It turns my DS into a bizarre musical instrument. A must-have for the inclined.
The ten plankton are all rather simple and innovative visually... simple gemoetric shapes and bright morphing colors turn the plankton into an exciting visual representation of your creations. Each one is completely seperate and completely different... the experience changes radically every time you change plankton. One minute you're creating a lilting harp and marimba tune with jumping tadpoles, the next you're morphing the sound of the people's voices around you, and then the next you're plunking out a happy melody in classic NES style. As a musician, I tend to play with the more "stable" plankton more often, as I can create the melodies I like. I have a few Hannenbow leaf-angles scratched down on paper that create a cute little melody. Some of the more "random" ones I visit less often... but they are still a great diversion, and you can exercise an enjoyable amount of control over each one. This program can be pure joy when you get into it. As a musician, I feel I walk away inspired every time I turn of my DS.
Now, just as if you had ten musical instruments with you... Electroplankton has all the same inherent drawbacks. For one, I already said this isn't a composer... you can't save your work on a saxophone or piano, so you can't save your "song" on Electroplankton either. You'll just have to rely on memory, or live in the moment. Secondly, you can't play multiple instruments simultaneously (unless you're Neil Young) and you can't combine Electroplankton either. Lastly... if you really are intent on creating music with Electroplankton, you'll have to practice, just like a real instrument. I've never created sound this way before, but I know it takes work to make recognizable patterns with the seemingly-random barnicles and bric-a-brac. Maybe that's just the musician inside me talking. Electroplankton has this tendancy to constantly and consistently create these relaxing and haunting sounds, and I ever so desire to harness them and make them my own. Maybe that's why I like this game so much.
Electroplankton is what it is, and nothing more. Your milage with this game will vary greatly depending on what you're looking for. The people who will get the most out of this game are musicians, casual gamers, and people looking for a truly innovative title. Indeed... the words "musical, casual and innovative" best describe what Electroplankton is. You'll rarely find yourself playing for more than an hour or two at a time. I find myself fascinated by the inner workings of each plankton... each is so simple, but I feel like I want to take each one and stretch it to it's limits to create something truly unique.
The Verdict:
This game is definently, totally not for everyone. There's no "gameplay", no hidden extras, no save feature. A push of the B button and your creations are lost to memory. People looking for a real game or music creation tool will not find it here. You have to look hard... and you have to bring something into the experience with you in order to get most out of this game.
I would say try this game before you buy it, to make sure you don't tire of it before you get your money's worth. However, at the time of this writing, this game is largely only available from online retailers at the full $35 price, so maybe trying it first isn't an option. I'd suggest reading some reviews, and then going to http://electroplankton.nintendods.com. Watch some movies there, and read the (the admittedly entertaining) PDF manual. This game is the artistic creation of Toshio Iwai, and it's worth looking into at the very very least.