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The weirdness that is the sticky ball Katamari game franchise is not easy to convey.
It’s wacky, mostly incomprehensible yet inexplicably enjoyable. It’s a game without being game like and fun without reason.
The most recent release, Katamari Forever, takes all that absurdity, bounds it in its own wad of graphical awesomeness and spits it back at you with high-def precision. Sure, it doesn’t make much sense but it sure is a lot of fun.
Did you Sphere That?
The King of All Cosmos has been knocked unconscious so a robotic replacement, RoboKing, is built by the Prince and his many cousins. Of course, something goes wrong, the robot goes a bit wacky and the levels you must play are instantly doubled.
To play you move a sticky ball about various environments, collecting stuff that’s smaller than you to grow and then turn it into various space objects. Some levels are simply roll-and-grab while others involve specific goals, most of which involve a time limit: keep it on fire, catch fireflies, get the largest cow possible, collect expensive stuff, make a ball this big and defeat the sumo wrestler. You start picking up the tiniest tack and eventually are able to gather the largest planets.
All of the other familiar elements are there – including collectible presents and cousins – this time bound in a pop-up book style main menu.
Make sense? No? Well, it’s not really supposed to but it does lend itself to some rather fun and silly animated segments that play between levels. Don’t try to understand it but, instead, sit back, enjoy the ride and giggle at the silliness that ensues.
Sticky Ball o’ Fun
As for the levels, this will all be very familiar to a fan of any Katamari game since every level from previous Katamari games has all been carried over as well as the controls. Pair that with the PS3′s processing power and this becomes the smoothest, easiest to play Katamari game to date.
It’s also the most visually stunning, especially if you are fortunate enough to have an HDTV and an HDMI cable. Certain, the game is a joy to view in standard def but, in high def, the backgrounds are all animated and all the graphics get kicked up a notch.
All of the annoying loading moments that grind the game to multiple, ill-timed halts have been entirely eliminated with all the sticky ball’s growth and object evolution taking place in real time (if you can even really call it that).
Namco Bandai has also toyed with the cell shading style and mixed in some pseudo sketchbook black-and-white levels as well as more dynamic backgrounds. They’ve even thrown in a fun bonus rainbow beam that sucks nearby objects into the ball.
The only arguable fault is that you can get stuck in a corner and unable to clearly see where o go to get out. It’s an old issue that was seemingly fixed with a peep-hole view through objects but it still gets confused when there more than one object in the way. The main saving grace here is that you can often use a new motion-controlled jump feature to get back into the action.
Roll ‘em Up?
Katamari Forever‘s visual style is stunning, the game is more fun than any of its predecessors and it retains the vibrant musical and thematic insanity we’ve come to love of the franchise.
If you’ve never played a Katamari game, this is the finest, least flawed and funnest introduction ever. And if you have, you’ll enjoy it that much more.
Site [Katamari Forever] Photo Gallery [Gamertell]
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