Spore Hero spawning Oct. 6

As the game-industry summer doldrums wind down, the year-end rush to grab release dates is gearing up. The latest game to plant its stake on consumers' shopping lists is Spore Hero, the Wii spin-off of the PC best-seller from Electronic Arts' Maxis studio. The $49.99, E10+ for Everyone 10 and over game will ship on October 6 in North America and on October 9 internationally--the same day as its DS sibling, Spore Hero Arena.

Released in 2008 to decent reviews, the first Spore was a simulation/strategy hybrid that saw players guide the evolution of a species from their mitochondrial beginnings on through civilization and, eventually, space exploration. By contrast, Spore Hero is an action adventure game that has players craft their own life-form using a modified version of the Spore Creature Creator with 250 parts. The creature starts out as a simplistic organism, and the player evolves it by collecting meteor fragments, which are doled out by completing quests that will (eventually) save said critter's homeworld from destruction.

Gladiatorial-style combat is central to Spore Hero Arena, which will focus on having players create creatures for fighting in various planets' arenas. Victories will unlock new body parts and upgrades that can be used to power up the game's virtual combatants, which will also fight in Wi-Fi bouts against other players. Spore Hero Arena is rated E for everyone and will sell for $29.99.