That’s right it’s time for another installment of LocoRoco, one of the most insane games on a hand held since, well I’m not quite sure. I for one, am incredibly excited.

In LocoRoco you take the roll of an incredibly happy go lucky…well blob, for lack of a better term. Via some very innovative controls, (using the L an R keys on your PSP you ’tilt’ the screen to enable yourself to roll around, across and over obstacles.) By chowing down on food scattered through the levels you grow in size and accumulate a form of points.

It’s puzzle platforming done right, though I use the term platforming loosely.

The screaming often accompanied by the actions in the game are all voiced by children too, it’s a sort of wacky notion but works well with the theme of the game, to really lead you into a frivolous care free sort of… childishness. Now as simple as those controls sound, you will find yourself shouting and yelling in frustration as you don’t properly time your maneuvers.

Certain times the game will have you attempting to tilt quickly to bounce yourself into the air, splitting apart into smaller versions of yourself to get through narrow spaces, or to float on a strong gust of wind; it’s all very clever. However as clever as this is; it is also very difficult in parts, especially in bonus areas when attempting to gather extra food.

There are other characters in the game that you will interact with though that’s the key phrase, interact. You need to figure out how to make use of the other things you find in the game, which may help progress the plot along, or open up secret areas for you to explore and collect more friends.

In the first game; there were 6 of our giant LocoRoco friends to play as; the sequel brings a big purple friend along for the party. A couple new areas also come our way with new themes and layouts from the previous game and some new mini-games as well that are incredibly adorable.

LocoRoco 2 debuted in December over in Japan, where I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of it from a friend of mine. However for those of us who don’t have a friend in the Navy, it will be coming to our shores February 10th. Though if you’re itching to play it now, word is at your local Gamestop you can pre-order to get your hands on a demo of it, made available through Sony’s Playstation Network.

I still can’t get enough of those kids singing and screaming though.

-The Reverend Lei