« Super Mario Bros. 3 Famicom Video Blog Test | Main | Video Blog : Katamari Daimacy »
Review : Katamari Daimacy for PS2
Katamari Daimacy for PS2 is a damn fine damn wierd game that every video game players should have and play. It is a creative puzzle game that does not confirm to any existing genera or artisitic style. It is a pure example of wild wacky Japanese game design and because of this it delivers a gameplay experiance that is the thing of cult gaming legends. It is a true family game in that it is fun for all ages. That is not meaning that it is a stupid juvenile kids game but a smart sexy stupid sarcastic juvenile game that gamers aged six to sixty can enjoy.
The story a a weird one. You see there is a giant stupid God like ... well God thing called the King of All Cosmos. He has a cylinder shaped head and a glorious cape. He accidently destroyed all the stars in the sky so he sent is tiny cylinder shaped son down to Earth to roll up objects into spheres to replace the stars in the sky. It sort of a creation myth on crack with super surreal Japanese whimsical dementia. It can be enjoyed by both little kids and those with art history degrees and a specialty in surreal absurd dadaist art.
In the game you play the tiny Prince who must roll around a special horned ball called a Katamari. The ball is driven by the twin analog sticks and is actually a lot like driving a tank in the old Atari arcade game Battlezone . There is some nice physics and you end up rolling around the ball like a twisted game of Marble Madness . These environments are littered and filled to the brim with little objects that you must pick up with the Katamari. If you pick up oddly shaped objects this affects the roll of the Katamari. As the ball gets bigger you can pick up larger object and go to different parts of the area. The King sends you to Earth and gives you five to ten minutes to make a ball of a specified size. There is no point system but there is lots of replay value as you try to make the biggest ball of junk in the amount of time.
The graphics are cute and have a simplistic Dadaist design. The Katamari balls get huge and you end up rolling up entire towns in the later levels. The music is just as weird and refreshing as the game. There is scat, acid jazz, ambient techno and ska song on the soundtrack.
The game has spawned a sequel on the PS2 and a PSP game just came out in Japan. There was rumors of a Nintendo DS game but those are just rumors at this point.
It is easy to learn, refreshing, weird and as addictive as chocolate covered crack. Much like SpongeBob SquarePants it can be best enjoyed by kids and stoned college students. It is easy to pick up and as an addictive as Tetris . It is sort of a puzzle game unlike any other puzzle game out there. Think of it as Pac-Man for the twenty first century. I feel it... I feel the cosmos.
Jake at January 8, 2006 
Reviews
Comments
I like the game too, but I wouldn't give it the HUGE AMOUNT of attention that it got from mostly US-sites.
It's a quirky little game but it couldn't interest me for more than a few hours of fun gameplay.
Posted by: Jim at January 9, 2006 2:38 PM
