A few years ago, Bandai came out with a game called Katamari Damacy for the PlayStation 2. The game was wildly popular because it was a unique idea – roll a ball (katamari) around an area, picking up items (candy, paper clips, toys, food, etc.) As you pick up items, your katamari gets larger, allowing you to pick up larger objects (larger toys, signs, ducks, cats, small children) and then even larger (people, trees, cars, buildings…) The game was ridiculous, yet a LOT of fun. It spawned two sequels, “We Love Katamari” for PS2 and “Me and My Katamari” for the PSP.
Last week the XBOX 360 version (“Beautiful Katamari”) was released, and I have to say I am somewhat disappointed. It’s not the same game ported; it’s the same idea but different levels. That in itself is not a bad thing – the game was fun as it was, and didn’t need any improvements. The things they did change, however, didn’t need to be changed. The controls are mushy, and most of the time I end up stuck in a corner because the katamari just won’t rotate, and the camera completely blows now. On the original version, if a large object (like a table) ended up between you and the camera, the table would disappear temporarily. They changed it so now you’re looking through a small circle window, or else you just can’t see what you’re doing. So I am stuck under a table, and can’t get out because all I see is the closeup of the table. It worked fine before. And then there’s the whole popup message thing… you have to hit (A) to clear the message, all the while using both sticks to roll the katamari. Until you clear the message, you can’t see the middle of the screen, but having to hit (A) to clear it is distracting.
I rented it, and I’ll play it because it IS fun, but this is one of those games where they just should have left it alone.