Buffalo
11-03-2008, 12:37 PM
I got Beautiful Katamari on Friday (7/3/2008). This game was released in October in the States, and Europe in December, and it's now Australia's turn to try this bizarre creation from our wacky friends from the land of the rising sun. It's a fun game with a quirky mechanic that (deliberately of otherwise) feel like a very badly translated Japanese game-show. Fans of crazy Japanese stuff will love Beautiful Katamari.
From what I have read it appears that this Katamari game is a sequel to previous Katamari games for other console platforms, and that this game brings almost nothing new to the franchise - it seems that if you've played a Katamari game before, don't bother with this unless you are a Katamari addict.
I don't want to pre-empt the conclusion of this review, but I would go further than that and say that no one should buy this game, ever! Please see the list towards the end of the article for why!
It is fun and damn addictive. The learning curve is just challenging enough to keep you interested and has a cool "bizarre Japanese" vibe that gets bloody trippy at times.... For those of you not familiar with the series, the entire concept of the game is that you roll a ball through a level filled with objects of different sizes. As you roll over stuff it "sticks" to the ball which gradually gains size, allowing you to roll over larger and larger items. The levels range from the comparatively small (the inside of a candy shop) to the galactic. You are given size and item goals, and a time limit - e.g. get to 4m big within 6 minutes, and try to have a lot of "Japanese" type stuff in your ball at the end.
I know what you're thinking - that sounds fucking stupid. You're right - it is. Imagine being the game designer who had to pitch the idea to a game executive?
The game ships with 13 levels, and you will only need a few attempts to complete each one. The shortest time requirement in 2 minutes - the longest is 15! Even if you attempt each level 3 or 4 times before you are successful, you should still complete the main bulk of the game in under 4 hours! This is a disgrace! There is an extra time Challenge game mode that is unlocked for most levels after you complete the primary challenge, but this doesn't add a great deal extra to the game - a few minutes more per level at most. This is Beautiful Katamari biggest failing - the game is disgustingly short. It was released in other regions as a budget title. and this almost justifies the lack of content, but in Australia it is sold as a full-cost title. I can not tell you how mad this makes me.
There are a number of unlockable "cousins" (basically new characters to play with) and presents that add new toys to the menu screen or wearable items for the cousins, but none of these effect gameplay - they are collectible or collecting's sake.
The method of control is surprisingly smooth considering what you are doing. The two analogue sticks controls are used like Tank controls - push them both forward to go forward, one up and one down to turn etc... This is hard to get used to at first but gets easier over time.
The camera AI is non existant - the camera is always positions imediately behind the katamari. This results in some very annoying situations where walls or objexts get between the camera and the katamari, effectively blinding you. When this happens a small "window" will let you see through the interfering object, but for some reason this often doesn't display - most of the time you will have your view blocked.
The in-game graphics are basic but kooky. It doesn't look like a next-gen title, or even 2nd-gen, but this simplicity is deliberate and helps to keep the craziness in check - the game would be overwhelming if the world was more complex.
The sound is particularly good. Every item you collect has it's own unique sounds effect, making (for example) a roll through a pet store a truly insane experience. Although it is mixed in Dolby surround, you are losing nothing by playing it with regular speakers - there is very little "environmental" samples or effects. The music is suitably zany, with J-Pop being the conservative end of the game's musical spectrum. If J-Pop is the serious end, you can imagine what the "Wacky" tracks are like. I usually turn off most in-game music, but I didn't find Beautiful Katamari's tunes too annoying.
One of the new features that sets this game apart from it's predecessors is the inclusion of both co-op and versus multiplayer modes. I would love to tell you what they are like, but I as unable to find a single other player to play online with - either you are limited to only playing with people from your region or the game is already dead online. Considering the long delay since the release in other regions, this is a strong possibility. In the ratings section I gave mutliplayer and co-op "n/a" as I cannot provide a rating.
Somehow it all works - the bizarre setting and context, simple but functional graphics and the truly insane central concept all combine to make a original and fun game. For me however there are some issues that i simply cannot get past:
Reasons not to buy this game:
It costs $100! This game was released as a "budget" title in all other regions - it cost the equivalent of $40 Aussie dollars in the US and $60 in the Europe. Why are we STILL getting fucked in the arse by game distributors in OZ?!?!
It can be finished in as little as 3 hours! This is not an exaggeration - I finished it in about that time, and I was a complete newbie - I did not "power" through the game at all... This is made even more frustrating by point #3:
The game will have it's content almost doubled by DLC to be released NEXT WEEK, which will cost 200 points for each FUCKING LEVEL!!!! To make matters even worse, the content is ALREADY ON THE FUCKING DISK, ALL THE DLC DOES IS UNLOCK THE LEVELS!!!!!!! This is a fucking insult to people who bought this game as a budget title; it's unforgivable considering the cost of the release in OZ....
Despite these reasons I actually did enjoy this game - I had to after dropping a greenback on it... There is a demo on XBL that gives you a taste - worth a look, if only to convince yourself that the game-play in no way justifies the cost.
This type of game content packaging is a disgrace to the gaming industry. In a world that contains products like "Orange box" which is bursting at the seams with content, Beautiful Katamari has no place showing it's ugly, disfigured head. Please vote with your wallet and show Namco Bandai that this form of game marketing will not be accepted by consumers. Please don't buy Beautiful Katamari, and please don't buy any of Namco Bandai's other titles either- let's send them a message!!!
Conclusion/Summary: If you are considering buying this game, please, please don't. If you really do have to satisfy your rolling-up addiction, hire the game or tape your pets together into a huge angry ball...
From what I have read it appears that this Katamari game is a sequel to previous Katamari games for other console platforms, and that this game brings almost nothing new to the franchise - it seems that if you've played a Katamari game before, don't bother with this unless you are a Katamari addict.
I don't want to pre-empt the conclusion of this review, but I would go further than that and say that no one should buy this game, ever! Please see the list towards the end of the article for why!
It is fun and damn addictive. The learning curve is just challenging enough to keep you interested and has a cool "bizarre Japanese" vibe that gets bloody trippy at times.... For those of you not familiar with the series, the entire concept of the game is that you roll a ball through a level filled with objects of different sizes. As you roll over stuff it "sticks" to the ball which gradually gains size, allowing you to roll over larger and larger items. The levels range from the comparatively small (the inside of a candy shop) to the galactic. You are given size and item goals, and a time limit - e.g. get to 4m big within 6 minutes, and try to have a lot of "Japanese" type stuff in your ball at the end.
I know what you're thinking - that sounds fucking stupid. You're right - it is. Imagine being the game designer who had to pitch the idea to a game executive?
The game ships with 13 levels, and you will only need a few attempts to complete each one. The shortest time requirement in 2 minutes - the longest is 15! Even if you attempt each level 3 or 4 times before you are successful, you should still complete the main bulk of the game in under 4 hours! This is a disgrace! There is an extra time Challenge game mode that is unlocked for most levels after you complete the primary challenge, but this doesn't add a great deal extra to the game - a few minutes more per level at most. This is Beautiful Katamari biggest failing - the game is disgustingly short. It was released in other regions as a budget title. and this almost justifies the lack of content, but in Australia it is sold as a full-cost title. I can not tell you how mad this makes me.
There are a number of unlockable "cousins" (basically new characters to play with) and presents that add new toys to the menu screen or wearable items for the cousins, but none of these effect gameplay - they are collectible or collecting's sake.
The method of control is surprisingly smooth considering what you are doing. The two analogue sticks controls are used like Tank controls - push them both forward to go forward, one up and one down to turn etc... This is hard to get used to at first but gets easier over time.
The camera AI is non existant - the camera is always positions imediately behind the katamari. This results in some very annoying situations where walls or objexts get between the camera and the katamari, effectively blinding you. When this happens a small "window" will let you see through the interfering object, but for some reason this often doesn't display - most of the time you will have your view blocked.
The in-game graphics are basic but kooky. It doesn't look like a next-gen title, or even 2nd-gen, but this simplicity is deliberate and helps to keep the craziness in check - the game would be overwhelming if the world was more complex.
The sound is particularly good. Every item you collect has it's own unique sounds effect, making (for example) a roll through a pet store a truly insane experience. Although it is mixed in Dolby surround, you are losing nothing by playing it with regular speakers - there is very little "environmental" samples or effects. The music is suitably zany, with J-Pop being the conservative end of the game's musical spectrum. If J-Pop is the serious end, you can imagine what the "Wacky" tracks are like. I usually turn off most in-game music, but I didn't find Beautiful Katamari's tunes too annoying.
One of the new features that sets this game apart from it's predecessors is the inclusion of both co-op and versus multiplayer modes. I would love to tell you what they are like, but I as unable to find a single other player to play online with - either you are limited to only playing with people from your region or the game is already dead online. Considering the long delay since the release in other regions, this is a strong possibility. In the ratings section I gave mutliplayer and co-op "n/a" as I cannot provide a rating.
Somehow it all works - the bizarre setting and context, simple but functional graphics and the truly insane central concept all combine to make a original and fun game. For me however there are some issues that i simply cannot get past:
Reasons not to buy this game:
It costs $100! This game was released as a "budget" title in all other regions - it cost the equivalent of $40 Aussie dollars in the US and $60 in the Europe. Why are we STILL getting fucked in the arse by game distributors in OZ?!?!
It can be finished in as little as 3 hours! This is not an exaggeration - I finished it in about that time, and I was a complete newbie - I did not "power" through the game at all... This is made even more frustrating by point #3:
The game will have it's content almost doubled by DLC to be released NEXT WEEK, which will cost 200 points for each FUCKING LEVEL!!!! To make matters even worse, the content is ALREADY ON THE FUCKING DISK, ALL THE DLC DOES IS UNLOCK THE LEVELS!!!!!!! This is a fucking insult to people who bought this game as a budget title; it's unforgivable considering the cost of the release in OZ....
Despite these reasons I actually did enjoy this game - I had to after dropping a greenback on it... There is a demo on XBL that gives you a taste - worth a look, if only to convince yourself that the game-play in no way justifies the cost.
This type of game content packaging is a disgrace to the gaming industry. In a world that contains products like "Orange box" which is bursting at the seams with content, Beautiful Katamari has no place showing it's ugly, disfigured head. Please vote with your wallet and show Namco Bandai that this form of game marketing will not be accepted by consumers. Please don't buy Beautiful Katamari, and please don't buy any of Namco Bandai's other titles either- let's send them a message!!!
Conclusion/Summary: If you are considering buying this game, please, please don't. If you really do have to satisfy your rolling-up addiction, hire the game or tape your pets together into a huge angry ball...