December 10, 2004 - Konami's may be the king of rhythm games, but Namco's TAIKO: Drum Master has taken a serious run for throne in Japan. The firm recently released an American edition of TAIKO for the PlayStation 2 and now our handsets and about to feel the beat, thanks to this week's release of the cellphone TAIKO: Drum Master.

TAIKO: Drum Master is an incredibly simple game -- in theory. You must tap numbered keys to the beat of a song; each number corresponds to a specific part of the taiko drum. On default, the center of the drum is "4," the outside rim is "6," and to smash it hard with both sticks is "5." Occasionally, you must jam on the keys to complete drum rolls. How do you know when and what to hit? A scrolling meter in the center of the screen displays the correct hits. When the drum icon is enters the marked space on the far left, hit the appropriate key.

The way to win TAIKO: Drum Master is not just to hit the right keys, but to do so for as long as humanly possible. Combos are the best way to fill up your rhythm scale. If you can pass "clear" without too many flubbed beats, you move on to the next song.

Of course, any rhythm game is going to live or die by its songs. TAIKO: Drum Master lacks the licensed music of its console big brother. Instead, you're treated to some classic selections like to opening of "Carmen" and Beethoven's 5th. And there are original Namco scores, too, such as the theme to Mappy and Rally-X. These aren't the most engaging tracks, but they're good treats for serious Namco fans.

TAIKO: Drum Master is actually pretty hard. The game requires you to learn the songs through repeatedly play. And it seems that -- at least on our test LG VX7000 -- there is a oh-so-slight delay between pressing the button and having it register in-game. So, what you need to do is hit the button just as the drum icon slides into the left position. It takes some getting used to, but once you have the hang of it, you'll be fine.