Patapon

Cuando los géneros inesperados se cruzan en el mundo del juego de video, es a menudo una receta para el desastre.  Sin embargo, en combinar el género táctico en tiempo real con el del juego del ritmo, Patapon no sólo ha precisado para ser todas las cosas para toda la gente, pero tiene para la mayor parte tenida éxito.

El jugador toma el papel de un deity omnipresent adorado por el Patapons, una tribu del cazador/de los gatherers ese marcha al golpe de los tambores sagrados que usted controla.  Batiendo estos tambores en la secuencia correcta, el jugador puede pedir el Patapons para atacar, para defender, o el retratamiento.  Los jugadores pueden modificar más lejos al ejército de Patapon para requisitos particulares introduciendo nuevas unidades tales como bardos de la caballería o del `' y recogiendo el armamento aumentado.  Sobre la serie de misiones, los jugadores conducen el Patapons a través de los bosques, selvas, y los desiertos, luchando la tribu enemiga de Zigaton y derrotando bestias legendarias para encontrar Earthend y el misterioso “ÉL.”

El arte del juego se describe lo más mejor posible como cartoonish simplificado 2.o.  Recordará gamers Loco Roco, another game produced by Japan Studios.  This means that instead of awkward-looking 3D, players can expect smooth animation and an eye-pleasing environment in which to lead the Patapons.  The soundtrack is quite catchy, although after extended playing sessions one may never want to hear “pata-pata-pata-pon” ever again.  Most importantly, it’s fun to watch your ragtag army of Patapons tear through the opposition and dance their way across the victory line.

The game’s two apparent flaws are both genre-specific.  On the rhythm side, hardcore music game junkies may find the simple beats to be too simple, nevermind that they’re always at the same tempo.  When in “Fever” mode (which gives units stat boosts as a reward for keeping with the beat), the only way to adjust to an enemy’s changing attack is to drop out of “Fever”, throwing off your army’s rhythm and giving the enemy opportunity to strike.  Allowing players to adjust the tempo (possibly with the D-pad, as the only buttons used during play are on the right side of the PSP), would allow for adjusting fluently to the situation, and possibly provide new challenges where they were forced to stay at a certain tempo in special areas.

On the tactical side, the option to create new units using materials collected both during missions and through minigames is hamstrung by what amounts to grinding for loot through various “hunting” missions.  During combat, one cannot command the individual squads of units separately - when one attacks, all attack.  Additionally, money and items dropped by fallen enemies disappear after a period of time, which means that when the archers cut down the lancers halfway across the screen, by the time the foot soldiers break through that Flaming Sword of Badassness will have already popped out of existence.

Though frustrating at times (and painful for the right hand when played for long periods), Patapon is a fun experience that proves the PSP to be a capable platform for new gaming concepts.