The PSP really seems to be coming of age this year, there has been some fantastic titles and there a load more to come. One of the games we have been most excited about is Patapon, which is a rhythmic/action game from the makers of the excellent Loco Roco.>>

Patapon sees you take control of a tribe know as the Hatapon whose mission it is to force the evil Zigatons from their land, these little warriors are controlled by The Almighty (you) and can only be commanded by the beat of their war drum, which you as the Almighty control. Now this may all sound very strange but once you are playing the game it all makes perfect sense.

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At the beginning of the game it is explained that The Almighty had left the Patapon and this is the reason that the evil Zigatons had taken over the land, however since he is now back it is time for the Patapon to retake the land and this is where you come in. The game has a very unique approach to teaching you how to play, over the course of the levels you will come across the different powers that have been lost to The Almighty since he had been gone along with the different drums which are used to motivate the Patapons, each time you find a new drum you will then be taught the rhythm and what effect this will have on your troops. Since each drum is assigned to one of the face buttons, getting the rhythm correct is fairly easy, for example to attack you will press circle, circle, square, circle which will then cause the Patapon to chant Pon, Pon, Pata, Pon before attacking the enemy in their path, there are numerous moves like this that you will acquire, from simple maneuvers such as marching to others like defense.  >>

To get the Patapon to respond to you, keeping in time is essential, for example should you use the attack move mentioned above you will have to wait until the Patapon have chanted and then immediately make your next move, all while keeping in rhythm (although you are guided by the four beat count which lights up around the edge of the screen), however if you do get a bit carried away and beat the drum out of rhythm or over the top of the Patapon’s chanting then you will fail to motivate them which can cause the enemy to get a few strikes in. If you manage to stay in rhythm long enough you will then activate fever mode, this makes your fighters stronger and faster which in turn helps you cause more damage when attacking, however should you stray out of rhythm your Patapons will return to their normal state.>>

Although you only start the game with a certain type of Patapon it won’t be long before you acquire different types of fighters, there include the Tatepon, Yaripon, Yumipon, Kipapon, Megapon and Dekapon. The first Patapon you will come across are the Tatepon, these warriors are your frontline of attack and tend to use a shield and battle axe, there are followed by the Yaripon and Yumipon who use projectile weapons, the others are acquired slightly later in the game, but we will leave their skills for you to find out, we don’t want to spoil all of the surprises after all. >>

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When you begin a mission you are required to choose up to three squads to take with you, once this is done you are then able to equip them with any new weapons or armour which you have found during the previous levels, this all helps add a bit of strategy to the game as you will need to decide what troops and equipment best suit the level you are about to tackle. As you progress through levels you will acquire ka-Ching (which is the currency used to buy new units or resurrect lost troops) as well as weapons, equipment, meat to feed your people and more, anything you do find though will not be much use until you return home to Patapolis.

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Some of the enemies you will come across during the levels are extremely powerful and often dwarf your little Patapons, so it is essential that you make sure you resurrect any troops that die and also buy the most powerful units available, as well as choosing the right guys for the job obviously.

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As far as the presentation goes, Patapon is one of the most unique and funs games around, each little character seems to have a personality of their own and the style in which the game is presented just makes you want to love it even more. The same can be said for the sound which, (thanks to the rhythmic chanting of the Patapon), sticks in your head for a very long time, be warned though you may just find yourself chanting Pata, Pata, Pata, Pon while going through your daily routines.>>

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While there are a few issues such as no pause option during gameplay or the fact that the game doesn’t always tell you when you need to return to a previous mission, the fact remains that Patapon is probably one of the best games the PSP has ever seen, the gameplay (including the little minigames you will encounter, which are fantastic) is just so unique and original that you can’t help but love it, I can do nothing but highly recommend this game to everyone who owns a PSP, buy it today and it may just bring you a little happiness.>>