it allows you to design an organism from scratch - although, in truth, aesthetic whims are less of a priority than making use of the body parts you acquire with their attendant properties. Evolve sentience and you must attempt to dominate an area of your planet in the Tribal stage; once you dominate a planet in Civilisation, you can head off to the stars for some surprisingly relevant (in these days of global warming) terraforming. Spore's best phases are Creature, Tribal and Space - Civilisation is too dependent on manic activity when you first start playing it. But the consistency between phases (the scope alters, but basic gameplay principles, such as the option to play aggressively or diplomatically, still apply) is stunning, the whole experience feels thoroughly fresh and innovative, and you will want to replay it several times. Essential.