My newest wacky controller acquisition arrived today: Topway’s Drummania controller for PSX and PS2.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love music games. You get the satisfaction of playing music in a short attention span-friendly format. These games still take time to master, but not nearly as much as conquering a real instrument.

Similar to Konami’s other Bemani titles, the object in Drummania is to monitor a series of scrolling drum indicators. When an indicator reaches the line at the bottom of the screen, the player must hit the corresponding drum pad (or foot pedal). The game can even be combined with Guitar Freaks into “Session Play” with up to three players. (One on drums, two on guitar.)

The Drummania series isn’t the biggest hit in North American arcades, but if you have a Japanese PS2 or a mod chip, you can import the game for some great drumming fun at home. (Game: about US$50, Third-party controller: about US$30)