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General / My review was rejected, as were my dreams
« on: October 21, 2005, 01:59:53 am »Quote
The Title Says it All
Katamari Damacy was the most popular game due to innovation on a new level. The game was basically unheard of. Thus millions of Americans rushed out to see what this bundle of joy that just burst with creativity was all about.
Well, actually hardly anyone in the US bought it, they were all too busy buying up all the copies of Halo and shoot 'em up 4: the generic bad guys revenge.
At any rate, the original Katamari had a brilliant but simple concept: roll a ball around and make stuff stick to it, then as it gets bigger, you can get bigger stuff to stick to it. One thing that makes it so brilliant is you'll have this annoying animal (like a cat, or a car, or a giant panda) pushing you around. Then you can get bigger and pick it up and watch it squirm with funny sound effects.
Now, on to We Love Katamari (minna daisuki katamari for those interested). . .
They basically take the same game and add some more variety to it, the first one you had all the same objectives. Roll up a bunch of crap really quick. In We Love Katamari there are several different objectives, like makin the biggest katamari with the smallest amount of stuff (probably my favorite), or collecting a certain number of items in a limited amount of time (sort of a reverse of the typical). I don't want to get into to much detail otherwise it'll spoil your fun.
GRAPHICS:
most would describe the graphics as so so. I say they fit in perfectly. The cartoony art style of the simplistic objects makes the whole game look kinda fakey and trippy. Just like the story, pretty cool, eh? Also, consider that each of those minute little objects had to be rendered and whatnot and they've also got the complex engine to worry about. So the graphics get a 7/10. Very functional, but I guess they are a little bland sometimes. However, there is never a lack of creativity. So bonus for the artists in all of us.
GAMEPLAY:
The game engine (which is brilliant, best 3D environment I've ever had the joy to play in). THe game engine handles like a dream. They improved it from the last one to avoid getting stuck and it's a little smoother; the ball rolls in exactly the way it's shaped. For example. If you have a 5 cm katamari and you pick up a bunch of marbles, you'll roll really smoothly. But if you pick up a bunch of pencils, it'll wobble around all funny and lopsided because of the edges of the pencils sticking out and sometimes you'll lose the pencil altogether (which can be good). The controls are simple and quite intuitive; just imagine that each analog stick is a hand. Push one to turn, push both to go forward, etc. If you're skeptical pick up a large rubber ball and push it around for a while, it's just like in the game. Well, maybe except for that dash thing. Camera is pretty good, they have a window that appears (it's got shapes too) for when you're behind something). And NO slowdown. Gameplay is a wet dream without the mess. 9/10
STORY:
I'll admit the story isn't as good this time around, but it's still quirky and clever. The fans of the first game want to ask the King of the Cosmos stuff and misc. It's not quite as cool as the first one, and the loading screens aren't as good. But really, if you're looking for a trippy fun relaxing theme for a game; We Love Katamari has it.
7/10
SOUND:
Crazy Japanese soudtrack. Crazier than the last one, I kid you not. THere are some new songs and some familiar ones, but I think they're all changed. For the most part great music if you like bizarre stuff. At any rate it's quite catchy. But it's got a few meh songs. They experimented or something. However, there's a BGM select. And it's all really good still. Good stuff, I like the Disco one myself.
8/10
REPLAYABILITY:
With several cousins to find and presents to be gotten (and worn), plus the fact that there are quite a few levels in the game, each with some improvement you can make to get a bigger katamari. Lot's of messing around to do. There's a two player as well, and it doesn't suck. It's not as good as the main game IMO, but it's there for those who like it.
9/10
Overall it's a great game that adds to the original, lots of stuff to uncover (I'm not telling). DISCLAIMER: DO NOT PLAY IF:
you don't like new and fun things
you don't like Japanese or weirdness
you don't like stuff that's not violent
you think that being simple means a game has no depth or fun
Some people just won't like it, and as much as I recommend you try it, some people will never like Katamari. But remember, We Love Katamari (in a non-sexual sort of way, and "we" is a general blanket statement referring only to fans of the game)
Can someone tell me what's wrong with this review? It got rejected by Gamefaqs due to "spelling/grammar"
Honestly, the site is getting so bad because of the immense traffic of spam and idiocy that it's hard to take much serious there these days.
I got modded in a joke topic, but the topic creator wasn't modded. Sure I said something sucks, but it was true. Point is, the site blows because I said so.
