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Electroplankton On Shelves In Europe

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26th January 2006, 2:29pm
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 If you've ever fancied yourself as a budding artist, or have an undeniable creative streak in you, now is your chance to show those creative talents as Nintendo places a blank canvas in your hand and invites you to participate in a contemporary art installation – Electroplankton - from legendary Japanese artist, Toshio Iwai. Electroplankton launches across Europe on the Nintendo DS from 21st April 2006. This is notably different to America (and Australia too, I'll bet), as in the US you could only purchase the game online.

The simplicity of Electroplankton is where its beauty lies. It is not a 'game' in the truest sense of the word as it has no levels or scoring. Instead it is a creative medium allowing the user to experiment with both musical and visual effects to create their own multimedia masterpiece. The reward of this title doesn't lie in obtaining a score or finishing a level, but instead in the satisfaction of creating a totally unique piece of art every time.

Players must control the game by interacting with different breeds of plankton. By mixing luminescent oceanic graphics and imagery with soothing and tranquil electro-synthetic sounds, users can create a harmonic visual and audio experience. In the main Performance mode players select a breed of plankton and interact with it using the Nintendo DS's touch-screen or microphone.

In total there are ten different types of plankton in the game, all of which have different characteristics. These range from Tracy plankton which follow routes drawn on the touch-screen leaving a trail of light and sound, to Hanenbow which make music by bouncing off plant leaves. Volvoice memorises and repeats audio samples spoken into the Nintendo DS microphone, allowing you to personalise your compositions.

The game also features an Audience mode in which an assortment of demonstration tracks randomly play, showcasing the different plankton within the game and providing an invigorating audio-visual treat for the viewer.

Electroplankton is the ultimate way to soothe away the stress after a hard day. Calming visuals and soothing oceanic sound effects will help to wash your stress away and with no set objective, Electroplankton is never frustrating, no matter if you play it for two minutes or two hours.

Whether you are a fan of the arts or just want something totally unique to play in 2006, Electroplankton is a must-have. Electroplankton launches on the Nintendo DS across Europe on 21st April 2006.
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by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog