Sometimes you see a game for the first time, and you're blown away; you know it's something special. A lot of times, these intuitions turn out to be wrong, the teaser trailers and screenshots and press releases overshadow the true quality of the game. And then, there are those games like echochrome, where your first gut instinct turns out to be right. When I first saw echochrome last July at E3, I was really impressed with the simplistic beauty of the idea, the genius design and originality of it. I got the demo as soon as I could, and when it came out for purchase last Thursday, I jumped at the chance. For $10, I have what I believe to be the greatest puzzle game since Tetris.

You are the Almighty wielding a Hammer of the Gods in the form of drums raging from the heavens. Patapon puts you in the role of the mystical commander of a group of faceless minions that march to the beat of your bongos and attack on your whim. This would all be incredibly sinister, if the little soldiers you command weren't so darned cute. Welcome to Patapon, the game that puts you in control of a determined warrior race that's as adorable and approachable as they are deadly.