It's Katamari but where is the style and control I'm used to?
That's the theme of this review. Not to say that it isn't a great game, but there are so many things missing and sometimes it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what is wrong here, but I think I've gotten it pretty much figured out. (PLEASE bear with me through this review before rating. I don't think the game is all bad, but I'm just going to get that out of the way first)
First things first...the controls. They just weren't what they have been in the past, which is usually great. Sometimes they are too tight, other times the stupid katamari won't pick up things you've rolled over. But the worst thing is that you get stuck a lot and on things that you really shouldn't get stuck on. This mixed with the bipolar difficulty makes for a frustrating time in the world of Katamari (or universe).
I'm not saying that the controls completely suck or anything, but they are only good when they could have been great as they were in the previous games.
Another issue I have with the game is the lack of style that the previous games had. This one seems to be missing the signature humor that the series is famous for. Some of it's qurikyness is just missing. I know at this point it seems like I'm nit-picking, but I'm not. If you've played the previous games you'll notice these flaws as well. This game is about rolling around a big ball and collecting objects and having fun. And the best part about the series was being able to go BACK to levels, and try and beat your record. But in some levels in this game, it's almost impossible and depends on too much luck. Thus I feel justified in being a little pissed off.
Two other small flaws (while I'm on the subject) are the stupid camera and the graphics. The camera is constantly getting stuck, once again making the game more diffucult than it should be. And the graphics look pretty much the same as they did on the PS2. Which in my opinion is just wrong and weird. They could have been updated a little more.
While I'm on the subject of things weird, there is ONE more thing that got on my nerves but was a little funny at the same time. And this is the level where you have to collect things that are "cool or cold". This level consists of a LOT of Xbox 360s. I actually laughed. It's quite shameless actually, because either way Microsoft is trying despretely to portray the fact that either it's systems do not overheat or that they are "cool". I work at a GameStop and just find that funny. Like I said, it's shameless.
BUT even with all these flaws, there really is a good game WORTH buying here. It may have these problems, but they only stand out because of the fact that the other 2 games were great. So while this game settled for being "good" instead of great, it still is Katamari and still is very fun. I just hope that your in for more of the same gameplay, because not much has changed.