During that brief, forgettable period of time where the world was outraged about LittleBigPlanet PSP not hitting the PSN on time, I decided to download an older game. Even though it is old, I am throwing a quick review of it.

Patapon 2 is a "cupie" game where you take the role of Patapon god. On their journey to the promised land of Earthend, the Patapons are attacked by a massive sea monster, and only a few shipwrecked survivors survive. It is the sound of your heavenly drum that brings them to life and motivates them.

Gameplay seems very simple at first. You bang the drum in a specific pattern "PATA PATA PATA PON" and the little cute critters respond by marching, attacking, or defending. You find that the little eyeballs actually have a mean streak in them, and they are quite the violent race.

You would think the gameplay ends with the banging of drums, but it doesn't. As the god in charge of this army, you find you are responsible to level and evolve this army by using items, weapons, and materials you find along the way. Patapon are capable of getting stronger and evolving into even stronger forms of themselves (a system very similar to the class system of Final Fantasy Tactics games). This can cause you to invest hours into the game that you didn't expect to invest. You also find yourself very satisfied with the rewards of your labor. You will find yourself chanting with the Patapon, espicially when their guardian angel shows up and your happy critters start yelling "DA DA DA DAAAAA! DA DA DA DAAAAAA!"

The game may seem simple, but if is VERY deceptive. Within a few stages, you start to see your little level 1 critters drop like flies. Unless you add to your army and boost your critters by revisiting certain levels, you will find yourself flat on the ground. The rythym gets harder with each stage, too. This makes it harder to keep your troops motivated, and they just plop on the ground if they aren't hearing your drum. This aspect will cause you to get frustrated with the game, and possibly put it down for awhile. Will you delete it from your Memory Card (or System Storage if you made some bad decisions)? Absolutely not. It will sit there, and you will find yourself scrolling to the game icon in the XMB. Eventually, you will dive back in (even if it's for short bursts) to level your critters and destroy anything that stands in your children's path to Earthend.

Time Spent on Game: 3-5 Hours

Graphics: 7 (Simplistic, but that's part of the charm)

Music/Sound: 8

Gameplay: 10

Final: 9