Let's just say that I've had a sneak peak at Spore... Allegedly, a store in Australia broke the street date and a few people were able to buy it early, so I've been able to "check a few things out". I heard about Electronic Arts' nasty digital rights management scheme that was planned to be included with Spore... But then I heard they'd decided to get rid of the DRM, so I wasn't too concerned. People who actually kept tabs on Spore's DRM would have been quick to tell me that EA didn't get rid of the DRM, they only made it less evil... If you can call it that. I guess it would be like learning that you weren't actually going to experience a world-wide nuclear winter, just one nuclear blast set off on your city. Not as bad as before, but still pretty bad!

Thing is... EA wanted the Spore installation to authenticate itself online every few days even after you've purchased and installed it. Absolutely ludicrous. People were rabidly upset (with good reason) and EA decided to get rid of the whole weekly authentication scheme. No, instead, they backed down to the fabled BioShock DRM where you'd install the game and it'd use an "install slot". With Spore, you have 3 slots... You install it and it uses one slot. Hard drive crashes, or (rumor has it) you can even uninstall it and it will STILL use 1 slot, so when you reinstall it, it uses the second slot... Uninstall, reinstall; Third slot. Uninstall, reinstall... Outta luck. You're locked out. You now have to call EA to have them reset your slots so you can install the game you paid 50 bucks for.

I don't know about you, but I'm all the time installing, erasing, clearning, reinstalling... I rarely keep a program on for longer than a few months at a time. I get tired of playing and don't have enough drive space to keep it and install something new, so I remove the old stuff. I could easily use up all three slots for Spore in a single year and be forced to call EA to have it reset. Now, naturally, pirates have already cracked the game... (Can you believe it? Before it's even supposed to be sold! Already cracked!) People can install the game right now and bypass the DRM and have a fun ol' time. Unfortunately, using the crack prevents people from getting online with Spore, which is kind of the entire point of the game. You know, that little feature where your game constantly downloads new creatures from other players to populate your universe with? Yeah! That doesn't work with the cracked DRM, so people still have to buy the game to take full advantage of what it has to offer... But with that horrible DRM, I'm wondering if it's worth it.

So I'm really torn... I got a taste of the game and I really enjoy it. It's chock full of ridiculous evolutionism, but I really don't mind it in a fantasy setting like this. It's a great thing to play with, and I find it really fun. I will especially enjoy reaching the final stages of the Space Phase and traveling to other planets to destroy them just because I'm bored... It's a neat game and I want it, but that DRM... Ouch. I really don't see myself going out to buy the game JUST because the DRM is so insane. I would, in a heartbeat, buy the game and crack it, but... That prevents the game from getting online. Bah! EA is crushing a brilliant, original idea with their typical anti-piracy madness and the only people it discourages are the people who are willing to buy the game in the first place. I really don't want to have to worry about losing my installation in a hardware failure, and I definitely don't want to pay a retail price for that worry.

I really haven't decided, yet... But, if I had to make a decision now? I'd say "forget it".

Recognize the father in this screenshot?

Yes? No? It's from X Files... Season 1, Episode 5: The Jersey Devil. The last 10 or so seconds of the show... You probably won't get it just by looking at him. I didn't, really. It was actually his voice that made me go: "I KNOW THAT MAN!" Immediately, I guessed it might be the guy who plays Dr Bill Lee in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. The actor who played him was Bill Dow. If you look at the middle of his career, you see multiple appearances in X Files as a "Dr Charles Burks". Don't really remember that character, but I seem to recall him being in a few episodes when I was watching it the first time through. (Why, yes, I am, in fact, beginning my second time through the series!) But... No credit for anyone in "The Jersey Devil". Have I finally been defeated? Has my superior power of observation finally been bested? WAIT! There's a link... "3 More". He's been in three more episodes than what's listed on his main page... What does THAT say?

1. The Jersey Devil (8 October 1993) - Dad

Victory!