EA Confirms Sci-Fi Action/RPG Darkspore

The new sci-fi action/RPG from Maxis is slated for a February 2011 release.

Tuesday during EA's big 5-title-reveal event, the company officially announced the sci-fi themed action/RPG game for the PC and Mac, DarkSpore. Currently in development by Maxis, the game will offer both a single-player campaign and an online multiplayer mode for up to four players in co-op. Maxis said that the game was inspired by the creature editor in Spore, however the team also drew from "passion for gaming and prior experience."

"DarkSpore will feature dynamic, fast-paced action as players battle across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the mutated forces of DarkSpore in a four-player co-operative and full single-player campaign, as well as intense multiplayer battles," EA said. "In order to defeat the malicious DarkSpore, players will need to collect an arsenal of living weapons--genetic heroes with different combat abilities--and upgrade them with tens of thousands of collectible body parts and armor."

The game will feature three unique classes of five different genetic hero types. The game seems to run on the same mechanics as Spore--as the beasts advance in levels, additional upgrades become available. And like the typical RPG, planets will unlock as the

player advances, requiring better squads and abilities to successfully complete missions (quests).

Naturally EA has uploaded a Flash-laden site offering a few tidbits regarding the game such as "living weapons," planets, the game's editor, and more. Expect the game to go retail in February 2011. In the meantime, click on the image below to pull up the entire DarkSpore library.