Loco Roco 2 is a fairly good title elevated by astounding visuals and jaw-dropping, toe-tappingly fantastic tunes. Were the price tag not so tantalizing, it might be more difficult to recommend a game that really has few gameplay tricks up its sleeve, but it's the right amount of fun for the right price. Plus, it's simply adorable.

Game Details			Loading Reality Scoring
Format	PlayStation Portable (all PSP reviews)		Score Meaning: An above average, teetering on "good" game. This title has some great ideas and ambitions, along with redeeming qualities that outweigh the handfuls of negative aspects, making it worth a play.
Publisher	Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer	Sony Computer Entertainment
Category	Platformer		Presentation
ESRB	E		Gameplay
Online Players	0		Graphics
Offline Players	1		Sound
Price	19.99		Value Factor
Release Date	February 10, 2009		Final Score

Loco Roco 2

Loco Roco doles out cute like James Franco passes out dopest dope: by the crapload. It's nearly impossible to remained uncharmed by the adorable bouncing characters, bright, eye popping colors and so-catch-it's-almost-annoying sound. Yes, I don't think anyone would argue that Loco Roco is definitely one of (if not the) cutest games of all time.

Thing is... you need a lot more than cuteness to make a classic video game.

Don't get me wrong, Loco Roco is great. It's a fun, slick little platformer that, especially priced at $20, is something I can easily recommend. I just don't get the swooning. Sure, the game is absolutely adorable in its presentation and aesthetics, but when it comes to raw gameplay, the nuts 'n bolts of it all, Loco Roco has few cards to play.

The game is still played the same (which is to be expected, of course) simple way: your shoulder buttons tilt the world, tap to make your Roco jump into the air and a quick punch on the circle button separates your giant Roco (which is made giant by collecting what looks like peaches on a vine scattered throughout the levels) into individual characters in order to fit through cracks and such. The simplicity is not a problem, but rather the feeling that, after about an hour when the novelty wears off, the game almost feels like it could play itself. Much of the game involves being blown across the map by certain "paths" of wind, or being shot across much of the beautifully rendered level. It's cool, yes, even kind of exciting... but it doesn't constitute great gaming. Unless you challenge yourself to REALLY collect every last thing in the game, you can choose to not really pay much attention and breeze through the levels. Its feet are planted firmly in the "secondary entertainment" department, rather than being a highly engrossing game.

But then again, is that really a bad thing? Don't we all just want something that will amuse and slightly entertain for several minutes at a time while on a bus, train, car, etc.? Obviously neither school of design is the "right" one, but PSP definitely has more in favor of the engrossing university. LocoRoco is a step in the right direction, in my mind. Or maybe the reason it works in small chunks is simply because the game is semi-monotonous and shows its flaws after the 20 minute mark has been approached.

I do give Sony lots 'o credit though, they did try and even succeed a bit in changing up Loco Roco's rolling blob formula. There's even multiple levels that take place underwater which changes a whole lot (and, differently enough from the rest of the gaming world, the levels don't suck). You also get a bunch of cool minigames as the game progresses; they're ultimately just cute distractions (much like the game itself), but it's nice that they're there. These may not be total triumphs as the game still produces a heavy feeling of deja vu after a couple hours, but the spikes of new gameplay that are there are supremely welcome.

But still, the main reason people flock to this game, the point of its whole existence remains directly linked to the audio visual presentation. And it is quite stunning. Forgetting altogether that we're speaking of a portable title here, Loco Roco 2 simply looks and sounds magnificent. It's bright and colorful like no other game and absolutely explodes off of the PSP's screen; the very definition of eye popping. The character design is overflowing with wonderful, spunky personality. And all the levels are distinct and highly memorable. Seriously, these visual designers deserve pay raises. And oh God that music... I mean, we're talkin' an easy soundtrack purchase should I ever run across it at Best Buy.

3.5 / 5

Written by :

Aaron

Points: -12

 

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edgeofblade

Loco Roco 2 Review Feb 26 2009 21:40:58 For me, the "more of the same" factor really brought it down. I just didn't feel compelled after a few levels. My wife too, and she loved the first Loco Roco.

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