Electroplankton is divided into two separate and distinct modes of play: Performance and Audience. Performance mode is where you'll spend the majority of your time, where you can interact with the little plankton to create music through the touch-screen, buttons and even the microphone. Performance mode is divided into 12 different pallette sets, each of which has its own little quirk. For example, my personal favorite, Luminaria, has a large grid full of arrows. When you activate one of the plankton by tapping it, it will then follow the arrowed path before it, creating a sound at each arrow. Eventually, when you activate all four plankton, you get a melody of sounds that come together and create something really pleasing. And that's just one of the twelve!But, what about this Audience mode? Well, it's more or less a glorified demo reel of the game's capabilities. Here, you can set down the DS and let the various plankton serenade you with their musical capabilities. You can still interact with them, through the touch-screen, if you like.
The beautiful thing about this game is that it's as deep an experience as you make it. You can invest time in every single portion of Performance mode, you can partake in Audience mode and then you can come back to it all again and it'll be new. The game changes each and every time you put it in your DS, turn it on and play it.
Again, if you're not one who's usually intrigued by something like this, then Electroplankton is going to feel like a very empty game. It's true that even the most avid fan of the arts can sit down with this for 20 minutes and perhaps find that they're getting a bit bored. That's one of the reasons why this is such a great title for the fan of pick-up-and-play games perfect for on the go.
