By David Craddock

Namco has announced that their latest software product, [i]Taiko: Drum Master[/i], has shipped to retailers and should be available sometime tomorrow, 10/27.

“With whimsical graphics, interactive gameplay, recognizable licensed music and all around excitement, [i]TAIKO: Drum Master[/i] provides fun for players of all ages,” said Garry Cole, executive vice president at Namco Hometek Inc. “We are delighted to offer [i]TAIKO: Drum Master[/i] to consumers this fall.”

[i]Taiko: Drum Master[/i] teaches players the art of the Japanese drum: the taiko. This is done through a miniature Taiko controller attached to the PlayStation2. Points are earned by correctly tapping the rhythm of a selected song on the edge and surface of the Taiko controller. Perhaps even more appealing to many gamers is the 2-player mode, which will allow two gamers to pound out tunes in head-to-head competition.

[i]Drum Master[/i] offers 30+ songs in its diverse library, which includes “oldies but goodies” as well as current hits.