Forget the underground fires and metal grating. Silent Hill takes a serious chill pill.

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I am going to admit it; when I first heard about this game, I went completely insane with both anxiety and delight. I was terrified that Square Enix was going to butcher the prequel to one of the most beloved games of all time. Even so, I bought it the day it came out, crossing my fingers and hoped for the best.

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As a connoisseur of music games, I’ve seen it all throughout the years. I got my start with Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy, and now I’m pretending I actually have real guitar-playing skills via Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

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I vividly remember purchasing the first Patapon game. As soon as I brought it up to the counter, the clerk at EB warned me that for the next few months, I would regularly start chanting “Pata pata pata pon”. I looked at her like she was a little nuts and headed home. But sure enough, within 20 minutes of game play, I found myself rambling those faithful words. Patapon was a unique rhythm based game that was not only addictive but couldn’t help not making you smile. Quirky and cute, this fast became one of my favorite PSP Games of all time. And now Sony Computer Entertainment is giving us more drum lines to chant with Patapon 2.

Story

While both Patapon games do have a small underlying story, it is really not the type of story that will keep you wondering about upcoming plot twists and the fate of your adorable marching army of eyeballs.  Leaving off from the original Patapon, we find the ship of the Patapon army dashed on the rocks of a strange shore. Their quest for that giant Visine bottle in the sky, Earthend, isn’t going so well. Very few Patapon remain so it is up to you to rebuild your forces and continue your journey.

Gameplay

Patapon 2 is rhythm based gaming at it’s finest. In order to control your adorable chanting minions, you must drum your way into battle. Earning different drums as you progress, you use varied drum combinations in order to execute your moves: advancing, defending and attacking. The key is staying on beat with the game’s music or your little Patapon will be very disappointed in your rhythmically challenged skills and mope. Along your travels you will also uncover Juju: special drumming skills that allow you unique abilities such as conjuring rainstorms and wind. Keep that funky beat going and you will soon find yourself in Fever Mode which will grant you more power in attacks and defense and enable you to use that powerful Juju of yours.

Your newly acquired Keith Moon-like skills are not solely for battle and hunting though. In Patapolis, the Patapon’s hometown, you will find fun mini games to play in order to get extra items to upgrade your army. This will help you out even more than in the first Patapon for Patapon 2 not only gives you the opportunity to advance the skills of your army through battle experience but also lets you level up and evolve your Patapon at the Tree of Life (where all your little blinky friends are born). No longer are you restricted to the basic types of Patapon; you can create a wide variety of Patapon from giant Patapon with brute force or small Patapon with speedy attacks. Each variation of Patapon can be leveled up as well, granting it better attack and defense the higher the level. Although not upgradeable, one of the best new additions to Patapon 2 is heroes. You will now find your army joined by a Patapon Hero: a strong warrior donning a mask who, unlike your other Patapon, will respawn shortly after being killed. Heroes also offer more a special hero attack, usually attained during fever mode, that will do significant damage to your enemies. With the consistent presence of your Patapon hero, you will now be able to access the Patagate: a new travel portal where you can join other Patapon heroes in unusual battles to earn even more Pata-swag.

Patapon 2 also throws multiplayer into the mix. While it was a bit disappointing to find that the multiplayer was just battling bosses from the single player, having another Pata-fan to join you in the fun is most welcome.

Graphics

While Patapon 2 isn’t laden with impressive textures and staggering visuals, this still remains to be one gorgeous game. The graphics are very reminiscent of asian shadow play with it’s own quirky style. The buildings, obstacles and even your patapon warriors (in their early stages) are mainly black and white while the backgrounds are pulsing with rich tones that are very vibrant and contrast very well with your little eyeball buddies. Everything from the detailed fortresses, covered with drawbridges and spiked defenses to the animal life in Patapon 2 are gorgeous to look at. While it was a little disappointing to see that the majority of your animal adversaries were the same as the first game aside from some minor modifications (like a tail or different color), this game features some very impressive new bosses which are larger and more intimidating than the original game. While other games are so detailed that at times is distracts you from where you should be focusing,  Patapon 2 and it’s predecessor have found the perfect balance between graphical beauty and basic although not mundane art-style.

Audio

Unless you’re not a fan of infectiously adorable chanting, you will find yourself grinning along as your little Patapon sing their way into battles. Their squeaky yet adorable voices are what drive the audio in this game. Everything from their battle chants to their songs of celebration in Patapolis will have you fighting the urge to sing along. While some of the classic drum chants remain, there are a wide variety of new tunes to mix it up and tap your feet to, be it on the battlefield or playing a mini game in Patapolis.  The addition of difficulty levels for the mini-games adds even more fun music to PON your way through - don’t be thinking that you could get by on all the music you had memorized from the first game!

Recommendation

The goal for any game sequel is to keep everything that made the first game good and improve on it and that’s exactly what Patapon 2 does. This games maintains it’s addictive gameplay and infectious music but brings even more to the table with multiplayer, customization and new characters. While there are those who may see this as simply Patapon 1.5, I see this game as it’s own animal and you would do yourself a great disservice to pass it up. Don’t miss the rhythmic brilliance that is Patapon 2.

Patapon 2
System: PSP
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Publisher: Pyramid (JP)
Find:Sony Playstation Store
All reviews are based on final retail code unless otherwise noted

My mailman's name is Ching and he looks nothing like this.

I’ve been a long time advocate of Gamefly’s online game rental service; it’s like Netflix, only for games. Brill-yunt. But it has been rocking the same coat of orange-colored paint for what seems like an eternity now. Well this weekend, Gamefly is celebrating the birth of People Magazine’s 2008 “Lord and Savior of the Year” with a fancy new makeover and a few extra features that will please gamers the world* over!

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Generally, PSP titles cannot hold up to their big console brothers’ editions. Unless you’ve got an innovative puzzler or cutesy game that relies more on its charm to be a good game, chances are the product isn’t going to be that spectacular. Its become a platform that continually receives the short end of the stick when it comes to receiving viable titles, but it’s still great for one very important thing: portability. There has always been a dearth of excellent sport titles for portable play, especially in an age where consoles continually dominate the field rather than their handheld counterparts. This year’s MLB 09: The Show for the PSP has outdone itself as a real competitor for the bigger and more fleshed out renditions that you’ll be paying the big bucks for. Not only is it excellent as a PSP title, but it is only out-shined by its PS3 edition - that’s saying a lot, when you consider the percentage of shovelware that handhelds continue to endure year after year. MLB 09: The Show is a great game of baseball for those of you who like your sports action on the go.

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Now I’ve always felt sorry for the PSP, it is a fantastic little bit of technology (minus the appalling battery life) that was beaten to a pulp by Dr Kawashima and the DS. I love my PSP and if you have the time to look there really are some fantastic games out for the heavily under-rated system. So every time another big title is announced I always find myself getting a little bit excited.

Today Ubisoft announced a new Tenchu game for the PSP known as Shadow Assassins which is due on European shores in April. For anyone who is unaware (how is this possible?!) Tenchu is a series of games set in feudal Japan that play heavily off the stealth/ninja experience, the most recent of which, Tenchu Z , was released for the Xbox360 in 2006.

The new PSP game will once again follow the foot steps of the two main reoccurring characters and elite ninjas, Rikimaru and Ayame as they attempt to rescue Japan from the villain Onikage. Both have an arsenal of ninja like weapons (just like in Naruto kids!) such as throwing stars, katanas and smoke bombs (3 of apparently 17 different weapons and tools), the ability to sneak behind enemies, as you would expect from a ninja and unlockable extras like costumes. If the screen shot pack that Ubi released (attached below) are anything to go by then hopefully handheld gamers will have something other than Barbie Horse Adventures and MORE, More Brain Training to get excited over, in fact I’m going to go and wash my Tabbi socks right now.

Anyone wanting more information can visit www.tenchu4game.com

Do you enjoy watching grown men spit chew and slap each other on the ass? You might be a redneck! You might also be a baseball fan, and in either case Sony has you covered.

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So apparently publishers didn’t learn from Street Fighter The Movie the game and rumor has it that Dragon Ball Evolution will given the video game treatment. GameFly shows a listing of a PSP fighting game titled Dragon Ball Z: Evolution with a release date of 4/09/09. The movie is due for release just one day after on April 10th. Hmm…

An update to the beloved and award winning flash-game N; N+ brings the action platformer to the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS with all the features of the cult favorite and more. Faithfully translating the old-school look and action of the online game to the DS and PSP, N+ will have players leaping and avoiding obstacles using the excellent physics and collision detection while they scour each level for as much gold as they can reach before finding the switch and opening the door to the next challenging level.

The question is …. is it fun?

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