When I was a kid, my grandpa gave me a computer game called Spore. It came in a white box that was decorated with symbols from the game. I believe it came with a thick manual too - this was back when games still came with paper manuals. I loved looking at those, because they had cool art (and also because I was little and needed all the help that I could get to figure out these games).
(After a brief search, I learned that I apparently had the Galactic Edition, one that came with some extra art and a poster. This page shows what the box set looks like.)
I'd put Spore into the CD reader in my dad's computer and wait for the game to load. It had to get through a loud EA intro and then it eventually got to the main menu, which appears as an overview of outer space, with planets representing your save files scattered across the screen. The menu is unique and I don't think I've ever really seen anything else like it in a game. It has a very cool vibe to it.
Spore is an interesting game because it's essentially five different games. When you start a new save file, the game begins with a cutscene showing a comet hitting the planet you chose. This is the catalyst that brings life to the planet. As you play, you guide your species through five stages:
Each stage builds on the previous one, but it changes the gameplay so much that it's essentially a new game. The cell stage is all about eating food, collecting DNA points, and evolving better defenses so you can survive longer and eat more food. Once you evolve enough, you move onto the creature stage, where food and survival is still the focus, but now you're on land and you can socialize or fight with other species. This is the stage where you can really begin to customize your species and make some wacky looking creatures. The choices you make to socialize or fight influence how your species will fare in the next stage of the game.
Once your species is intelligent enough and dominates the other species on the world, you advance to the tribe stage. Now you're competing or working together with other tribes of your species. Once you either befriend or conquer every other species, you move to the city stage, which is similar, but now you manage a city rather than individual creatures. Once you conquer the world, you ascend to outer space and can trade and explore with other planets.
Each stage has its own unique elements that make it fun. The space stage is probably the one that I've played the least, mostly because you have to play through a lot to get there.
I love Spore, but it's by no means a perfect game. I definitely remember a few major glitches that broke save files or soft-locked my game. I was a kid, so I didn't know how to fix it and my dad couldn't fix it, and I would've never thought to just look it up online as I would now. None of my friends that I knew played Spore. It was a solitary experience for me, but it was a creative one. Spore gives you so much creative power! You can design your creature however you'd like. In the tribal stage, you can customize the outfits that the creatures of your tribe wear. The city stage is where customization really picks up, though. You get to design several different types of buildings, vehicles, and you can even make a city anthem! Once you get to the space stage, you can create your own spaceships. And of course, all of these character/building/vehicle creators are available outside the game, so you can design to your heart's content without worrying about how much in-game money you have. (Or you could use cheats, I guess, but I was a kid so I didn't know how to do that!)
I don't have the box set anymore, but I bought the game on Steam a while ago, just so I still had it somewhere. This game was such a great part of my childhood.