No sooner do we say that aloud, though, and Sony go and drop this on us. The LocoRoco 2 sweepstakes, which is offering LocoRoco stuff as part of the prize package. Sure, at the moment these are relegated to "prizes", but there's always the chance they'll later be offered to those who just want to pay money for them.

First is this novelty pen, which blends the pen of the 80's with the Sony handheld mascot of the 00's. Watch as, when you tilt the pen, the LocoRoco float around in their little plastic, fluid-filled prison world!

Following the pen is this stress toy. Which is really a balloon with a LocoRoco's face on it. Sounds tempting, but why would we want to squeeze a LocoRoco, Sony? They're the good guys. You should have made the stress toy one of the bad guys and...oh, right, Legal probably put a stop to that one.

LocoRoco 2: Don't Worry, Get Loco! Sweepstakes [PlayStation]

Following a PSP pricing strategy similar to the one SCEA used with the original Patapon, the sub-twenty dollar scheme may simply be a "please, please, please don't pirate this game." LocoRoco 2 lands in the United States and maybe even Canada on February 10 at that low, low price. Luke loved it, maybe you will too.

If you need any further incentives to pick up the game, Sony's also giving away demo vouchers at select retailers if you pre-order. What else can these people possibly do to get you to love them, already?

Get LocoRoco 2 for the Cost of Just Two Movie Tickets! [PlayStation.blog]

Already released just about everywhere else, LocoRoco 2 is of course the sequel to one of the happiest games ever to hit the PSP. When the first game was released you could tell when people were playing it by the goofy smilies on their faces. Now the second game is finally on its way stateside, according to SCEA producer Tsubasa Inaba in a post on the official PlayStation Blog.

Excited? Should you be? Check out Luke's review to see how he feels about the whole affair, and be sure to check out the video below for a Christmas Eve-sized dose of unintelligible yet adorable chanting.

LocoRoco 2 for PSP Rolling to North America Soon! [PlayStation.Blog]

Chief among them was the fact it played like a glorified tech demo, with very little to offer outside of a joyous control mechanism and a catchy theme song. Fast forward to 2008, and we’re presented with LocoRoco 2, the game’s long-awaited sequel, which has things a little harder than you’d think. Tinker with the perfect control scheme and you'd ruin the whole thing. Add too much to the bare-bones original and you'd ruin the game’s charming simplicity.

It's a knife's edge! Let’s hum a tune while skipping through to the review, see how LocoRoco 2 shapes up.

Loved
Flesh: Like I said, the first LocoRoco was a glorified tech demo. LocoRoco 2 feels like a game. It has a story, it has a variety of distractions to the main game, it has puzzle sections, it even has the odd boss fight. Oh, and — get this — a Mui Mui rearmament program. Crucially, however, you never feel like these are tacked on, or are a bit too much. They just feel right, like this is what LocoRoco should have been all along.

Curve: Seems some lessons were learned from the first game in terms of difficulty and progression. Actual level progression has been made easier, while for perfectionists, bonus items are now harder to find. Makes for a more enjoyable experience if you just want to blow through the game, and a more involving one if you want to find every hidden gem the game has to offer.

Hated
Expansion Pack: While the additions to the first game’s structure are welcome, they didn’t have to be so lazy with the rest of it. The bulk of the game – from music to menu screens to even some of the level templates – carry over from the first game. Not that this is entirely a bad thing, just would have been nice for a bit more new stuff for a game that’s been two years in the making.

These days, good PSP games are hard to find. Great ones, like this, are even harder. LocoRoco 2 strikes a near-perfect balance between holding onto the key qualities of the original and making all-around improvements, and if you’re a PSP owner starved for quality, original content on your handheld, you’re mad if you don’t at least give this game a look.

LocoRoco 2 was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released on November 21 in Europe (US release TBC). Retails for £29.99 (USD$44). Played single player story mode to completion.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Until November 21st, the self-explanatory Games.co.uk is hosting an 'official minigame' demo with a selection of levels for you to ooze and flop around.

All the usual LocoRoco oddness is present and correct - if you are not humming the 'You've got some musical notes' theme after five minutes you have a stronger will than I.

LocoRoco 2 flash mini-game[Eurogamer via Wired]

I sped through a single level of the game at Tokyo Game Show earlier this week and quickly found myself falling back in love with the cute graphics and catchy nonsense music. The controls remain great and, unless my imagination was playing tricks on me, feel a bit more responsive than the first time through.

The basic controls of the game remain the same. You're still tilting and bumping the playing field to get your LocoRoco to move around. There are still some hidden areas and the occasional enemy you have to either avoid or flatten with your globularness. I did stumble across what I believe is a new sort of creature. A bee of sorts that if you fail to avoid stings you. When your LocoRoco gets a sting a little red-tipped welt forms on the creature. Every time the LocoRoco rolls over his sticky-outtie bump he sort of cries. It's quite endearing and made me both laugh in surprise the first time and feel just a little bit bad.

I also ran across a couple of the mini rhythm games. In them you have to tap a face button to a rhythm, trying to land a series of music notes which you collect for some reason unknown to me.

Like I said, more of the same but in a very wonderful way.

Personally, I loved the game. It was packed with character, catchy music and made-up language. LocoRoco 2 looks to be all of that and more. Maybe, just maybe, a bit too much more, but really we'll have to wait to see.

To kick off his demo of the game Kouno brought up a level and showed us the familiar blob bopping along the cartoon landscape. The controls are the same, but now there are some new additions to the characters' moves. You can, for instance, now swim though water levels with the same sort of controls.

Another addition, an odd one, is the ability to go to an "afro tree" to select an afro that you can ride throughout the game.

"When in the hair you can move faster," he said.

The game also introduces a new Locoroco named Viole. The "confident tomboy" plays rock music and her particular brand of the game's nonsense language is said to have a slight German accent. Luke, who was in the interview with me, swears her song sounded like 99 Luftballons. But I think maybe it was the jet lag.

Another welcome addition is the creation of a Mui Mui house. Actually, the state we saw the thing in, the near fully-upgraded version, looked more like a Mui Mui apartment.

The house is created with the things your collect as you play through the game.

"Initially there is only one Mui Mui and one room, over time you can expand the house and add more Mui and it becomes very vibrant," he said.

The house we saw was packed with all sorts of things from tubs, to closets to bells to furniture, some of which you interact with. You could, for instance get Mui Mui to put on clothes, or draw them to a room by ringing a bell. As your home grows so do the pay offs. For instance you can eventually unlock a movie theater that will play movies. Kouno showed us a few seconds of a "clay" movie featuring LocoRoco. He said the movie was made by an outside development team and runs five minutes long.

The basement of the home also allows you to unlock certain hidden stages in the game which are much, much harder to beat.

"The main game is very simple but hidden stages are very difficult," he said.

Of all the things they showed us for the game only one thing disappointed me. Kouno said those songs seen in the original game as a sort of cut scene are now fully interactive.

"They're like a rhythm game," he said.

Personally, I'd prefer them to be non-interactive. Those songs were a sort of pay off for me at the end of each section of the map and I enjoyed sitting back to listen to them.

The new game will also be a bit shorter, with only 25 levels, but you can also replay through the stages in different modes, like racing or quests.

There was also a bit of news shaking loose before the show officially kicked off. Here's the run down:

Microsoft Has Over 140 Demo Kiosks, Buddies With Square Enix
Patapon 2 Helps You Keep Your Groove
Xbox Japan Booth Babes Adore New Booth Babe Outfit
Sorry, But Ninja Blade Is *Not* Otogi 3
Banjo Kazooie's Japan Inspired Backpack
LocoRoco 2: Afros, Home, Luft Balloons and Water
Loads Of LocoRoco 2 Screenshots
LocoRoco 2's Number One Fan
Let's Patapon 2 Multiplayer

"......"

So...yeah, LocoRoco 2 looks pretty neat, and...uh, Mr. Kouno? Hello?

"......"

So went some parts of today's interview with Tsutomu Kouno. Just a few. And the guy wasn't being rude at all. He's a really sharp, really nice guy. He was just totally into LocoRoco 2. Couldn't stop tapping his feet during the new rhythm-action sections, couldn't stop humming along to the new character's songs.

It's great to see that, despite having done nothing but work on LocoRoco for the past 3-4 years, Kouno can still completely lose himself in the game. It's definitely a lot more encouraging sign for the game than any bullet point or press release could ever manage.

LocoRoco 2, Patapon 2, NBA 09: Inside, Super Stardust Portable, Buzz! Master Quiz, Valkyria Chronicles and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Remix.

"We've always felt that the PSP was one of the keys to Sony owning the living room," Tretton said.

According to details translated by 1UP, LocoRoco 2 looks to stick to the formula of the first pretty closely, with new music, new bosses and the ability to bite more things — that's a bullet point, for sure — topping the list of new features. Following sequel evolution tradition, your Locos can now swim. Amazing how that always seems to take an iteration or two.

LocoRoco 2 Confirmed, Detailed [1UP]

The good news is that it's due this year, at least according to Claire Backhouse, a product manager for Sony Computer Entertainment UK. It was casually mentioned as one of the games that will inspire PSP owners to think "Oh yeah, I own a PSP" in a recent chat with MCV.

With the PlayStation 3 entry in the series, LocoRoco Cocoreccho, little more than a glorified screen saver, we hope that Kouno and team have something interesting planned for the PSP sequel. Perhaps something that takes advantage of all those new PSP accessories?

PS we love you [MCV]