It's safe to say that the majority of tableau readers have never heard of -- much less played -- the award-winning, genre-defying Katamari Damacy or its sequel We Heart Katamari. For those of you in the dark, here's the roll-down.
In both games, you play as the Prince, a tiny character sent to earth by his father. The Prince is charged with rolling a katamari, a sphere with incredible adhesive properties. As you roll through environments, sundry objects stick to the katamari, which grows in diameter, letting you pick up larger objects.
Like Tetris, there's a visceral pleasure to the Katamari games -- few feelings can match the shuddering of the controller as you roll over a city, taking every building with you.
If you've never rolled with the Prince before, We Heart Katamari is a great place to start. Or if you were left itching for more sticky situations after the first game, your addiction should be sated.
We Heart Katamari is a series of small steps up from the original. All the great elements from the first game -- simplicity, sense of accomplishment and a great soundtrack -- are back. There are virtually no major changes to the fundamental formula of "roll stuff up," and that's a good thing.
Granted, you'll roll up stuff in some crazy ways. You aid a sumo wrestler who needs to beat his opponent by rolling up a buffet of food and, finally, his foe. An F-1 driver initiates a katamari crash course where your katamari runs at triple speed. One level even has you saving the world as you roll up whole nations and then a meteor that threatens apocalypse.
These zany levels are coupled with another amazing soundtrack. The theme song from the first game returns in the hyperactive "Katamari On The Swing," sure to make you smile right off the bat. "Katamari On The Rocks" is a frantic a capella beat-boxing of another oldie that is a thrill to hear. "Everlasting Love" blends beautiful vocals and driving drums while "Kuru Kuru Rock" walks the line between catchy and annoying. "Katamari Holiday" is reminiscent of the Beach Boys; "Sunbaked Savannah," on the other hand, is just a bunch of pet sounds.
Most improved are the two-player offerings. The bland versus arenas of the first game have given way to areas you've already completed. By the time you complete the game, you can choose to battle inside a house, in the town or across a part of the world. Overall, We Heart Katamari is much improved over Katamari Damacy, although a four-player mode is sorely missed.
The new two-player co-operative mode has a pair of players roll one katamari through any of the single player stages. It effectively cuts a controller in two and gives each player control of one joystick. Your mileage may vary, though co-op is more interesting but less engaging than versus mode.
So is this really the katamari sequel fans have been waiting for? Signs point to yes. Katamari's sophomore offering is different, but not radically so. The same quirky humor, entertaining themed levels and new multiplayer offerings make this game as hard to put down as the first. Roll up!
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