Not all trademarks are smoke screens, as EA has just proven. Darkspore is indeed the sci-fi action RPG described by a San Diego Comic Con listing and it's hitting the Mac and PC at some point in February, 2011.
Described as an action RPG similar to Diablo, Maxis Software's Darkspore will have its users battling across a galaxy in an attempt to save it from the "mutated forces of Darkspore." You'll be the hero, and considering this is a Spore spin-off, you'll have some options when it comes to character creation.
EA is boasting that the game will support five unique hero types, each of which will be supported by three character classes. Regardless of what you choose, you'll be customizable the hero with a "limitless" crop of upgrades and abilities. Interestingly, what you'll be able to customize with will be gathered from the game's environment. Also, you won't just be upgrading yourself--one of the sub-goals of the game is to, ultimately, create a team of "living weapons," each of which is customizable.
Darkspore will feature a four-player co-op campaign in addition to a traditional single-player campaign. "Intense multiplayer battles" are being promised outside of these two features, so I'm guessing that some sort of competitive mode is in the works. No other details have been given, but as reported previously, Darkspore will debut-debut at San Diego Comic-Con in a short bit.
== TEASER==UPDATE: Class-based in the RPG sense, as opposed to what I was thinking earlier. Also, updated the platform details, release date, and added some screenshots. (The press materials were rather vague.)