In perhaps the entire long history of video games there may never have been a more surprising hit than the original Patapon. It is pretty much the antithesis of what a hit video game should look like and play like, but nevertheless Sony pulled that rabbit out of its hat, and the gaming world has been richer for it.

Patapon's amazing mix of infectious beats, adorable creatures, and inventive gameplay has been enchanting audiences for several years now, and after a relatively ho-hum sequel, the series is back with some drastic changes.

If you're unfamiliar with Patapon, the game is the story of an old God (the player) who returns to a village of small silhouetted creatures and leads them to victory in battle over their rivals. He does so by awakening their hidden power with mystical drums. You play these drums with the face buttons of the PSP. They all make distinct noises such as “Pon” and “Pata”. You communicate with your creatures by invigorating their hearts with musical beats. So if you want them to attack, you play the attack song to fill them with bravery.

Fans of the game will be happy to know that this system remains completely untouched. The developer's clearly know they have a good thing on their hands, and they're not about to toss it in the trash just yet. However, there do seem to be some core changes to the series' formula.

The series' trademark amazing graphical style remains unchanged, though in certain places it does look a bit more impressive. On our main character for instance there is a bit more color than we're used to, which, if you've played past Patapon games, is an indication of power. This really makes that character jump out.

From what we could tell from a short demo on the show floor, the usual formula of building an army of average-joe Patapon's and decking them out with awesome armor, is just about gone. Instead, this installment tells us that after the events of Patapon 2, the cute little creatures encountered evil spirits that turned them to stone. Only one survived and found an amulet that gave him superpowers.

This was the main character of the demo we played, and it's much different than the usual Patapon gameplay. The mechanisms are the same (indirect control via the drum) but having only one Patapon changes things a lot. Of course, since he has superpowers he more than makes up for the lack of supporting characters.

This storyline sets the stage for the most drastic change the Patapon series has yet seen. We don't have a lot of details just yet, but we are hearing that Patapon 3 will support online multiplayer. Since you only control a single character, there is room available for other characters to fit on the screen. And the developer isn't wasting all that glorious space. One of the biggest draws of the new game will be the ability to link up with up to three friends for four player cooperative game modes. And if that wasn't enough to blow your mind, the competitive multiplayer surely will.

The game stills plays wonderfully, although I have to say that, as a long time Patapon fan, I did have some issues with how the game controlled. Maybe it wasn't explained very well to me (there practically was zero tutorial) but I was having a lot of trouble killing things near me, and could only take things out in medium javellin range. If this is an issue at all, I'm sure it can be chalked up to prerelease quirks. Every E3 game has its own problems that can easily be ironed out as the game enters the Beta stage of development.

It's amazing to me that the team behind Patapon is still coming up with fresh new ways to twist the series. I think that if you had asked me a few years ago, I would have said that Patapon was a one-trick pony that would have long since stagnated by the third entry in the series. However, with Patapon 3 they're showing their ingenuity, and displaying for all to see that this series has a lot of life left.

Perhaps the single most amazing thing about the massive gameplay package that is Patapon 3 is that Sony is currently listing this cute little bundle of joy for a tiny $20. The amount of gameplay that they're offering for this paltry sum is truly outstanding, and we can't wait to get our hands on those funky battle-winning bongos.

Patapon 3 is currently slated for a November 1, 2010 release date in North America. Which, if you ask us, is both excitingly soon, and yet painfully far away.

By Andrew Groen
CCC Freelance Writer