So Patapon was one of those quirky strange games that I'm usually attracted to. Some rhythm, some strategy, even some RPG levelling up. And a heaping dose of style. It was far from perfect but I spent hours upon hours playing it.

Naturally I was excited about the sequel, and they sweetened the deal by making it $20 and not long ago announcing it as download only... a strange choice that I can't help but think won't be helping its' sales any. But that's no matter... how's the game play?

In a word: AWESOME

Basically if you liked the first one, you'll love this one. It's more of the same with a few of the problems of the first game ironed out. Kinda like Rock Band 2 that way, not a revolution but an evolution. Here, that's a good thing. Patapon was a solid title and really didn't need mucking about with the gameplay. The biggest change by far is the new "Hero" Patapon you get to take into battle with you. This little guy can be any class (you choose before every battle) and has his own special abilities. He also respawns if he gets killed so it's not a total loss if he gets taken out. It's uber nice to be able to change his class depending on the mission, sometimes you need him up front tanking almost and other times he's best served in the back. It adds a lot to the gameplay and is a welcome addition.

The other element that will be the best news for Patapon fans is the unit upgrading. No longer random like the first game where you just mixed and matched resources to see what you'd get. Now you can level up and evolve the Patapon along an evolution map. You know exactly what resources is takes to upgrade and what skills/abilities that guy will have. It fixes the main problem with the first game, you just couldn't build an army easily having no clue what adding precious resources would give you.

Good news for serious players of the first game, all those unused resources transfer over so if you've got some stockpiles (like I did) you can do some sweet upgrading early in the game and kinda get a leg up on the baddies.

The actual missions play out almost to the letter like the first game, which lets you get right back into the swing of things. There's really no reason to change up the songs for no reason. Fans know Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon will attack, if they changed it for part 2 it'd be arbitrary and wrong. There's a much wider variety in foes and bosses this time out, and careful consideration needs to be paid to weather (wind, snow, etc) in order to be fully effective in battle.

All in all I really don't have anything negative to say about the game, though I kinda wish they had a retail UMD version out there for people. Not everyone is sold on the whole digital distribution thing and I'd like this game to appeal to as many people as possible. Like I said at the beginning, if you liked the first one you'll love this one.

Patapon 2 is now available exclusively for the PlayStation Portable for $19.99. Click here to purchase.

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