We Love Katamari
In "We Love Katamari," players will find themselves in various new locations around Earth as the Prince and his cousins roll up different katamaris according to the fans' requests. "We Love Katamari" continues the series' trademark graphical style and musical excellence with an original soundtrack and hundreds of brand new items including Koi fish, angels and famous Earthly landmarks to roll up.
Format: PlayStation 2
Release 03 Feb 2006
Developer: Namco
Publisher: EA Games
Players: 2
PEGI Rating: NUL
We Love Katamari [ Mini Review ]
Katamari is finally here; if only tidying up your bedroom was this much fun...
Author: Chris Leyton | Date Added: 01/02/2006
Without weapons and bosses, but with a plot and dialogue, We Love Katamari is quite unlike anything that's come before it. However whether brand obsessed UK gamers will take to the charms and looks past what could be described as "too quirky" remains to be seen...Starved of Katamari Damacy loving, European gamers have finally got into the action thanks to EA Games and NAMCO teaming up for the release of We Love Katamari.
Never believing that Katamari Damacy would amount to anything beyond mild curiosity (and presumably amazed at the subsequent success across North America), the second title in the series plays heavily upon this notion and tells the tale of the King of All Cosmos surprise at the unexpected success of Katamari Damacy. Players once again assume the role of the Prince, who having made amends for the King of All Cosmos destroying all the stars in the galaxy whilst out on a bender in the first game, must now carry out the wishes of their newfound fans upon Earth. Interspersed between the action are cut-scenes describing the King of All Cosmos story and how his father's demands led to him running away from home, where he met his future queen, having merged the severed end of his pompadour with her half-eaten loaf of bread to form the shape of a heart - don't even try to understand!
Having missed out on the first title of the series the talk of Katamari's, pompadours and King of All Cosmos has probably left you slightly bemused, however don't concern yourself too much as this appears to be the point of We Love Katamari and its predecessor; it's a game so quintessentially Japanese that you're either going to love everything about it or detest it from the moment it begins. Stinging criticism has followed gushing praise stemming largely from the fact that We Love Katamari (much like its predecessor) is quite unlike anything that's come before; it's a puzzle game with a storyline and a hefty dose of action, think Super Monkey Ball crossed with BattleZone and a hefty dose of the most insane, tripped out experience you're ever likely to witness.
As the prince, players simply need to roll the Katamari around some of the most abstract and surreal environments ever seen in a videogame, using both thumbsticks to roll around the stages, picking up objects in the process which increase the size of the Katamari and the size of objects that in turn can be picked up. A delightful control system that mirrors the aforementioned arcade classic keeps everything delightfully simple, a seamless interface to the gaming experience, and as such We Love Katamari is one of those rare videogames that can be enjoyed by a diverse range of people, whether it's for five hours straight or a quick five minute fix. Following a similar model to that of Sonic the Hedgehog and other Sonic Team title, We Love Katamari is a game that can be completed quickly, but one whose depth lies in it's almost unlimited replay value, keeping you coming back to better scores or just to indulge in a little Katamari gratification.
We Love Katamari offers some sophistication over its predecessor in the shape of more specific objectives, such as collecting only flowers, objects based on their monetary value and even rolling a sumo wrestler around to collect food and thus increase the size of the fat giant before you. In addition to the single-player mode We Love Katamari can also be played by two players co-operatively, whereby each player takes control over one half of the katamari and must work together to solve the objectives. If you'd rather compete then co-operate however, the Battle mode returns from Katamari Damacy although these can take place on any of the game stages.
Despite its obvious charms We Love Katamari is certainly not for everybody, with each aspect of the game likely to divide gamers like no videogame before it. Take for example the bee-beep sound effects, the frankly absurd dialogue and the joys of Dokaka's a cappella beatbox rendition of the central Katamari theme. More to the point, those more accustomed with firing off an AK-47/Battle-Riffle/Delete as applicable in the latest generic first/third-person shooter will wander what all the fuss is about, moaning about the repetitive gameplay and criticising the heavily stylised visuals which many gamers are likely to dismiss as childish.
Everything about We Love Katamari oozes simplicity in the best possible way, from the concept to the execution, the control system to the level design; it's a game that's just fun, fun, fun to play.
It's the perfect remedy if you've been left disillusioned by the current obsession videogame publishers have with all things violent and explosive; to describe it as a breathe of fresh air would be clichéd enough, but one that is perfectly suitable.
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