Spore Origins really is on sale for iPod now

We wrote last week about EA Mobile's Spore Origins game mysteriously popping up for sale on iTunes for the iPod, and then disappearing again. Well, now it's back.

The game, which costs £3.99, is based on the evolution phase of EA's ambitious PC game. So, it sees you guiding your spore through a gloopy world gobbling up smaller creatures while avoiding bigger ones.

You steer the little fella using the iPod's scroll wheel, which sounds like it should work well as a control mechanism. The game offers 18 levels across six worlds, too.

The game isn't hugely different from the versions coming out for mobile phones and iPhone, but it's got two rather special features.

First, there's an Aquarium Mode, which apparently pulls in songs you've bought from iTunes and lets you watch your Spore "move" to them. Whether this is just wiggling or flashy dance moves remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, you can also import friends' spores into your iPod from EA's Sporepedia website, to battle them.

Intriguing stuff. We're expecting the other mobile versions of Spore to go on sale this week too, with the long-awaited PC game going on sale this Friday.

To buy Spore Origins for your iPod - and we stress, this is old-skool iPods, not iPhone or iPod Touch. Click 'Buy It' to get it now!