If you keep up on anything game-related then Will Wright’s latest opus, the intelligent design-leaning Spore should ring a bell.  Touted as a revolutionary experience similar to SimCity or Civilization the scope of this project has been at the forefront, as it attempts duplicate the evolutionary process of cellular organisms, yet make them managable and perhaps even enjoyable.  Now the creator of the best-selling PC series of all time The Sims is back with the follow-up, and although the bulk of press and excitement may be with its PC/MAC counterparts, it’s no surprise that EA wants to ride their potential cash-cow, so it should be of very little surprise the Nintendo DS also wields this ability well; Spore Creatures is a fine example of making a bite-sized version both playable and enjoyable in terms of scale and expectations.

Laid out in a more streamlined fashion than its bigger-brothers, Spore Creatures instead focuses on controlling one creature where you’ll be able to explore a planet, protect or battle other creatures, and of course discover the ways and ends of evolution. The majority of your play experience will revolve around a fairly straightforward yet lengthy adventure where that plays much like a action-RPG with stylus action, compared to the rest of the game it’s slightly anemic.  You wouldn't be wrong to assume that this could be EA's way to trying to break into the massively successful world of creature creations and trading, which Nintendo themselves seems to have a lock on with the never-going-away Pokemon franchise.

Upgrading is certainly a vital aspect of this game and getting stuck in this game can be fairly common if you don’t fully explore the world, with an approach that is rigid but it will keep you playing especially if you want to take advantage of getting all the achievements littered throughout.  Technically Spore Creatures features a fairly welcome look with refreshing mish-mash of 2D/3D, the result give the game a cardboard paper cut-out look and a bit of charm that is fitting for this DS title.  I was grateful that EA didn't attempt to make the DS hardware do things it shouldn't, rather focusing on the strengths of the platform and because of this the results look and sound great.

The creature creation process, though very limited in relation to its PC counterpart, remains surprisingly expansive in execution; you’ll find additional body parts while playing through discovery or an achievement currency system that’ll enable you to possess different abilities when needed all the simply piecing parts together. By simply sticking parts anywhere with resizing and rotating, the chance of creating truly unique concoctions are only limited to your imagination and what the game will technically allow. Trial and error is a common practice when building a superior life form as an icon system that partially describes each body parts’ skills; it’s initially confusing and could’ve been handled better but becomes adequate after playing for a while.

Playing over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features a Sporepedia mode that will allow you to share your creations online, whatever creatures you save to your DS will appear on your game as opponents more or less but does nothing more to expand upon a potentially nifty option.  Much like the Pokemon franchise, sharing direct requires another Spore Creature player in the same vicinity, which may or may not be a problem depending on how popular this version becomes.

While it may offer only a microcosm (no pun intended) of gameplay from its PC cousin, Spore Creatures for the Nintendo DS does capture many of the core aspects that make the Spore experience unique and makes for a manageable portable experience.  Although the experience may be in munchkin-mode, there's still plenty of quirky and creative moments that give this version a perspective all its own, and may even appeal to those disappointed in the full-fledged version.  I imagine that for many Creatures will represent an introduction to a franchise EA hopes will (literally) expand and take root for many, and at the very least offer a more complex and mature counterpart to the many creature-trading games on the market.  Whatever the result, this portable adventure can be enjoyed as long as you keep those expectations in check!