We Love Katamari

Is it possible to love a game? Namco certainly thinks so and here it is with its sequel to Katamari Damacy, debuting in Europe, We Love Katamari.

Unfortunately for many-a-gamer in Europe, no one would have got to play Katamari Damacy unless they had a US or Japanese PlayStation 2, this was because Namco and European publishers didn’t think it would succeed in Europe, too Japanese for some, too simple for others. Katamari Damacy was really a simple game: roll about collecting items to grow your katamari, and items started off small (sushi and sweets as an example) and the bigger you grown resulted in the bigger items being collected, eventually making it possible to collect oil-tankers out of the sea and take stars from the sky, it truly is a simple procedure. Not only was the gameplay simple and thoroughly enjoyable, the LEGO-like visuals and superb sound, Katamari Damacy topped it off with some great humour – what more could you ask for from a game? A sequel is your answer.

So, here we are with Namco’s debut of the Katamari series in Europe, and those of you who were unfortunate not to play it won’t be disappointed as We Love Katamari is as good as Katamari Damacy. The heart of the game hasn’t changed, roll around and collect items, however, this time around the missions have been expanded, more to collect and so forth. After Katamari Damacy, King Cosmo (lazy arse) has become a huge celebrity on earth, Cosmo won’t change his ways and with everyone wanting him to do things, Cosmo doesn’t do anything other than send the Prince to carry out the needs of them. The story is split into two separate parts; firstly the Prince’s story which is you carrying out the tasks of the King’s fans, and secondly revolves around the King’s personal side of things (in cut-scenes), such as how he took over the throne from his father and met his wife etc.

We Love Katamari is more goal oriented with tasks been much more specific; i.e. get your katamari to a certain size. Missions range from rolling up food to make a sumo-wrestler bigger and stronger, to rolling a huge round snow-ball for a snowman’s head, all of the tasks are simple yet they are exceedingly good fun. Throughout the game you will come across presents which contain items for the Prince to equip himself with, but what’s more, as the Prince has a huge family, you can literally roll up his cousins and these can be used in both sides of the game: single player and multiplayer.

As with Katamari Damacy, the visuals and sounds remain the same, with a slight improvement in the sound department (more vocals); the graphics and sounds are the same, and as the motto goes why fix it if it isn’t broke? and Namco has certainly lived up to that motto. The classical music while rolling up houses, the LEGO like visuals maintain a high quality and make it feel that little bit extra special. Sure there’s no improvement, but we’re still on the current-generation and not on the next such as Xbox 360. To put it into simple terms, We Love Katamari has simply outshone a lot of games again in the two of the four most vital departments.

Suffice to say, We Love Katamari is still a great experience even more so to those who didn’t have the chance to get their mitts on Katamari Damacy. Its slick level design, excellent sound and the LEGO-look graphics do make We Love Katamari a worthy purchase, however, those who want an upgrade from the previous title will be disappointed as it is more of the same on different levels. With its mere 6/7 hours of gameplay before the credits roll, We Love Katamari is a worthy purchase to those who haven’t had the chance to play its predecessor, however, those of you who have played the first would merely trade it back in once complete, it is well worthy of a rental though.

This review comes courtesy of our friends at Boomtown.net .