It's been quite some time since we last talked about games for smaller, less powerful Apple devices, such as the iPod nano. Luckily for owners of Apple's nanos (3rd gen, 5th gen and classic), Spore Origins is now available for download via the iTunes Store. The game is a less complex version of the God game designed by Will Wright, featuring four game modes, eighteen levels and six worlds.

From the iTunes Store, the official description goes,

Eat or be eaten when you play SPORE Origins on your iPod. Guide your spore through its evolution and shape its destiny. Devour smaller creatures, explore primordial worlds filled with bizarre organisms, and avoid larger, lethal life forms. Grow from single-cell to complex predator as you rise through levels. Customize your spore, and watch it move to tunes in your iPod. Battle friends by importing their spore into your iPod form the Sporepedia website. Based on the new game from the creator of the Sims!

Spore Origins is basically an action-puzzle game based on the highly-anticipated Mac version of Spore. Players create and control the evolution of their spore in four game modes, and guide the action with a simple, one-finger control scheme. A vibrant, primordial world is the setting in which your sole primary is to survive. You are encouraged, however, to have fun in the process, by exploring a vast universe spanning 18 levels and 6 unique worlds.

The game also lets players  battle their friends' spores by importing them into the iPod via the Sporepedia website. As far as game modes go, a two-hour story mode, with replay-ability, stats, and secrets is available, while your iTunes Store purchases can be integrated in the Aquarium mode, according to the folks at Tricky Software.

“It really has been a long time since we last wrote about what we’ve been working on,” says Tricky Software. “Well, the wait is finally over, and the project is fast coming to completion. For over a year we’ve been hard at work developing Spore Origins for the iPhone. We’ve worked closely with EA Mobile and Maxis, and we’re very proud of the resulting game. The next few weeks will be extremely busy, but for us it will be well worth it. Stay tuned...”

Until the iPhone version of Spore hits, if you're also the owner of a 3rd generation iPod nano, iPod classic, or 5th generation iPod, you'll just have to settle for the "small" version of the game. Spore Origins for iPod is available here. It costs $4.99 to buy.