Pata, Pata, Pata, Pon!
Just one of the catchy beats from this highly addictive mix of strategy, music and unusual gameplay. Developed by the same team that made LocoRoco it was obvious from the first announcement that this game would be something different and boy were we right!
So whats the story I hear you ask? You (the player) are the Patapon’s Lord, yes they look like eyeballs with arms and legs, and have returned to aid them in their battle against the evil Zigotos the race they have fought for years. The game seems pretty simple on the surface, you drum 4 different commands to advance, attack, defend and retreat while keeping to the beat. This however quickly changes the longer you play as you uncover a detailed strategy game, allowing you to create units, squads and arm them with over 100 different types of weapons and shields. One of the most important factors is timing as you drum the commands, 10 consecutive commands starts a fever mode which allows you to hit harder and defend a lot better! however miss a beat and this mode will be instantly lost.
At its core Patapon is a resource management game in which what you collect in battle and then convert via mini games allows you to turn your average army into a killing machine. This however has its flaws of course as it leads to the inevitable re-running of levels to collect more resources and visiting the ‘hunting’ level more than a few times. In all honesty though retracing steps was more fun than anything, not a chore like it is in most games.
The main flaw of this game overall is how addicting it really is, we’ve been unable to put this down for weeks! Also how silly you look chanting the drum beats everywhere you go.
Our score:-
9/10
The Good…
+ Unique gameplay
+ Catchy music
+ Highly addictive
+ Many hours of gameplay
The Bad…
- Replaying levels
- Looks you get in public as you sing along
- May be hard to play other games for a while