I actually think it looks good, remember the stupid creatures are just the creation of an IGN editor, you can make your creatures non-silly if you want.
I think this might be a pretty cool addition to the DS library from what I read in IGN's preview, it only contains the creature phase and you only control a single creature but the review made it seem very action-rpg-ishy. I'm actually quite looking forward to this, even though I have a PC to play the real Spore, the DS version should still be fun to play now and then.