LocoRoco [PSP]

Truly great PSP games have been few and far between this year, but players will soon receive a gift with the release of Loco Roco. This very Japanese puzzle/exploration title has already seen a lot of enthusiastic press, but every new level we play makes us want to reveal the entire game even more.

In case you've missed the gushing during the past year, Loco Roco is a yellowish blob that grows when fed; the goal is to use the shoulder buttons to tilt an alien world left and right, allowing Loco to roll to safety. Loco can jump as well (less so when extremely fat) and can be split into a group of smaller blobs, then reunited, to pass through small passages.

The first few levels of the game do an excellent job of introducing the basics -- how the world can frequently be tilted only so far to the right or left, making you use momentum and smartly-timed jumps to access some out of reach areas. Even early on, hidden caves and ledges abound; breakable floors and ceilings will reveal some, but others require Loco to roll right through a seemingly solid wall to find a secreted room.

There are a couple reasons to find hidden areas. They might contain one of the three MuiMui hidden in each level, which award pieces of Loco's house when found. Or they'll contain one or more of the 20 food pieces in each level. Each one allows Loco to grow by one point, which will ensure that Loco is large enough to survive attack. And certain areas will only be accessible when Loco is large enough, as indicated by a balloon with a number near the entrance. If Loco's size is equal or larger to the key size, he'll break into smaller blobs and sing to open the area.