Review: Patapon

Is the PSP chugging to a new beat or banging on the wrong drum?

When I first stumbled upon a preview of Patapon in December 2007, I was immediately intrigued. But come on, you might think, a 2-D side-scroller on PSP? It's bad enough that it is a 2-D game at a time when 3-D has been so refined and mass published, but then to put it on the gaming system that has sat in dust on your desk for the last 6 months? Bah humbug! Well Ebenezer, dust off that PSP and break out some killer headphones because Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has struck a new chord with Patapon.

The game centers around a race of beings called "Patapons" who hold within their hearts...wait...eyes, a warrior drive to overcome and defeat all who stand in their way. These warrior-eyeballs-with-arms-and-legs are no longer willing to let the enemy tribe, the Zigaton, hold them in defeat and at their moment of absolute despair, their deity rises again to lead them to victory. Who be this awesome and most pious deity, you might ask? You, of course. And as is only natural of just and powerful gods, you have a hankerin' for a beat!

The Patapons are motivated by the rhythm you provide and depending on the beat you play, the Patapons will proceed to attack, defend, move forward, charge, and even run away. Sound simple? While the premise is simple to understand, the gameplay is quite difficult since your orders (always 4 drum hits) must fall in line with the "Pulse of the Earth". By keeping tempo with this beat, your Patapons build combo points which eventually put them into Fever mode. This mode is not only fun since the Patapons suddenly triple their attacks and the music gets more varied, but it is essential to beating the game. If you cannot maintain Fever, you will not win; it is that simple.

Though gameplay is difficult at times, SCE succeeds in building a game on such a simple premise that also fully immerses you in the gameplay for 15-20 hours. When Patapons die in the field, you care. When you cannot beat a 20-foot crab, it drives you nuts and makes you try harder. You will tap your foot to beat and not even notice. While playing Patapon on a flight last week, the guy in front of me turned around, and said while looking me in the face, "Will you stop tapping my seat?!". Dude, my Patapon's just rocked the hell out of a tribe of Zigatons, charged through the Guardian Of Knell, and then launched a massive attack on Backikoi Fort with a god damn catapult! PON - PATA - PON - PATA, man.

Patapon would not be what it is if SCE had delivered a sub par soundtrack, and thankfully the game is spot on here. Pop in the UMB and wait for Patapon to load and you are greeted with a fantastic introductory song that mixes Scottish bagpipes, Aboriginal didgeridoo, and marching band snare roll. In a word: awesome. From this moment on, your ears will dance to a variety of tunes that only get better as you play and if you are rhythmically blessed, keeping Fever will only enhance this experience. When you successfully complete a mission, your tribe will sacrifice the head of whatever great beast you have slain and celebrate around a fire to a tribal beat: all of which is a completely immersing experience thanks to the music and background effects.

Graphically, Pataon is simple but as we have learned time and time again in the gaming world, something simple can still be terribly executed. Since Patapon is a 2-D platformer/RPG, its graphical strength comes from its art design. Environments are beautifully rendered and appropriate to the music that is playing. Your Patapons dance around the fire in a seamless and humorous enactment of a battle, and nothing can match the look of the sea of spears and arrows that fly through the air at your target in Fever mode. Patapon's graphical engine will not win any awards, but the artistic approach deserves the highest praise.

Though one of the best games released on PSP to date, Patapon is not perfect. To progress through the game, you must collect alloys, ore, wood, meat, and veggies to build more advanced units of different sorts. Each unit costs "Ka-ching", a currency that you collect by hunting and progressing through the game, and depending on the level of unit the more Ka-ching required. While earning more Ka-ching is as simple as hunting on specific lucrative hunting grounds, rare materials can only be gathered by killing bosses (which you can do over and over). With each death, a boss gets harder and so rare materials get harder to attain. While innovative, the system is flawed and without the proper units in your ranks, missions become virtually impossible. From time to time, you will find yourself at an impasse and the frustration this causes could have you putting down your PSP for a day to cool off.

At times overly difficult, Patapon is a killer achievement for PSP. Having been built for "pick-up-and-play" gameplay, the PSP absolutely shines with this title. Patapon is a full package, mixing great artistic design, an unforgettable soundtrack, and fun gameplay all into one. At only $21, Patapon rivals The Orange Box in best value due the level of content within. If your PSP has been sitting in a corner gathering dust for the past few months, it is time to dig it out, brush it off, charge it up, and hit this killer launch. Seriously people, who doesn't like to play a god who just wants to dance?