Darkspore

Today marks the official launch date of Maxis Studios' Darkspore, and I've been looking forward to it for quite some time. I've already managed to polish off Valve's Portal 2 and now, with co-op memories still fresh in my mind, I've wanted nothing more than the opportunity to bring a few friends together for some classic dungeon crawling, monster mashing goodness. 

For many players, however, Darkspore may very well be the first action RPG they get their hands on, especially for those who were attracted to this game for its Spore-based creatures rather than its combat or other mechanics, especially given the broad marketing strategies that Maxis has utilized. As well, there are probably thousands of you out there who are still waiting on the fence or have perhaps not yet heard about this game! But fear not, for ZAM has you covered!

We've rounded up our collective experiences on Darkspore as it progressed through the closed and open betas for those still wondering if this is a game worth picking up. And for everyone just starting fresh in Darkspore, head to page 2 for a few key tips in PvE and PvP!

When I first heard about Darkspore earlier this year, like many others I was a bit skeptical about the whole affair. While it was exciting to hear about the Spore creature creator being used for an action MMO, it did feel a bit weird knowing that it was Maxis at the helm; a company known almost entirely for its work on games like SimCity, The Sims and, lest we forget, SimAnt. After my first preview of the game, back in February, however, most of my fears were alleviated. While there was certainly some room for improvement - and what game doesn't have that - I was impressed to see that, at its core, Darkspore was a real winner.

Well, now with launch day just around the corner on April 26, alongside Darkspore's open beta just kicking off, Maxis decided to invite a few members of the press to its studio to show us what they've done with Darkspore thus far, and what we should all be looking forward to in this great game.

Darkspore's open beta kicks off today, April 12, at noon PDT, which means anyone will be able to log in and play this action RPG inspired by Spore's Creature Creator. The event will run through April 22. According to an announcement on the official forums, "accounts have been reset for the open beta and will also be reset before launch. Friends' lists have been preserved and will be preserved for launch."

Darkspore is scheduled to launch on April 26 in North America and April 28 in Europe. For more details on the game, check out Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom's recent hands-on look at Darkspore, as well as BFF Report episode 61.

Pwyff will actually be attending "Darkspore Day" today at Maxis' office, so keep an eye on ZAM for more Darkspore news!

Did you like the look of Darkspore in Mike B. aka Fony's latest BFF Report? Then you may want to participate in the closed beta event that kicked off today and is being held through Friday, April 1 at noon PDT. All you need to do is head over to Steam and grab the game to try it out for the rest of the week.

Darkspore was originally scheduled to launch on March 29, but it's since been pushed back to April 26 in North America and April 28 in Europe. You can currently pre-purchase Darkspore on Steam to receive Maldri, a Quantum hero, and an exclusive armor pack featuring three stat boosting items on day one.

In his latest BFF Report, Mike B. aka Fony checks out Darkspore, Maxis' upcoming action RPG inspired by Spore's creature creator. He messes with the customization options, plays through some of the PvE campaign mode and takes a stab at PvP. Watch the video after the jump for Fony's full report!

Darkspore was originally scheduled to launch on March 29, but it's since been pushed back to April 26 in North America and April 28 in Europe. For more details on the game, check out our recent hands-on look at Darkspore and our discussion with Executive Producer Mike Perry about the action RPG's customization options.