Curiosity got the best of me this week, so I decided to break out my credit card and pop on down to the PlayStation Store and grab a copy of the just released LocoRoco Cocoreccho.

Seeing as I was sans PSP when the first Loco Roco rolled out, this was my first experience with the little yellow devils. Before I get into talking about what Cocoreccho is, I think it's more important to tell you what it's not.

First up: It's not a screensaver. Sony has been touting thing as an interactive screensaver for awhile now, and nobody out there really knew what that meant. It loads in the XMB under "Games" and can't be started in any other way. It doesn't come up after 10 minutes of inactivity, it doesn't protect burn-in - it saves nothing (asides from your high scores. If you're wondering what interactive screensaver means, stop wondering -- it means game.

The other thing it's not is LocoRoco. When Cocoreccho was first announced for the PS3, everyone thought it was a perfect fit. On the PSP LocoRoco was all about tilting the world using L and R. A transition to SIXAXIS tilting seemed like a natural move -- but it's a move Sony didn't make, so don't expect a game that plays like the original Loco.

Now that I've spent some time telling you what Cocoreccho isn't, it's time for me to tell you what it is: LocoRoco Lemmings. Rather than controlling the world around the LocoRoco as you did in the original, you control a butterfly who guides the LocoRoco around. As you move your way around the scenery, the goal is to gather more LocoRoco as you go and get them all to a gate that requires a certain number of LocoRoco to open.

Once that gate opens you move into some new scenery, rinse, and repeat. This lasts until the end of the game, which on my first time through took about half an hour. Once I finished the game, it opened up a new gate for my next play through. Judging by the size of the map, it looks like this will happen a number of times providing a fairly solid amount of replayability for $6.99.

Despite guiding the LocoRoco's around with the butterfly, SIXAXIS controls haven't been completely abandoned. The environments you explore are fairly interactive. Shaking and tilting your controller can move objects to reveal hidden platforms, launch your LocoRoco into new areas via water fountains and twigs, and more. I'm one of the few people in the blogosphere out there who has fallen in love with SIXAXIS controls, and in my opinion this was another victory for tilting and shaking.

In addition to all of the above mentioned content, there are three mini-games that I've yet to locate, a pretty nifty boss fight in which the LocoRoco become ammunition, and more. All in all an interesting experience. The visuals and music are everything you've come to expect from the franchise, and the gameplay, though not a reflection of the original game, provides a fresh alternative the tried and true (and mostly tired) Lemmings (which, if so inclined, you can also get on your PS3).

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