Pata – pata – pata – pon… Pata – pata – pata – pon…

Prepare to kiss you thumb muscles goodbye as the sequel to the highly addictive rhythm button basher ‘Patapon’ marches back onto the PSP with a mass of new features.

You are (again) the lord of a small world inhabited by freaky little Patapons - creatures who will do your bidding – as long as you hit the right button at the right time. Rhythm is their thing, so smack the PSP in time to the beat and send these little critters into battle for you, defeat your enemies and secure a victory for your glorious majesty.

Yeah okay, it’s all pretty much the same as the first game with a few new Patapons, environments and enemies thrown in for good measure. What has changed however is that this time you’ll need more brain power to crack the deviously deep strategic elements that have been ramped up considerably. Good news for those who like to have their brains tickled whilst frantically tapping away to the rhythmic pulses…

This time as well as having to be very well co-ordinated and able to carry a beat, now you’ll need to be able to decide which troops to create, choose the best battle formation and pick the right 'miracle' to either boost your troops or wreak havoc on the enemy.

Be prepared to maybe rip out some hair too as this time the difficulty level has been hardened – whilst not too bad at the start, it isn’t long before you’ll be facing a serious challenge.

One lovely touch is that veterans from the first game can use their original save data to add to their war chest by accessing cash and other useful material. Another new element is the introduction of ‘Heroes’ who get better abilities than your run of the mill Patapon, picking the right mix of ranged / close combat specialists allows for some nicely varied gameplay. You’ll need some precise drum beating skills to get the maximum out of the new classes though as they have a fairly unforgiving margin of error.

Production values are universally high, with cool visuals – you’re unlikely to see funkier cute graphics on a PSP this year (apart from maybe Little Big Planet). The soundtrack is ace toe tapping, finger drumming stuff too, although after a while it can make you feel a little psychotic – but that might just be me!?

Verdict:

Overall there’s little to complain about here, Patapon is a quality, quirky game that will please those who liked the first one and deserves a trial play through by anyone who fancies something a bit unique and different.

Altogether now: Pata – pata – pata – pon…

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