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.

Darkspore was originally scheduled to launch on March 29, but Maxis just announced on the game's Facebook page that the release has been pushed back to April 26 in North America and April 28 in Europe. Here's the post:

"Thanks to everyone who has participated in the Darkspore beta! We've received really positive feedback about the game, as well as some suggestions of things you'd like to see. We're really close, but in order to make the best game possible, the team has decided to take additional time to incorporate more of your feedback. Darkspore will now be available in NA April 26 and across EU/APAC beginning April 28."

Maxis then posted another Facebook message stating that an open beta will be held in April to give everyone the opportunity to play the game and provide feedback.

For more details on Darkspore, check out our recent hands-on look at the game and our discussion with Executive Producer Mike Perry about the action RPG's customization options.

If you're interested in trying out Darkspore, Maxis' upcoming action RPG inspired by Spore's creature creator, you may be in luck. Maxis is kicking off a series of beta events tomorrow, Feb. 18. Here's the schedule:

• Friday, Feb. 18 from 6pm PT until 11:59pm PT Saturday, Feb 19
• Friday, Feb. 25 from 6pm PT until 11:59pm PT Sunday, Feb 27
• Friday, March 4 from 6pm PT until 11:59pm PT Sunday, March 6
• Friday, March 11 from 6pm PT until 11:59pm PT Sunday, March 13

Head over to Darkspore's site and register for a chance to receive a beta key. To see the game in action, watch the new beta trailer after the jump.

Want event more Darkspore details? Check out our recent hands-on preview and our discussion with Executive Producer Mike Perry about the game's customization options.

I'll admit, when Spore came out in 2008, while I did spend my fair share of time twiddling around with that creature creator, the multi-genre game play of the game itself was not so engaging. I think the problem was that I, like most gamers, felt that Spore had so much potential with its incredible creature creator, but its ambitious design fell short when it came to building a game around such a revolutionary tool.

Two and a half years later, it seems Maxis has found a more focused direction, and so Spore is back in the concentrated form of Darkspore, a new action RPG that combines the best part of Spore with, well, the best parts of any good action RPG. After our interview with Executive Producer Mike Perry, Maxis also invited us to check out some of Darkspore's extensive campaign and arena-based PvP, so I decided to get in there to see if those Spore tools were being put to good use.

What do you get when you combine Diablo and Spore? You get Darkspore, the upcoming action RPG from Maxis and Electronic Arts. If you've ever played Maxis' Spore, then you understand the allure of using the game's Creature Creator to bring your designs to life. The development team was inspired to bring a similar level of customization to the action RPG genre, which led to the creation of Darkspore's Hero Editor.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with Executive Producer Mike Perry to learn more about the customization options players will have at their disposal in Darkspore. Keep reading after the jump for all the details, and check back with ZAM next week for more in-depth Darkspore coverage!