Sony had a rather comfy-looking booth on the GDC show floor, with large 1080p screens and leather couches, perfect for sitting around and playing Devil May Cry 4 or Echochrome. Behind these were rows of PSPs with God of War: Chains of Olympus, and the charming surprise Patapon.

Echochrome was just as trippy as we’d hoped. By slowly maneuvering the viewing angle of an Escher-like pathway, you can allow a little mannequin to hit all of his shadowed marks. The five rules of Echochrome (which we first previewed here were demonstrated in a lengthy tutorial, but when it came time to use all five at once to pass each stage, some players at the show were quickly overwhelmed.

It seems like there are multiple solutions to Echochrome’s puzzles, and when the game is released, we’ll be sure to find Portal-like Youtube videos showing all sorts of shortcuts and cheats.

It was hard to get a sense of pacing in this timed demo (which lasted around 10 minutes), but the beautiful violin soundtrack created a calm and avant-garde mood. This is definitely a more highbrow, cerebral puzzler than we’re used to seeing on the PSN–it’s like the exact polar opposite of Pain.

Moving to the PSP, we found some extremely promising titles. God of War: Chains of Olympus was really satisfying, even though the grab move seemed limited to just one attack, and the forced analog stick controls weren’t perfect. But the graphics, sound, and combo-raking combat felt absolutely perfect, so it felt like very little had to be sacrificed to make the game work on PSP.

And then there’s Patapon, which could be an original smash hit evocative of 2006’s LocoRoco. Using the circle and square buttons, you lead a tiny army of one-eyed creatures as they hunt mammoths and other massive creatures. They respond to music, so you have to keep the beat to make them march forward or attack.

There is also an in-depth strategy element as well, since you outfit each little guy with the right equipment, starting from spears and working your way up to other, sharper implements.

Patapon has some of the catchiest music I’ve heard come out of the PSP since Lumines, so this is one title I’ll probably buy just to drive out the repetition. “Pata-pata-pata-pon” sends your army forward, and “pon-pon-pata-pon” urges them to attack.

Patapon seems to grow in complexity throughout, but even with just two drums keeping the beat, the game was fun and addictive. If only we could skip the cutscenes and get straight to the action!

This Sony lineup for the first half of 2008 certainly feels very promising, leaving little doubt that Playstation owners will be enjoying the wait for Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to drum up some support for my war against the mammoths.

Tags: echochrome, gdc-08, god_of_war, god_of_war_chains_of_olympus, mammoths, mannequin, patapon, promising_titles, puzzler

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