Hardware problems
I have a older Computer which I built myself I know what is in this system, P4 cpu, 1GB ram, XFX vidia geforce 512MB 7600GS, I had to upgrade to the new XFX video card but that was all I though I needed, but it seems that if you have a older system stay away from this game I have had nothing but video distortion ie vertical and Horizontal lines that make the game play impossible tech support said to turn off the Anti-Aliasing and the Anisotropic filtering which did nothing still can't play. I have not purchased a PC game for 10 years but then I had to buy spore which is part maxis and they have problems with games should have known better. but stuck with it now. I own a PS3 I will buy games on this console before I buy PC games again, the specs for spore to me are low for such a game that uses such intense graphics. I am trouble shooting this today for older systems.

Great Game
Got this for my son, but have plyed it myself. It is really alot of fun. Lots of detail. Good progressins with new things to do at each evolutionary level. The galactic edition has alot of great extra info., books and a great video on master switch genes in evolution which my son (and I) found to be well done and very interesting. Highly recommended.

Decent Game, Leaves Much to be Desired
I have been following Spore for several years and I didn't buy it at first due to the DRM fiasco by EA. I found Galactic Edition on sale and bought it.

Game Review:
The game concept is novel and fun, but for hardcore gamers it leaves much to be desired. The ability to create things such as creatures, buildings, ships etc is fun but can be a bit daunting for those who lack creativity. The real gem in replay value is the ability to create, beyond that it is the same basic storyline.

Galactic Edition Review:
Absolutely worthless, comes in a fancy box. I purchased it for the DVD labeled "How to build a better being". What I got was a National Geographic story on evolution. That was a huge letdown for me. The G.E. doesn't come with anything to enhance gameplay.

Would I purchase again? Probably Not

SPORE review - Not complaining about EA Games like most others
This is a review of SPORE - Exactly what its supposed to be. I'm not going to complain about EA Games or the software they include with there programs because its not supposed to be a review of EA Games.. ANYWAY, This game is really good. The first time I played it, I got so sucked into it that 3 hours had blown past before I even knew it!! If you are looking for a game that you can play over and over, this is the game for you. Every choice you make during gameplay alters the way your creature/civilization turns out! And for all you cheaters out there (not that there's anything wrong with that... its just not my thing), this game also has the cheatability factor that many people look for. They decided to make it easy for you.. all you have to do is hit CTRL+SHIF+C and Type HELP and the whole list of cheats pops up for you! I found this out by accident when I was looking for update patches... anyway, if you were looking at the reviews of this game, and only found "reviews" of EA Games and there installations policies, you now have a review of the game itself instead of its creators! To all you EA Haters out there, you are entitled to your opinion, but please don't litter game reviews with complaint letters about there creators...

It doesn't work
I am going to make this short and sweet. If you are able to get the game to install properly and can play it, it's lots of fun. Very entertaining. However, it's amazing to me that after spending on the Spore Galactic Edition and the Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, and wasting more than ten hours trying to install and run, the only version of the game I can get to run on my computer is a pirated copy I downloaded out of frustration!

So much for being an honest individual. I could have saved myself and ten hours of my life I'll never get back. Thanks, EA.

-edit-

Well, I am a very stubborn individual and just couldn't stop trying to install the game. I'm not a fan of having pirated software floating around my hard drive. So, I did some very creative variations on the uninstall/install process on my Mac. I FIXED THE PROBLEM I WAS HAVING.

After you uninstall, try shutting down and UNPLUGGING THE POWER CABLE from the computer for a minute, then rebooting and installing Spore. (I installed Spore, then the Creepy & Cute Pack, then ran Spore and let it update itself as it pleased. The game works great now, and hooray, it's a legal copy!

It sounds like Spore leaves information in the system's RAM under certain circumstances, and creates installation errors. By unplugging the power, you clear out the RAM completely and Spore installs cleanly...just a theory. ;)

I hope this helps some of you, who are stuck on splash screens or black screens or run out of sound halfway through the game!