This is a complete surprise and totally out of the blue.  Apparently there is a beta going on about a new game on Facebook based on EA/Maxis’ Spore games.  Titled ‘Spore Islands‘, you take control of a virtual island where you create creatures to survive, reproduce and dominate. You can observe your creature which will show you how it fared against the others…however the observations are limited per day, with the chance to watch a new one every 4 hours.  However, during the observations you can upgrade your creatures stats, abilities, accessories and more using DNA tokens.  Those can be earned over time or paying with real money (I can’t believe people pay for stuff on Facebook by the way…)

Essentially, a slideshow, or an “observation”, lets you watch how your species fared against others on your island. You have a limited number of observations per day, though, and you can watch a new one every four hours.

In between observations, you can upgrade your creatures attributes (e.g. stamina, strength), abilities, diet, animations, and accessories (hats, horns, markings) with DNA tokens, which you either earn over time or purchase with real money.