Rollin Rollin Rollin...
Every now and then I'll find a game with such innovative play and sheer brilliance it makes me stand up, wipe a tear from my eye, and applaud my television. This weekend I found one of these rare treasures; a little gem eclipsed by all the blockbuster sequels and mega studio productions. I speak of none other than Katamari Damacy for the PS2.
I had heard of this game's existence several times and felt no need to rush out and add it to my collection, but then I thought of Viewtiful Joe. VJ was a game I loved passionately and still do, but no one else seemed have heard about it or gave it due credit. "Could this be another masterpiece of video game art?" I thought. With the game's low price of $20 it didn't hurt to find out.
IT IS! Katamari Damacy is the story of a young prince (green with "T" shaped head and only a few centimeters tall) charged with the task of helping the "King of all Cosmos" replace the absent stars in the sky. This is done by rolling a ball (Katamari) over items until the ball has amassed the desired size of the king. The king then releases your katamari into the sky to create a star.
The brilliance of the title lies in the simplicity of its controls and the scope of the game. Rolling the katamari requires maneuvering the analog sticks... that's it. No button mashing or memorizing controls, just point the sticks in the direction you want to roll and it shall be done.
The scope of the game is so vast, it really is impressive. You must build up your katamari by rolling over items, but your ball must be a certain size before you can roll over larger objects. For example, you would start rolling over small things like thumb tack, dice, and pencils until you've reached a certain size. Then you work your way up to pots, cabbages, toilet paper, etc. It goes on and on. In one level, I began picking up cans of ham and bananas and 20 minutes later I was rolling up whole buildings and mountains.
The sound track also fits with the game perfectly. Anyone who has ever played Jet Set Radio on Dreamcast or Xbox will immediately notice the similar feel of majority of the songs. Every track has the Japanese aesthetic. From the "blip bleep" electronic instruments to the easy listening love songs with lyrics like, "I wanna roll you up into my life...". Almost as addicting as the game play, the game's main theme song will have you singing, "Nah nah nah nah..." all day.
Check out some screenshots and videos of the game in action here.
Katamari Damacy is one of the most original games ever created. If you are not one to buy games that don't have a 3 trillion dollar budget or ad campaign that canvases the globe; expand your gaming horizons and take a chance with this game, you won't be sorry. With the quirky characters, addicting game play, and intuitive controls, this game is a must have for any PS2 owner; and for only $20 it is definitely a bargain.
I had heard of this game's existence several times and felt no need to rush out and add it to my collection, but then I thought of Viewtiful Joe. VJ was a game I loved passionately and still do, but no one else seemed have heard about it or gave it due credit. "Could this be another masterpiece of video game art?" I thought. With the game's low price of $20 it didn't hurt to find out.
IT IS! Katamari Damacy is the story of a young prince (green with "T" shaped head and only a few centimeters tall) charged with the task of helping the "King of all Cosmos" replace the absent stars in the sky. This is done by rolling a ball (Katamari) over items until the ball has amassed the desired size of the king. The king then releases your katamari into the sky to create a star.
The brilliance of the title lies in the simplicity of its controls and the scope of the game. Rolling the katamari requires maneuvering the analog sticks... that's it. No button mashing or memorizing controls, just point the sticks in the direction you want to roll and it shall be done.
The scope of the game is so vast, it really is impressive. You must build up your katamari by rolling over items, but your ball must be a certain size before you can roll over larger objects. For example, you would start rolling over small things like thumb tack, dice, and pencils until you've reached a certain size. Then you work your way up to pots, cabbages, toilet paper, etc. It goes on and on. In one level, I began picking up cans of ham and bananas and 20 minutes later I was rolling up whole buildings and mountains.
The sound track also fits with the game perfectly. Anyone who has ever played Jet Set Radio on Dreamcast or Xbox will immediately notice the similar feel of majority of the songs. Every track has the Japanese aesthetic. From the "blip bleep" electronic instruments to the easy listening love songs with lyrics like, "I wanna roll you up into my life...". Almost as addicting as the game play, the game's main theme song will have you singing, "Nah nah nah nah..." all day.
Check out some screenshots and videos of the game in action here.
Katamari Damacy is one of the most original games ever created. If you are not one to buy games that don't have a 3 trillion dollar budget or ad campaign that canvases the globe; expand your gaming horizons and take a chance with this game, you won't be sorry. With the quirky characters, addicting game play, and intuitive controls, this game is a must have for any PS2 owner; and for only $20 it is definitely a bargain.
posted by Garry at 9:17 AM
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