Electroplankton is a giant question mark - it's not exactly fun as a game, but then, Nintendo's advertising it as a non-game, so I can't fault it for not having basic game components. But then, where Animal Crossing and Nintendogs at least have basic goals and objectives, Electroplankton is utterly abstract. It can be a thousand different things to a thousand different people. Once I realized this, I decided that doing a standard review just wasn't possible.

You see, after trying it out for a few hours, I was sure that I didn't like Electroplankton. It seemed boring and too simplified to get any real satisfaction out of interacting with it. Luckily, I decided to give it time, since I had a feeling that it'd be the type of title that really needed patience to enjoy. Just as I was heading to bed later that night, I whipped out my DS and gave it another shot. Surely enough, I fell in love with it.

I came to the realization that Electroplankton was best played in the dark and under relaxing conditions. Much like an application on your computer, it's not really a game, just an experimentation tool for you to play around with. It shouldn't be played for hours at a time, since it can be mastered in about 20 minutes, but if you only spend around 15 minutes with it every once in a while, it quickly becomes your favorite time-killer. To give you a good idea of what you're in for, here's a plankton-by-plankton breakdown of what's available:

Tracy: In the most basic sense, Tracy are plankton that make chromatic scales out of lines that you draw on the touch screen. Since you've got six at your disposal, you can make a lot of different scales; in the end it all sounds like chaos, though, and I've yet to really make anything worth listening to.

Hanenbow: These plankton bound off of leaves that you manipulate with your stylus; you can pull them up or down, and depending on their position and bounce frequency, the give off a different pitch. Hanenbow are definitely one of my favorites, since the melodies they create are very soothing and easy to listen to.

Luminaria: What happens when you mix a really fast piano, a quick vibraphone, a mellow music box, and a slow celesta? You get Luminaria, star-shaped plankton that race around arrow-dictated maps that you create by turning the arrows to a specific angle. You can get some of the best melodies in the game out of Luminaria, but it takes some time to get used to their different speeds. Overall, it's a fun section.

Sun-Animalcule: Hands-down, these plankton are my favorites. In the beginning stage, you tap the touch screen to create tiny suns that grow exponentially with every pop, creating a different note depending on their position on the screen. Once enough time passes by, though, you get to make crescent moons. Not only are Sun-Animalcule the most visually stunning of the plankton, but their soothing string of notes are very relaxing.

Rec-Rec: As a fast-paced techno beat plays, you can record short audio clips on each of the four plankton at your disposal, eventually playing all at the same time. They're not the most interesting bunch in the game, visually, sound-wise, or even in concept, but if you want a simple voice recorder, Rec-Recs are for you.

Nanocarp: By tapping the touch screen or pressing the D-Pad, you can make waves, making a different sound with each different plankton. What's really cool about this group is that by clapping, they group together in formations. By quickly clapping twice, they form a circle; space the two claps out and they form a straight line; they even react to your voice. Needless to say, you can get a lot of experimentation out of this subspecies; I definitely had fun with it.

Lumiloop: Without a doubt, this is my least favorite species. It's made up of five circles. By spinning them with your stylus, they each emit a different pitch. Although it's fun at first to mix the different sounds together, the novelty quickly fades and the whole process just becomes boring.

Marine-Snow: This plankton type is essentially a menagerie of notes for you to play around with. You've got more control as far as what specific melodies you want to play, but since they change position with every tap of your stylus, it can get a bit confusing as to where each note is.

Beatnes: Want to add your own beats to pre-recorded classic NES ditties? Beatnes has you covered, letting you hit up a much of different sound effects to add your own creativity to tunes from Kid Icarus and Super Mario Bros., in addition to an NES Collection and Robot-styled melodies. It’s really one of the more accessible sections of the title, since it’s already got an underlying beat for you; all you’ve got to do is add your own custom sound effects.

Volvoice: Last but not least we have Volvoice, a single plankton that lets you record several seconds of audio and then lets you warp it to insane degrees with its various manipulation options. I definitely got some stupid-but-funny moments out of this subspecies with my friends, who think this is the only plankton that, in their own words, "is worth a crap."

And there you have it, all ten types of plankton ready to be toyed around with. If you haven't figured it out yet, Electroplankton is a great novelty title that's fantastic for short bursts every once in a while, but will fall flat on its face if you're looking for continuous hours of fun, a la a real game. Does that make it worth $35? No, not really, but for someone out there, it might be right up his or her alley. If that's the case, check out Electroplankton at an online retail outlet.