LocoRoco 2 (PSP)

LOCOROCO 2 borrows heavily from the first title, in that you help colored blobs by tilting their environment so that they can roll through challenging environments and over obstacles to reach a goal. The player directs one of the seven LocoRoco so that they can collect fruit, nuts, and small insect-like creatures which act as the currency for the in-game minigames. The MuiMui characters (cartoon friends with tufts of hair) make a return in this title as well and are scattered throughout each level waiting to be rescued, and this time they have a house that you help build and decorate.

In addition to the standard levels where you tilt the world by pushing the left and right shoulder buttons which makes the LocoRoco roll, you can also play many smaller unlockable minigames within the main game. These range from helping to build the MuiMuis a new home (complete with furnishings), to picking a winner in a computer controlled race to the finish, to playing a whack-a-mole-type game involving square headed worm-like creatures. As you progress through levels, you collect items that can be used in the MuiMui house, as well as stamps and stamp cards for another collector-type minigame.

From the moment the game starts up, it pulls you in with its use of whimsical music, charming blob characters, and landscapes full of bright colors and shapes. The main game challenges you to solve puzzles by figuring out how to tilt the LocoRoco's world so that the blobs will roll and jump up in the right direction. At times, you even have to figure out how to divide a bigger blob into smaller organisms so that they can travel through small crevices and down tunnels. Adding a series of fun minigames to this inventive gameplay is like adding a layer of icing to an already delicious cake. Because both kids and adults will be intrigued by this game, family members may crowd around the PSP while waiting for their turn to let these colored blobs roll into their hearts.