If you're looking for a free way to kill a little time this week, the open beta for Maxis' spin-off action RPG Darkspore is in full swing through this Friday. If you're not in already, you can easily grab it on Steam . I jumped in for a couple of rounds of co-op last night - things start off extremely simple, and naturally the first few rounds are a breeze to hack 'n' zap your way through. Once you've leveled up a bit, though, you'll be able to string together missions of increasing difficulty for a chance at much better loot rewards. The graphics are extremely colorful, but I can't help but be disappointed that Darkspore won't let me build my own hero critter form the ground up.
