Coming hard on the heels of the cooperative effort with Nintendo that spawned Donkey Konga , Namco now goes it alone and releases an amazingly similar package for the PS2. Of course there are no licensed Nintendo characters in this one, but Namco managed to put in plenty that are even more cloyingly cute. And while it is a lot of fun to play for a while, Taiko Drum Master ultimately is not quite as satisfying to play as its Nintendo/Namco brother.

In Japanese “Taiko” means “big, fat drum.” While drumming has long been a tradition in Japan, the art of Taiko drumming is only about half a century old. The spectacle of the Taiko drummer has become very popular in Japan. And as with anything popular in Japanese culture, could a video game version of it be far behind? Namco made the first Taiko drumming games for arcades. It brought the experience home in Japan on the PS2 in 2002 as Taiko no Tatsujin. Now, after two years and a little localization, the same game comes to the USA as Taiko Drum Master.

The software package comes with the game, drum, stand and a pair of bachi (drumming sticks). The drum is held at approximately a 45-degree angle by the stand. It has sensors in the right and left hemispheres of the actual drum head as well as left and right sensors on the rim of the drum. The bachi are used to beat on the drum head and rim. No banging with your hands or clapping like in Donkey Konga.

In the main mode of the game, the player follows notes that scroll across the screen from right to left and strike the appropriate part of the drum when the note is within the frame at the far left of the screen. There are two basic notes: a “Boom” head strike and a “Tap” rim strike. When one of these notes reaches the frame it does not matter which hemisphere of the drum is struck, only that a head or rim strike is appropriately timed. Variations on the notes include a double Boom, double Tap, drum rolls that can be performed on the drum head or rim and “Burst” notes, which are balloons the player pops by doing a drumhead roll. The player is rated as great, good, bad or outright miss on the note depending on how well he timed his strike. Striking a series of notes correctly, without missing any, results in high-scoring combos. Players of all skill levels can participate as the game sports easy, medium, hard and even an unlockable demon mode. Considering how difficult (not to mention humbling and embarrassing) the hard level is, there is no way I’ll be trying the demon level anytime soon.

There is a two-player mode that has drummers beating the drums to their own unique set of notes on the screen. This two-player mode also brings out one more note called a “Pair Note.” The Pair Note requires both players to strike the note at the same time.

Since this is a rhythm game there has to be music, right? Taiko Drum Master has over thirty songs to play. The majority are open at the beginning of the game, but a handful must be unlocked through gameplay. The songs are a little more focused than Donkey Konga’s offerings. Rock songs from the past three decades make up the lion’s share of tunes. There are also a few classical selections and a kid’s medley. The coolest selections are some of the Namco game music, including the theme from Katamari Damacy.

The gameplay modes also include three mini games. Watermelon Eating and Fireworks Festival require little more than fast drumming on the head with an occasional rim tap to avoid an attack or dispose of a bomb, but Reach The Helicopter requires a bit more skill in order to balance a growing column of wolves in a stiff breeze as they try to reach a hovering helicopter. (Yes, I do know how silly what I just wrote sounded!)

Graphically the game is not going to receive high praises. The visuals are adequate to facilitate the gameplay and are overflowing with sickeningly cute little creatures like anthropomorphized drums, sticks and animals, as well as stylized children. During play, the gamer’s attention is firmly fixed on the moving notes. Everything else populating the screen was apparently done purely for the entertainment of spectators. The colors are bright and vibrant and definitely convey a party mood.

Sound is okay. The house bands that perform the music are pretty good. Striking the drum gives a very satisfying deep boom. The voices that emanate from the small creatures could have been dropped all together.

It is inevitable that comparisons are going to be drawn between Taiko Drum Master and Donkey Konga. After all, Namco developed them both. If you have only a PS2 or only a GameCube, the choice is simple and you’ll enjoy either one you buy for the drumming experience that is about as pick-up-and-play as you can get in this day and age. But if you own both a PS2 and a GameCube, the choice becomes a little more complicated. In my opinion, Taiko Drum Master offers a better mix of music, though both offer approximately the same number of tunes. There are more unlockables to collect in Donkey Konga and the mini games are better. But of course the core of both of these games is the drumming experience, and for that I have to go with Donkey Konga. The distinct left and right drums along with the clapping function just seem to make it more fun.