In case you don’t know about the Patapon games- and you most likely don’t, considering the dismal sales figures that the series has posted overall- then here’s a quick crash course. The Patapon games see the eponymous Patapons being led to warfare and collecting loot, commanded by you, an all powerful deity. Your control over your Patapons, however, is indirect, as you can only command them via drumbeats pounded out in four beat patterns, to which they respond accordingly. These drumbeats are mapped to the PSP face buttons. So, for example, if I want my Patapons to retreat from battle, then I shall press Circle Square Circle Square, since that specific drumbeat pattern conveys ‘retreat’ to your tribe.

They’re back.

This time around, however, things have changed somewhat. Whereas the previous games saw the player commanding vast armies via his drumroll, this time around, the Patapons have been struck by disaster, and only a few remain, so we have fewer units on our hands. Moreover, we aren’t an all powerful deity anymore, but are in fact a fallen hero, who can temporarily be revived in battles. You can unleash several ancient devastating blows to aid your Patapons in battle, and can go in to collect the loot to equip your hero, and to level him up.

This entire focus on leveling up and focusing on equipping your character properly is actually a very interesting twist to the formula, which was threatening to get a bit stale, although it comes with its own set of problems. For starters, you’d think that because you have fewer Patapon at your disposal, more strategy would be required to win battles this time around. However, you can simply ram your way through battles by sheer virtue of being overleveled or overequipped. This actually degrades the series’ traditional focus on strategy, and makes the entire game feel a bit more… action-ey.

Patapon 3 is fun when you play it alone, but the game really shines when you play it online in a multiplayer mode. For instance, you might be stuck at a particular stage in the game, and you can just (in theory) go online and recruit a higher leveled player to help you out. Moreover, playing with friends or online has some other interesting hooks, such as the ability to issue unique commands to different units in your tribes (so you can command your archers to pull back and attack from a distance and your melee warriors to charge head on), something that is, bafflingly enough, not available in the single player mode.

It’s battle time

There are some other interesting things to do in the multiplayer modes, such as decorating secret bases with your friends (which reminds me all too much of a similar feature in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire), form clans and more. In fact, when you’re playing multiplayer, Patapon 3 becomes an altogether different beast, one that comes off as something more awesome than the single player mode.

Unfortunately, a few of the issues that plague the game’s single player mode also show up in the multiplayer modes. So, for instance,  say you’re a high leveled player who is recruited online by a low leveled one to help him through his game. You’ll drop into his game with all your abilities and skills intact, but you will be playing the earlier levels, where, in the single player game, those skills never were unlocked to begin with. It breaks the balance of the game, and it’s kind of a large oversight on the developers’ part.

Whoo, time to raid a fort!

In spite of all its issues, however, Patapon 3 remains a wonderful game. From its wonderful graphics to its quirky and distinctive gameplay, from its catchy music to its rather addictive online, from its simple control scheme to its deep and complex mechanics, it is a game that can unhesitatingly be recommended to anyone and everyone. If you have a PSP, and you’ve never played any of the Patapon games, then I recommend you go and start with this one. If you’ve played the Patapon games already, you should still check this one out- it changes the formula enough to warrant more than a second look. But if none of the previous Patapon games ever appealed to you, then this game won’t probably change your mind. At it’s core, it is still fundamentally the same concept, although it has been implemented rather differently this time around.

This game was reviewed on the PSP.

Really.

Sony’s released a new trailer for Patapon 3, and have launched a brand new website and released a new trailer for the game.

The new trailer looks pretty neat and there’s also a new mini-game over at their website which is fun to pass time with.

The game’s due out in April for PSP.

PSP exclusive rhythm action game, Patapon 3, has been given the official US release date of April 12th.

The third game in the series sees you take on the role of lonely soldier Hatapon as he sets out to take down a new evil presence hellbent on destroying the Patapon world.

Patapon producer, Chris Hinojosa-Miranda, has said that “some of you got to experience a small portion of this adventure last summer with the open multiplayer beta. Since then, we’ve been furiously implementing some of the changes requested – and we are very sure that you will enjoy the results of this joint effort.”

“Available as both UMD disc and PSP PSN download, this fantastic new adventure with new weapons, new levels, new characters and new online multiplayer adventures can go home with you for the pocket friendly price of $19.99 USD.”

Thanks to Playstation blog US for the info.

From what we know, the new game is slated to feature deep multiplayer campaigns, a new superhero character who can use special attacks that delivers an epic feel with the addition of the new Hero Patapon, as well as Online Co-op, competitive gameplay with up to 8 players and an all-new chat system which will allow Super Hero Patapons to communicate via the  Pata-Text chat system.

So, looks pretty good and loaded, huh?

One thing we don’t know, however, is if this game will be download only, like Patapon 2 which was released last year, or if it will be getting a full retail release, like the original Patapon did. What we do know is that this game promises to be some more of the epic and quirky action that the first game delivered in spades.

You can check out the Patapon 3 E3 trailer below.

The most exciting of these is Sly Cooper HD. Apparently, Sucker Punch are hard at work updating their trilogy of PS2 games, adding trophy support and all, and bringing them all over to the PS3 in a one disc package. 1Up confirmed this ews, posting what appeared to be an ad banner for the same, which even mentioned 3D support. The news item, however, was removed from the 1Up site soon after.

It appears that Sony is counting down to something Patapon related the week of E3. Most likely, the rumours are true, and we’re talking about a Patapon 3, likelier on the PS3 than the PSP.

Sony’s E3 conference is kicking off in a few hours. Stay tuned to all the latest coverage.