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Beautiful Katamari
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Genre: Action
Release Date: October 15, 2007
Platform: Xbox 360
Reviewer: Eric
A few months ago I picked up an over priced copy of
Katamari
Damacy for the Playstation 2. Why would I pay over thirty
dollars for a used game? I played the demo for Beautiful
Katamari on the Xbox 360 and I loved it. Now with my copy of
Katamari Damacy collecting dust it was time to pick up Beautiful
Katamari.
 The
same story line is intact here in Beautiful Katamari. It is up
to the Prince to set things right by
fixing the stars. A black
hole is created after a tennis match went wrong with your
parents. Yup if you didn’t get the hint from above you need to
fix everything, get ready to roll up candy and dogs because this
time there is a whole lot more you can roll up into your
Katamari.
When you first start the game you have to roll up little
items to make your Katamari bigger. When it gets bigger you can
start picking up larger items. There are times when you play
this game and it doesn’t seem like you’ll be able to beat a
stage, but don’t worry. Once you “level up”, when the screen
does some weird flash, you are able to pick up bigger items. You
may not be able to beat stages on your first try and that may be
frustrating, but stink with it. I had to play through some
stages a few times to finally beat it and once I did my score
destroyed the amount I needed to pass.
Co-op mode is terrible; each person gets to control one stick on
your controller. This mode is off line only and it is safe to
say most people will stay away from this. It is different, but
trying to use one controller in this game, with two people, is
nerve wrecking. Multiplayer mode on the other hand is a
completely different story. Each person has a Katamari and they
need to collect a certain item to win the stage. To make sure
your opponent doesn’t win you need to run into their Katamari by
simply pushing back and fourth on the two thumb sticks. This
mode is a lot of fun and it makes you forget about the lame
co-op mode that is in Beautiful Katamari.
 The
game play is just like the other Katamari game I reviewed. What
is nice about this game is the
achievement points that you can
unlock. Some of these might seem impossible to get, but that
gives half the re-play value here. You will defiantly be playing
this one a lot, the game may be short in general but it is
something different.
There is not a whole lot of change with the
graphics. Everything
seems to be more polished this time around and the amount of
items you can pick up has grown. From the time I started playing
this game I didn’t notice too many glitches or clipping issues,
Beautiful Katamari is perfect and well worth the bargain price
Namco is charging for this gem of a game.
Online play is fun and boring at the same time. All the
occasions I played online I couldn’t find too many people
playing, which may be because of all the FPS games that have
come out on the Xbox 360, mainly
Halo 3 and The Orange Box.
There are a lot of people on here that take their ratings a bit
too series, out of the ten games I did play on line half of
these people quit right before the end. This really stinks since
the match doesn’t count and you won’t receive any cookies, plus
you are shit out of luck with those achievement points that
require online play. You can easily report that person, but you
will feel used. If you can find a good person to play online
with you will be treated to a no slow down Xbox Live game.
If you played any of the other games in this series you will
remember one thing, the
soundtrack. Some of my favorite tracks
didn’t make the cut in this game and it was a real bummer. Namco
did add some new songs that are just as good. Any time I seem to
play this game I start humming either that song or one of my
favorites from the other Katamari game I own.
Final Verdict
Beautiful Katamari has arrived and it is here to stay. With
the same great controls, bizarre in game text and a soundtrack
that will make hardcore anime fans jump for joy. This game will
most likely get left behind with all the
FPS games that are out
now, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad game. Everything from the
last Katamari game I played is here with the added bonus of
multiplayer and online play. You may not be spending an hour on
Xbox Live with this title any time soon which is fine; the
single player experience will have you coming back for more.
Rating
8.50 out of 10
Beautiful Katamari Trailer
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