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.The Wargamer

I had recently watched Zatoichi and, inspired by its fantastic festival scene, had been in the mood to pound on some drums. Being neither a drummer nor rhythmically inclined, I figured that the urge, along with so many other random wantings, would be filed away, never to be thought about again. But, lo and behold, what showed up shortly after was none other than Namco's TAIKO: Drum Master, one of those new-fangled rhythm games. The difference here is that, instead of jumping on a mat or in front of a camera, the game is played utilizing a drum, along with two large, plastic drumsticks. Featuring a snazzy little cartoon drum for a mascot, among a few other odd characters, I soon found myself ignoring whatever shame I may feel at going to town on Britney Spear's Toxic while little noodle-like cartoon drumstick characters danced to the smiley face beat icons that I was pounding into oblivion. Namco: Introducing yet another excellent electronic way to drive your neighbors insane and embarrass those around you.

Split up into two sections, the drum consists of the center portion and the outer ring, with the player having to alternate between the two whenever called necessary. The songs are represented by musical notes that have either a red'ish or blue smiley face: the red faces require beating the drum in the center and the blue require hitting the outer edge. The icons will alternate between the standard size, as well as a large (for pounding - I went with double sticks) and elongated faces to represent rapid beatings (a drumroll). Ah, yes, it sounds so simple.

Just as I foolishly approach every other rhythm game - with the notion that it isn't a big deal and certainly won't require much more then a little memorization - I was, again, quickly put in check. One play-through of Symphony No. 5 and I was reaching for a glass of water and an inhaler. With each song having three difficulty levels, and songs ranging in overall difficulty, those not so much inclined in keeping a beat by means of

physical activities will want to start slow. Also, be wary of KC And The Sunshine Band, for their up-tempo and poppy track is like a musical possum, just waiting for a foolish player to try and take it on unprepared, only to leave them out of breath and cursing the funk. Dastardly.

The initial set of tracks is fairly decent, representing a solid range of musical styles. Among the previously mentioned tracks by Britney Spears and Beethoven, there are also tracks from Johanes Brahms, Jet, the B-52s, the Jimmy Neutron theme, and even some gaming scores, like tunes from Soul Calibur II, Dragon Spirit, and Katamari Damacy. Each performance is ranked by accuracy, with the better performances being rewarded with hidden tracks being unlocked. There are 31 tracks, so, of course, there will be a few not-so-hot inclusions (ie. Lady Marmalade and Tubthumbing). The inclusion of gaming tracks really helped to overshadow the poorer selections.

There are also a few minigames included. The most bizarre, and difficult, involves monkeys forming a monkey ladder up to a helicopter, with the player acting as wind to keep the ladder stable. There is also one involving chewing up pieces of watermelon and spitting out the seeds. The other, and my personal favorite, involves a character putting fireworks down and the player hitting the drum to light them, with the goal being to hit the inside of the drum to light and to hit the outer rim to kick off the bombs that are placed on the stand - each successive placement is faster and faster and, barring any mishaps with bombs, the lightshow over a city backdrop becomes more and more impressive as designs are formed by the explosions in the sky. The games are simple, but incredibly addictive.

I did, however, have problems with the outer rim shots registering. The remedy to this, I found, is to beat the hell out of the drum - which also makes menu navigation a bit cumbersome. The center portion doesn't take nearly as much pressure to register contact as the outside, and that results in the plastic stand not being able to hold the drum in place properly, requiring adjustments every few minutes. This also makes the game impossible to play if you live near anyone else. While you might be having a blast getting in the zone with a Ridge Racer track, anyone around you will want to beat you with the sticks. Gamers in apartments, I really doubt you will be able to play this. Those in a small house close or those with a few feet separating houses, you may get away with it. For close environments, this is really a party game, because with nothing to mask the constant pounding, some complaints will be filed or unsavory folk will be showing up at your door. Sadly, the cute drum and drumstick cartoon characters won't excise the insanity that has gripped the guy below you after hearing constant thumpings for two hours.

There is a way around the noise of the drums, and that is not to use them. TAIKO is completely playable with a standard controller, which will be how most two-player games will go down (though two drum controllers can be used at the same time), but, naturally, the game isn't nearly as much fun that way.

Overall: 8/10
Be very wary of purchasing this if you aren't sure that there is adequate space between you and your neighbors. The game requires heavy hitting, and while the drum controller can take the beating, I'm not sure those nearby can. If, however, you can safely play this without fear of retribution, by all means give it a shot. The quirky cartoon characters perfectly accentuate the action, and with a solid catalogue of tracks, including several tunes from other Namco games, and a trio of quirky mini games, there is plenty to enjoy. The game is a giant novelty, but, like all great gaming novelties, it's addictive and great with a group of friends.

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