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Patapon 2 Review
Sometimes developers play it too safe. While it's important to maintain the fans you won with a successful first game, sequels need to distinguish themselves enough to justify another go 'round. Patapon 2 feels like an enjoyable half measure, but one that loses a lot of the freshness the first title had.
Sony includes a lot of new content here, and hardcore players should find lots to dig into. A new skill tree system allows you to evolve your Patapon, which gives you specifics on their various pros and cons as well as what items you need to craft for them. In addition, three new units - flying Toripons, mechanical Robopons, and magic-oriented Mahopons - add new wrinkles to the action. The most important new features are the four-player ad-hoc play and the Hero class. Heroes can be changed to different classes at will, an important strategic decision before any battle. In Fever mode, Heroes can deliver powerful special attacks that are key to survival.
Unfortunately, these great additions don't make the core experience any different than last time. Plus, you need to grind through a lot of the game before you even scratch the surface of the new content. While the game adds a few new commands, the core of Patapon still revolves around three commands – attack, defend, and advance. After two games, these rudimentary rhythms are beaten into your skull to the point they barely even register. The game's novel appeal was enough last time; in Patapon 2, I noticed just how gruelingly repetitive this game can be. In addition, even the load screen tips don't make up for the fact that much of the game's content is not explained to the player. The myriad evolution paths for Patapon are intriguing, but learning which units work best in particular situations is essentially a trial-and-error process – forcing you to squander resources in the process. Too frequently, the only answer is to go back to previous levels to grind for more loot. This makes the fairly simplistic game even more tedious.
In the end, this game serves its audience of hardcore fans well. However, at this point Patapon needs to take a cue from its titular characters and start the evolution process.
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