yeah, for particles you need the full version, but I believe you can make particles without having the full version... I found an example on the web wich creates particles without using the registered feature! I believe it was from
www.bombartist.com, but I found that site is down.
If you want the example just PM me and I'll try to find it again (maybe I still have it on my computer)...
I, myself have the full version but I did never use particles in my game.