Dom Robinson reviews

Distributed by
Sony

Price: £24.99 Players: 1 Widescreen: Yes Patapon comes from the same team who bought us the excellent romp, Loco Roco in the summer of 2006. It follows a similar pattern in that you're presented with cartoony graphics and have to get from A to B, but while both games have a great visual appeal to them, there was a lot more to the Loco Roco universe than there is in the Patapon one, and your task here just isn't particularly an interesting one. The basis is that you are the Almighty, and you have to move your men, or make them attack the enemies that come along, by tapping out the rhythm set before you. It's as weird as anything, and takes a while to get used to it, but it's not as much fun as Loco as that had a lot more skill to it and was more intriguing...

A couple of random observations from the game: Get several sets of beats in a row and you'll enter Fever Mode, which results in shorter combos. However, it's confusing when you start a series of button presses as all the Patapons start singing out-of-beat and over each other and that turns into frustration. Really, Patapon is more for those in need of a Parappa-style fix. It's like controlling a song, and one positive thing is that you'll never get it out of your head! Pata-pata-pata-pon! :)

GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2008.