$12.00

Summary Use your skills... to be the best gamer.

Description As any true video gamer is well aware, the Japanese market and the US market are completely different. While first person shooters are all the rage here, quite often dating simulations lead the way in Japan. Companies like Treasure make some amazing, although weird, games that seldom do well in the US. Needless to say, Namco is taking a big chance with their new game Katamari Damacy – even the name is still in Japanese. For those of you not fluent or who don't have a press sheet next to you, translated into English, it's called "clump of souls," but somehow I don't think anyone would be purchasing that game. When you put the game in, you will be treated to one of the oddest opening themes ever. It will also stick in your head for years to come. Don't even think about hitting the start button until you see the opening movie -- it is bizarre yet hysterical. After going through that movie you, are then taken to a tutorial. You see, the back story behind the game is this: The King of the Cosmos destroyed all of the stars in the sky and it's up to the young Prince to restore the galaxy. (See, you can tell this is a Japanese game because it's always up to a young protagonist to save something). You begin by moving around your Katamari using both sticks on the PS2 controller. If you've ever played the arcade version of Battlezone or Virtual On, you know how to handle the twinsticks. Like that big rubber band ball you have in your house, you start off with a very small Katamari. As you roll your ball around, things will cling to it and make it bigger. As it gets larger, it is able to pick up larger things. Of course during the game you'll be treated to some great Engrish translations like "We brake it." Truly, it wouldn't be a Japanese game without it! Oh you also need hearts, and this game has those too. In the first level you start off on planet earth. Your ball attracts all kinds of items, including thumbtacks, 'milk candy,' chocolate, butterflies, ants, dice and more. A quick hit of the pause button tells you the number of items you've collected and the breakdown of the items. For example on my first go round, I had 42% snacks on my Katamari, 12% stationary, and 12% tools. You need to avoid living things because if you hit something moving around, you will lose some of the items in your clump. If you pick up weird objects, you could make your Katamari lopsided and make it tougher to control. Are you weirded out yet? Or are you intrigued? It gets weirder, believe me. The ball you collect, in my case 10cm, gets taken up into the sky as a star. You then compete again to get a certain sized Katamari in a specific amount of time. As you progress through the levels, you'll get more and more items to put into your ball. You'll also have to 'charge' your ball to blast through some walls of paper or walls of batteries or walls of Lego-type things. Graphics in the game remind me of playing Toy Story on the Dreamcast. Nothing fancy, but they'll definitely suffice. The sound in the game would get a 100 by me; it is nothing short of incredible. It's all original music and the music gets into your head from the theme song to the gameplay, not in an annoying way but in a good way. The music and the sound effects (especially when you roll over certain items) are fantastic. The gameplay is fun but brief. You'll be able to finish the game pretty quickly, but there is replay value in that you're always competing against yourself for a bigger ball to throw up in the galaxy. There's also a two player mode where you can compete for the biggest ball. In addition to everything listed above, the game only $19.99. For twenty bucks, this is a very easy game to recommend. If you like a combination puzzle/action/strategy game with some bizarre Japanese touches, you are going to love this game. If you have no interest, I think you should definitely give it a chance, at least rent it. You have no idea what sort of pleasure you'll get from rolling over humans, ants and rainbows until you try it with your Katamari! Review Page Hits: 1 today (2 in the last 30 days) Create Your Own Review or