Full Review

4 June 2008 - Sony is renowned for making games that are a bit off the wall like Loco Rocco and Patapon falls into that category. But is it any fun? We get battling to find out.

The premise of the game is that you control a tiny tribe called the Patapon, the only problem is, is that they only understand rhythm, and so rather than pressing a load of buttons in the hope you will defeat your foe you've got to do it in time with the music.

Missions involve the usual array of hunting, taking enemy castles and such, and all are timed making sure you keep going with the button tapping. At first you'll have two buttons to master and set rhythms to learn, but as the game progresses you'll have to master four button beats and a range of patterns to succeed.

To appeal to the strategists out there, Sony has introduced different Patapon tribesmen with different skills sets and weapons and some are suited for certain tasks. Annoyingly however there doesn't appear to be an auto setup button to get you into the action if you don't really care.

With 30 different environments to conquer and 50 different styles of mission there is plenty to keep you going and you'll be humming the tunes in your head for hours after you've stopped playing, something that, like RickRolling, is also very annoying.

VERDICT
Off beat, wacky but innovative, Patapon is one of those games that you'll either love or hate with equal passion. Like Loco Rocco on the PSP and Vib Ribbon on the PS2 this is one we recommend you try before you buy.