In case you were wondering, and are a fan of her work, yup, this is another masterpiece from Annathered, whose masterpieces we've featured a few times previously.

[Annathered @ Flickr, via GameSetWatch]

The PlayStation.Blog team have, as part of a contest they're running, posted five charming little Patapon masks for you to print out, cut out and use to play with your kids/rob your local convenience store.

You may want to improvise your own eyeholes, though. Three visible eyes might ruin the whole "cyclops" thing.

[Patapon Masks]

Ten new titles receive special packaging and a special $19.99 retail price come April 5th as part of Sony's 2009 PSP push. God of War, Patapon, and SOCOM: Tactical Strike are the only first-party titles to make the cut. Ubisoft represents with Tom Clancy's Advanced Warfighter 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas, while EA brings Fight Night Round 3 and Medal of Honor Heroes 2 to the party. Finally we have Sonic Rivals 2 from Sega, THQ's SpongeBob Squarepants: The Yellow Avenger, and Mortal Kombat: Unchained by way of Midway.

It bares noting that of the ten tiles here, only God of War and SOCOM currently retail for over $19.99 anyway, so eight of these titles are simply getting new packaging. Still, its the thought that counts, and I certainly won't scoff at the chance to get Chains of Olympus for half of the $39.99 GameStop is still charging for it.

Yes, Patapon 2 is coming stateside soon-ish—the official PlayStation blog says it's "in the horizon"—meaning a cyclopian Sackboy interpretation is overdue.

No word on when this guy will ship out to the PlayStation Store, but we're betting it's in advance of Patapon 2's street date.

PATAPON 2: It's Pata-Pata-Pata-ON!!!! [PlayStation.blog]

See? They're marching, relentlessly, on their way across his shoulders to hunt, then kill, his face. Cute, but for the first few mornings looking in the mirror, probably also a little terrifying.

Patapon Tattoo [Milano by Beer, via Wonderland]

The interview touches on a number of subjects, from how the idea for Patapon came into being and the actual development process; it's a fairly quick read at a mere four pages. On the simple versus deep conundrum, Kotani has this to say:

There's been a belief that a simple game can't be deep, and I think that a simple game can be deep; and, conversely, I think that a complicated game might be a shallow game, from a gameplay perspective — it just has a lot of complication. So, how do you see that issue, within development?

HK: The way I came up with a solution is to divide the game into two different layers. One is the very simple game, so that a player can clear the goal with just three commands. But for those users who want to play a deeper game, they can use weapons; they can collect equipment and weapons, to try to clear different missions, with different goals.

In addition to that, the basic idea of this game is about rhythm, so you have to beat the rhythm in the accurate way — and even though you are giving the command by beating the rhythm, you are also singing a song with the Patapons.

And so, it's not just a simple game: it's like creating the music with the Patapons, and that's what makes the deeper aspect of this game.

There are a couple of gems regarding game design later in the interview. Well worth a quick read.

If you missed our video interview from TGS, that's worth a peek as well.

The Rhythm of Creation: Hiroyuki Kotani and Patapon [Gamasutra]

That's $40 for one of them. So, yes, not cheap. And as with many of these kind of things, they're Japan-only, so if you want one, go cosy up to your local importer of all thing Japanese and knick-knackey. OH! And while we're on the subject of LocoRoco plushies...

We KNOW these exist, Sony. I took this photo at TGS, this year. Why you holding out on us, huh?

Pata Pata Patapon [Eegra]

Hit the jump for another look at Patapon 2.

Patapon 2 in Famitsu [2chan]

nolifedopestar, Paul M., Pat O., sander_dutch

Note: Answers or links were fine for this contest as we didn't specify.

1. Valve Party. http://kotaku.com/360423/drunk-guy-tries-to-steal-portal-song-at-valve-party
2. A Final Fantasy XIII 2008 release date. Final Fantasy XIII 2008 Release Date Rumors "Erroneous" http://kotaku.com/350801/final-fantasy-xiii-2008-release-date-rumors-erroneous
3. TheIrishNinja, EnigmaNemesis, Kirbytheslayer and PapaBear434. http://kotaku.com/338344/the-king-of-kommenter-finalists
4. Jamzy. http://kotaku.com/gaming/jamzy/japan-xbox-360-fanboy-replies-to-kotaku-readers-328260.php
5. Women dressed up like Santa. http://kotaku.com/gaming/ebay-madness/the-proper-way-to-gift-rock-band-327976.php
6. Master Chief chocolate. http://kotaku.com/338849/master-chief-is-made-of-chocolate
7. Seven. http://kotaku.com/342635/dont-let-totoro-die-we-can-wash-him

The answer to number seven is seven? Brilliant! As long as you didn't cheat, we don't care how you got the number seven — just as long as you did. Regarding where that number came from, it's in the text:

ONE: Mrs. Bashcraft points out the vague outline of Totoro's belly.
TWO: I make a beeline to the hotel, tell them what happened and ask for something to get it out.
THREE: A hotel attendant I spoke with ambles over, carrying a broom.
FOUR: The custodian returns, carrying a long pole he's fashioned out of two shorter ones.
FIVE: The hotel clerk now has a crow bar and is trying to get it under the manhole.
SIX: He can't, so he gives it to another hotel attendant, who is able to get it under the manhole cover.
SEVEN: He's hollering at a sanitation worker across the street, asking for a pair of gloves. He gets them and flips over the manhole covering.

And because this was an easy contest, you could've just counted the seven people in the pic and send that along (even though two of them are not helping!). Let me kick off the comments, "I hate that mean human, Bashcraft."

Oh, and apparently it's amazingly good.

So hit the jump for our Frankenreview on Patapon—every review you need to read before deciding that it's time to dust off that PSP after all.

Game Almighty
Your band of Patapon are controlled by issuing commands, which are nothing more than rhythm-based drumming performed with the four main PSP buttons. Want to move your Patapon forward? Press square-square-square-circle. Want to attack? Press circle-square-square-circle. Your ability to maintain perfect rhythm while issuing a variety of commands is the essence of Patapon. Now add to this mix that you have three types of Patapon, including close-combat axe-wielders, mid-range spear-throwers, and long-range archers and you now have strategic elements to consider...
GameDaily
It might sound a bit burdensome, especially if you don't usually get your kicks from strategy games, but this is not a game that gets bogged down in the details. You will have to do some management between levels, but the interface is clean and fun to use. Furthermore, the battles themselves are a delight, and using music to perform all of the commands is such a unique and enjoyable experience that just about anyone can get into it.
Variety
While music is the blood of "Patapon," the game's art direction, which combines cartoon silhouettes with a shadow-puppet look at times, helps make it captivating. The screen fills with these little one-eyed creatures as a gamer progresses through 30 levels, culminating in sweeping battles that are nearly as fun to watch as they are to orchestrate.
GameSpy
Patapon is like a cleverly designed trojan horse, built to sucker you in with cute graphics and then beat you down with its primal, rhythmic challenge. It's great fun, but you may find it tough to actually play the game on the go considering the amount of attention it requires.

GameSpot
Patapon is unlike any game that has come before it, and with a retail price that's half of what many PSP games sell for, our recommendation of this ingenious recipe that has been masterfully realized is a no-brainer.
It's good to see software titles that do the PSP's excellent hardware some justice. At $20, it seems like a must-buy.

We butcher a theme song and don't get invited to the best parties! Which party did we miss out on?

Good luck! Send your answers to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. The first four people to submit all seven answers to the email will win a bear. That's it, no deadline, no random drawing for finalists, so you better hurry the heck up.

Patapon (PSP)
Action plus rhythm plus great art style equals awesome.

Frontlines: Fuel of War (X360, PC)
Battle for control of the earth's depleted natural resources.

Lost: Via Domus (X360, PC, PS3)
Solve the mysteries of the island.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (X360, PC, PS3)
The Nazi's won WWII and boy are we in trouble.

Naruto: Ninja Destiny (DS)
A Naruto 3D fighter for your DS.

The Sims 2: FreeTime (PC)
Exactly what the Sims need. More free time. Bastards.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PS3)
The world of giant bugs comes to the PS3.

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed (WII)
Aliens and penis jokes: a winning combination.

Mazes of Fate DS (DS)
Determine your fate in this RPG with mazes.

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (WII)
Live (or die) through Agatha Christie's greatest mystery.

ArmA: Gold Edition (PC)
ArmA: Armed Assault and ArmA: Queen's Gambit together again for the first time.

Heavenly Guardian (PS2)
Animated 2D shooter action.

Puzzle Guzzle (PSP)
Guzzle this puzzle!

[via A Little Bit of Awesome on the Side]

Enough reading of this drivel. Make with the comments about your weekend gaming plans, pronto. Anyone going to grab a copy of Professor Layton this Sunday?

Patapon Pata-Price: $19.99 [PlayStation Blog]

As many of you already know, there was a special holiday card making the rounds ... and many first impressions started to pop up. One thing that caught our attention was how surprised some people were at the depth of gameplay and customizability, and that's without taking into account the topography of Patapolis and surrounding lands - - it's something fierce. Each mission will require special attention on troop formation, be it for hunting, or fighting huge monsters, or hijacking Zigoton WMDs - - it's hard out here for a Patapon.

The gameplay sounds like a blast and I can't get over how much I like the whole look of Patapon. The entry is a flying tour of some of the battlelicious aspects of the game, and worth a quick look if you've been keeping your eye on the game as some of us have been.

Patapost Friday: Pata-strategy [Playstation.Blog]