14 DAY TRIAL // From the creator of The Sims, an original action-puzzle game based on the Spore Mac title is available for owners of an Apple iPod. It is called Spore Origins and is said to make great use of the new 4G nano's accelerometer.
From the iTunes App Store, the official description goes,
Eat-or-be-eaten! Play SPORE Origins on your iPod. Guide your spore through its evolution and shape its destiny. Devour smaller creatures, explore primoridial worlds filled with bizzare organisms and avoid larger, lethal lifeforms. Grow from single-cell to complex predator as you rise through levels. Customise your spore and watch it move to the tunes on your iPod. Battle friends by importing their scores into your iPod from the Sporepedia website. Based on the new PC game from the creator of The Sims.
In Spore Origins, players take an organism through 18 different levels, trying to catch smaller organisms for nourishment, and avoiding the bigger ones to stay alive. The players' goal is to evolve into a complex being. It doesn't go as far as the Mac version, though, where players are tasked with molding their creature from cellular phase to space-faring civilization.
As mentioned above, one of the most note-worthy features in Spore Origins is the tilt-based control mechanism, which uses the 4G nano's accelerometer. Basically, the game is played using just one hand, as it allows players to control their character through tilting. Interested parties should also note that Spore Origins already has a patch out so, upon purchase, be sure to check your e-mail. Lastly, another exciting ability is Spore Origins' Aquarium Mode. This allows the game to integrate with the music on your iPod, while the little buggers on-screen move to the beat.
Other features include a vibrant, primorifial world where you play to survive, a vast universe, spanning 18 levels and six unique worlds, the ability to battle your friends' spores by importing them into your iPod via the Sporepedia website and 2 hour story mode, with replay-ability, stats and secrets.
Spore Origins costs $5 and is available on the iTunes Store. Only video-capable clickwheel iPods are supported. Those include iPod nano third-generation, iPod classic and iPod fifth-generation. The game cannot be played on other iPod models, or the Apple iPhone.