PATAPON KICKS ASS

Patapon rules(so far).  I’m surprised this one slipped by me.  I picked up a Sams Club card today and saw Patapon in the game section.  The art style looked extremely attractive (I have a thing for eyeballs… I have no idea why) and the “war drum” aspect sold the game because I had a somewhat similar game concept a few years ago(thought my concept was significantly different and mostly inspired by the metal band Nile and the composer Gustav Holst).  Anyway, It is a game I’d recommend you try.  The art style reminds me a bit of Samurai Jack for some reason…

If you don’t have a PSP and you are a handheld gamer then you are missing out on some good games.  I own a DS and a PSP and I can’t say one could ever replace the other.  In terms of the handheld gaming genre I think you have two platforms that went in completely different directions and the consumer benefits from this. I mean DS has two screens, one of which is a touch screen. This really forces designers to be innovative in terms of deciding how the player interacts with the game. PSP has a huge screen backed up with more powerful hardware and a more open system in terms of other media(movies, music, etc).  Both seem to have a different opinion on what handheld gaming should be and I think both are excellent products and ultimately are correct. The consumer wins in this situation.  Well… at least I win in this situation because I’m all about my PSP and DS.

Anyway, Patapon is interesting to me because you are using an instrument to communicate with your army.  You tell them to move, attack, etc and ultimately are responsible for their survival.  I’m a huge music fan and I appreciate the historical value of war drums.  You basically have to judge which patterns you use with your drum to guide your army through missions.  Fucking awesome.  I haven’t finished the game yet so I’m going to hold off on what I’d do differently in terms of design but I have a few ideas.  If they show up later in the game I’ll be impressed.

Combining music with games will catch my interest right way.  Guitar Hero/Rock Band is well and good but in terms of musical games, Patapon is where it is at for me right now.  Sure it is only based around a drum but that is far more interesting to me than colorful patterns in which you have to match to hear songs you are already used to hearing.  Not trying to put down Guitar Hero or Rock Band because most people know its plenty innovative… but I honestly don’t plan on purchasing another guitar hero title even if the game was based on Slayer, Pantera, Nile, Anthrax and Oldschool Metallica.  I’ll play the new ones but I most likely won’t actually purchase another one.  I am plenty happy with Guitar Hero I and II.  I’m done with it from there because I have my own real guitar to play with(I’d recommend you play with a real guitar otherwise you don’t know the fun you are missing.).  That being said I hope a new release of Guitar Hero/Rock Band will make me look like an idiot and place both of my feet directly into my mouth.

My favorite DS/PSP titles so far.

DS Favorites: Civilization Revolution(I’m a civ fanboy, get used to it), Sim City DS, Super Mario DS.

PSP Favorites: God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon, Twisted Metal: Head On

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