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295w ago - The bulbous, bouncy blobs known as LocoRoco are back, though things are a bit different this time. The tilting mechanics of the original PSP title have been replaced with an interesting new control scheme, and the minimalist gameplay is even simpler this time around. But really, it's all about the agreeably goopy globules that spread charm across your screen, and it's hard not to be taken with them. At $6.99, this PlayStation Network download feels a bit overpriced for a single (albeit large) level, but the few hours of gaming you'll get out of it are rewarding and strangely compelling.
If you played the original LocoRoco, you'll immediately notice the changes in mechanics. Rather than tilting the playfield to move your LocoRocos, you move a cursor in the form of a butterfly around the screen. When you press the circle button, you call any Locos in range in your direction, and if you tap the button, they will jump toward your cursor.
You begin the game with a single LocoRoco, and your goal is to awaken the remaining 199 blobs by getting other Locos to bump into them. The level itself is set up like a huge, complex Rube Goldberg contraption, complete with trampolines, moving platforms, water bubbles, wind gusts, and all sorts of other elements that send your screwy spheres careening across the screen. Once...