First off, the EA download link is bugged, so if you run certain versions of Adobe Flash player, you cannot login (and thus you cannt recieve items from other plaers). The planets I find bugged, since they are all full of conyons and razorsharp cliffs (it doesn't look natural). In most of these canyons, your creature will get stuck in, and you have to wait for the creature to die from starvation to continue.
The cell phase was rather interesting.
The creature stage was too much repetition. Basically, you would go from creature to creature and ally yourself with them by copying what they do. After a logn gind, you reach the Tribal phase.
In the tribal phase, I was looking forward to playing like shown in the gameplay vids. However, this had been changed, so that you start out with one instrument and one weapon. You then have to gather food and take over the continent, either by impressing the opponents with instruments or defeating them. Defeating or allying an opponent will give you access to one more instrument/weapon/farmer building. Once all are taken, you reach the urban phase.
Urban phase was too easy, even on the hard setting. And not only that, you have to design 4 different buildings and 4 vehicles (which wears you out slowly). You use your vehicles to take over spice-geysers. Spice=money. There are three different city forms, Militant, Religious and Economic. I played Religious, which meant that you takes over your oppoennts by propaganda.
Once you hold your entire planet, the space age begins, which is the interesting part. Everything up until now takes 4-5 hours. Space age takes a long time more
In the space age, you have to earn badges in order to advance. When you advance, more and more items open up for you. In the start you can start up a single colony more. Once the colony has been placed, you have to alter the climate on the planet, for it to be ideal to farm spices. With expensive items you can alter the temperature and atmosphere density. There are three levels of "ideal climate". The outer level requires a not very precise temp or atmosphere, and requires one kind of small plant, one medium plant, one large plant, two plant eaters and 1 meat-eater in order to maintain the climate. This level gives you access to a "half" colony. adjusting the climate more precisely, and adding extra plants and animals to maintain the climate, will give you access to first 2 whole, then 3 colonies on the planet. The more colonies you hold, the more spice you harvest.
You can also choose to be more trading-oriented. Friendly aliens buy and sell spice at different prices (there are maybe 8 different spices). These prices goes up and down, according to the supply and demand. The best thing would be to harvest spices from your home planets, and sell them at planets where some type of spice is in demand.
Finally, there's diplomacy. Your start is surrounded by friendly alien races, which are more than willing to do diplomatic deals. A good ally, will also give good mission cash (should you do missions for them).
One bad thing about this phase are hostile alliances. You can hardly get started with the game before some alien race demands money from you (and alot of it). No matter what you do, you will soon be at war with at leas tone fo these (I was so lucky that 3 declared war at the same time).When at war you will constantly be called to defend colonies. Best thing to do is to stay in defensive mode, while you earn up badges, and get access to the better weapons.
Finally, I am a little unsatisfied by the weapons. It doesn't take long until you have a "Judgement" bomb. Drop three of these bombs on an enemy colony, and the colony surrenders. Home planet cities, needs about 10 of these to surrender.
I have defeated 5 races now, and each time, new empires declare war onme for no reason.
Apparently, the "end game" is a war against a race called the "Grox". Haven't reached it yet, though!
Overall, it's an interesting game, however I find it to be toomuch of a repetition, and too much "design this, design that"!
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