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Arguably one of the most unique games to crop up at this year's Tokyo Game Show, Patapon is a brand new rhythm action game from Sony for the PSP.

While many games fall into a neatly definable category, occasionally a game appears that is unlike anything you've ever seen before. Games such as Loco Roco, Rez and Echo Chrome all fall into this category, and this year's Tokyo Game Show hosted another such title in the form of Patapon. Sony's new PlayStation Portable title is a rhythm action game at its simplest, but it could also be described as an interactive cartoon, a tribe-based action game or an interactive screensaver as well. It was proving very popular with the small crowd of media during the first day of the show, but we managed to wrestle a PSP out of someone's hands in order to check out what all the fuss was about.

The storyline itself was difficult to comprehend given that we were playing the Japanese version of the game, but it seems to revolve around helping a tribe of small circular warriors through a number of problems. Being a tribe, they're quite open to the idea of a higher being guiding their lives, which seems to be where you come in, as it's your job to tell the tribe what to do and when to do it. And with this tribe only being capable of basic communication, you do this via a series of basic chants tapped out on the PSP's face buttons.

Once we got into the game it was fairly easy to figure out what to do. Your tribe will wait around until you tell them what to do, and a steady drum beat bangs out in the background so that you have a rhythm to base your chanting on. Simple four-button commands need to be issued in time to the drum beat, such as square, square, square, circle to move your tribe forward and circle, circle, square, circle to make them attack any enemies or obstacles in your way. Once you've tapped out the command, your tribe repeats the tune and performs the action in an endearingly obedient fashion.

It might sound spectacularly simple, and perhaps even a little bit twee, but the joy of figuring out these commands was enough to bring a massive smile to both ourselves and the Japanese demonstrator. Much of its appeal lies in the visual design of the game, which is technically simple but artistically imaginative. It reminded us of Loco Roco in terms of the clear inspiration it's taken from classic Eastern European animation. Either way, half of the fun is watching these little creatures on screen and seeing what they get up to.

There's clearly a lot more to find out about Patapon, but our interest has been piqued by this first look at the game. We expect that the command system will become more complex as you progress through the game, and we hope that you can do a lot more with your tribe that just getting them to move forward and fight, but we're as eager as anyone to find all this out. Expect to hear more about Patapon in the coming months.

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Patapon, a PSP title which we've seen very little of so far, is proving a great hit at the Tokyo Game Show. With a line that was sometimes longer than Metal Gear Online we were curious to see what all the fuss was about. Finally we braved the Dreaded Public and got our hands on the goods.

Stepping into the Patapon enclosure a Sony booth attendee talked us through the gist of the game. We couldn't understand some of the Japanese, though we did enjoy it whenever she sang instructions to us. "Pon pon pata pon ... pata pata pata pon." Lovely.

Your tribe of one-eyed worshippers are required to go from one end of the level to the other (with two levels in the demo on the show floor). The only method of getting them there is to command them to act by performing different beats with the circle and square buttons, which correspond to the sounds "pata" and "pon", respectively. By stringing combinations of these two sounds together your minions will perform different actions.

For the demo two combinations are available. "Pon pon pata pon" will make your tribesmen attack anything that is in front of you whilst "pata pata pata pon" moves them further through the level. The buttons must be pressed in rhythm and, when linked together without error, add to your combo meter.

The demo suggests that the game gets much deeper, with more commands to enter, interactions with the environment and characters to join your tribe. Our team of three spear throwers was expanded with the addition of a sword-wielding cyclops which proved much stronger in battle. Additions such as these can potentially add so much to the tactical nature of the game.

We still have many questions about Patapon with regards to its expandability and feature list. Currently there's a danger of the game becoming a bit repetitive. Despite that, we're intrigued to see more and look forward to doing so in the near future.

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Beneath its charming exterior is a complex, deep game. Patapon is not as simple as its childish graphics may lead on. The dying tribe of the Patapon need their God to command them, and after a mysterious absence, you are ready to return to their lives and lead them.

We've been spending some time with a localized near-final version of this PSP exclusive, and we have to say we're impressed. We wouldn't expect any less from the team that brought us LocoRoco. It's hard to pinpoint a genre to this innovative title, as it fuses elements from the music and strategy genre. At its core, it's a rhythm title, as you're required to input commands using various drums at your disposal. At first, you only have two: the Pata and the Pon drums. By inputting notes on the beat, players will be able to command their growing Patapon army. For example, by pressing Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon, the creatures will advance forwards. Then, attacks can be executed by inputting Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon.

There are a number of drum entires possible, and we've yet to learn them all. Eventually, you'll be able to tell the Patapon to hold, or retreat. We're certain that more advanced moves will be unearthed when we unlock the other drums. (Each drum is assigned to a face button, for four drums in all.) Crucial to successful gameplay is keeping with the beat. As you input commands in sequence, the combo meter increases. When a 10 combo is reached, the Patapon enter Fever mode, which greatly increases their killing power. The spears they throw, for example, can traverse from one side of the screen to the other (as seen in the image above). Timing is crucial, as telling the Patapon to advance at the inopportune moment can lead to a number of unfortunate deaths.

Seeing the Patapon join forces to take down such towering foes reminds us of the Gamecube classic, Pikmin. The two games share more than a few similarities. As mentioned earlier, Patapon is as much a strategy game as it is a music game. Before each mission, you have the ability to customize your outing, by choosing appropriate creatures, and equipping them with equipment. There are multiple kinds of Patapon you can create, and within each type, there are variations based on the ingredients used to concoct them. For example, one Patapon might use a small piece of meat to summon. However, throw in a fresher, larger piece of meat when creating the creature, and you'll get a souped up fighter, colored differently from the rest. Before each level, you're free to arrange your Patapon formation and change the weapons each type is carrying. You may want archers in the back, or you may want to protect a catapult-wielding soldier by placing spear-wielding Patapon around it. Each level will require some forethought in order to maximize your spoils at the end.

It's a bit jarring to see how much depth the character customization tools provide. Who knew that such a colorful, animated game would have us play in a similar style to a SOCOM game? Granted, there's also an "Optimize" feature, which allows the computer to decide what it thinks may be best for your current team. Hopefully, the game is balanced enough to be accessible to both casual and hardcore gamers alike.

The game appears to be quite lengthy, at least if we can trust the world map shown to us. In addition to standard kill-and-conquer levels, there are a few other diversions to take upon. Our favorite is a PaRappa-styled music mini-game, where you must listen to a song of a great deity, and you must play it back exactly. The art and animation of these segments are truly inspired, and the unforgiving gameplay makes it a fun challenge we love to try again and again.

Patapon isn't coming out to the US until early next year, but already we see it has the legs to be a winner. The localization of the title is superb so far, effectively capturing the game's unique spirit and mood. We're pretty sure that Patapon will get the same amount of love, if not more, as its LocoRoco predecessor.

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Even though Nintendo is the company with the reputation for innovation, many of the most original big-publisher games I played in 2007 appeared on Sony systems. None may have been quite as odd and engaging as “Patapon,” the PSP game I tried out earlier this week.

Sony reps were in Manhattan to show the winter line-up for PSP, PS2 and PS3. They told me “Echochrome” would be there. But before I could make a bee-line to play it, they suggested I try some other stuff. OK. How about…”Patapon”?

The game had caught my eye at E3 and I had appreciated Brian Crecente’s Tokyo Game Show write-up. On Tuesday I could finally play it, via a PSP Slim and link cable on a big-screen TV. Better yet, I could finally get a chance to understand it.

And it is good.

PataponIt was explained to me that the game is made by Sony’s “Loco Roco” team. No surprise there. I can sort of liken it to “Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat” in that you do something musical to make some really vivid side-scrolling action happen. That’s a poor description, sorry. This one’s tricky.

It’s a rhythm game, but not one that requires the player to follow musical cues, the way “Rock Band” or “Elite Beat Agents” do. Instead a thin light rectangle pulses at the perimeter of the screen and a beat plays through the speakers. But the characters you control — a small army of little critters with swords and spears and the like — don’t do anything. They stand still, until the player stars pressing buttons.

The PSP’s square button is assigned to a chant of the word “pata!” The circle button is “pon!” Create the chant “Pata! Pata! Pata! Pon!” and the little guys march forward. The chant: “Pon! Pon! Pata! Pon!” and the guys attack, shooting their bows and arrows, sending their horsemen in. The triangle button is “Chaka!” so that “Chaka! Chaka! Pata! Pon!” can make them defend. The X button is “Don” which somehow triggers miracles (I was told these are handy in, say, a desert level where the miracle of rain is needed).

The key thing is to play these chants in sync with the game’s beat. Getting the chants on beat the right amount of times (I think the count is nine), and then “Fever” mode will be activated, which makes the little guys more energetic.

I was told that there will be hunting levels, collecting levels, bosses, and mini-games. I played one straightforward level. It took maybe three minutes, just marching my guys to the right and then attacking a troupe of enemies. Clearly the incentive is to do this swiftly, efficiently for a better score.

Players can assemble their army in a staging screen, swapping different types of units and leveling them up with the items they collect. I was introduced to arrow-wielding Yumipons and blade-swinging Tatepons. The guys with spears are called Yaripons. (I did a quick Google search and found all the characters I saw and some extras on this blog.)

PataponThe only knock I ever heard about “Loco Roco” was that its controls could be unresponsive, sometimes unforgiving. People loved the art and the charm, just not the interface. “Patapon” has the look and the charm. The controls I used were solid. I’m curious to see if the game offers enough gameplay variety — enough rhythms for the player to apply, enough strategies for them to execute. If it does, then this game should come together nicely.

Over the years, good rhythm-based games have been consistently impressive to listen to and to control, but not often to look at. If “Patapon” comes together, it could be joining “Rez,” Jungle Beat” and “Everyday Shooter” in some rare company: fun to hear, to play and to see.

The game ships in the U.S. in February 2008.

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