Loco Roco

My initial reaction to learning about Loco Roco was, "Sure, I'd like to try that." And why not? You control a blob. In search of other blobs. So as to merge into one huge glob. That you can have roll, jump, split up and recombine just to get to the end of each level, occasionally singing in jibberish on the side.

On the surface it sounds silly. No, that's not quite right. It'splenty silly. But if you've ever seen the screenshots or gameplay footage or have actually tried your hand at the game, it's hard not to be won over. The game's beyond charming. It's downright adorable, and quite accessible, to boot. It's an offbeat platformer -- equal parts obstacle course and puzzler -- with possibly the easiest control mechanism in the history of video games, requiring little other than using the PSP's shoulder buttons. Yet there's plenty of challenge to be had as well, especially for the completion- or speed obsessed gamer.

Yes, it's easy enough to lose oneself in this Loco Roco world, and for much, much more than just a silly season.