Hands on with Patapon on PSP

Thanks to Patapon, keeping the beat for your one-eyed monster is now socially-acceptable behaviour. Creatively blending rhythm-action and tactics, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's follow up to the inventive LocoRoco once again conjures up a totally original experience. Innovative gameplay coupled with a vibrant visual style, Patapon possesses a charm that is utterly irresistible.

The game exalts you as the almighty god of the Patapon tribe - adorable one-eyed creatures who have been driven from their ancestral land by the evil Zigotons. Marching to the beat of their god's drum, the little warriors embark on a war to retake their old home. Skirmishes between the cutesy Patapons and their Zigoton nemeses come to life in gorgeous 2D side-scrolling scenes brimming with colour and style.

You control your army of Patapon warriors via beats tapped out on the PSP's face buttons. Each of the buttons correspond to a musical sound: Square sounds off 'pata,' Circle 'pon,' Triangle equals 'chaka,' and X is 'don.' Issuing a command requires hitting a specific four-beat combination. Moving, for example, is done by tapping Square-Square-Square-Circle ('pata-pata-pata-pon'). Ordering an attack takes Circle-Circle-Square-Circle ('pon-pon-pata-pon').

Just pressing buttons hurriedly won't have any effect though since these tribal warriors need rhythm to act. A thin white border encompassing the screen pulses to the beat, giving you a visual indication of when to press buttons. Of course, the percussive music in the background helps too. Hit the buttons in sync with this in-game metronome and your warriors will respond.

Before giving the next command, however, you'll need to pause. Skillfully timing your button presses and waiting through the pauses will accumulate a combo. But if you miss a beat or play through a measure of rest, the combo resets. You'll need to build up a combo to 10 to get your Patapons into fever mode. This sees them moving faster and attacking with more power. Naturally, this make it easier when confronting hordes of enemies or some of the massive bosses.

Over 30 missions are planned for the final release - we were able to play through about a half-dozen of the initial ones.

Before heading into battle, you need to outfit your warriors and form them up into three squads. Each squad consists of different units with specific abilities. Yaripon spear-throwers make up your initial fighting force, while the up-close-and-personal Tatepon melee attackers join you after a couple stages. Later on, Yumipon archers made up a third squad.

Depending on the type of enemy you're preparing to face, you'll want to tactically deploy specific units. Tatepon brawlers are effective at bashing defensive walls and towers, whereas Yumipons can whittle down a boss' health thanks to powerful ranged shots. Along with choosing the make up of your squads, you can also equip warriors with new weapons and armour. Enemies often drop items on their demise, giving you an opportunity to augment your army's strength.

Facing the massive dragon guardian Dodonga, for instance, requires properly equipping your warriors and deploying the right tactical mix of units. Send in a bunch of Yaripons and they'll get burnt to a crisp by the dragon's fire. Swapping them out for Tatepons and Yumipons, who aren't weak to fire, enables you to mount a more successful offensive. This tactical component promises to instill depth into Patapon, which otherwise could have remained a shallow button-mashing rhythm game.

There are some additions elements that we haven't touched upon - unit creation, mini-games, collecting rare items - that should further broaden Patapon's appeal. What matters though, is that Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has once again created a remarkably unique game. The core gameplay seems brilliant - it ought to prove easy enough for anyone to play - and yet also seems to possess plenty of depth with its tactical twists. Our only real concern is that Patapon might be overly short.

At least with a US release date of February (it's still "early 2008" in Europe), we won't have to wait long to find out.