I, Alphasim, have personally only played the original Katamari Damacy and now this, Beautiful Katamari. I was going to have Betasim review this because she’s played – and beaten – all of the games in the series, but she’s being reclusive. So, I’m going to attempt to review this myself.

First off, this game does not take great advantage of the 360’s hardware. It only runs at 720p, and while it can scale to 1080i, it’s not the same thing. Also, the draw distances are a little short, given the simplistic nature of the graphics. The models are in the traditional blocky Katamari style, but I won’t harp on that because, for one, it’s part of the game’s charm, and secondly, it aids in the gameplay in that more realistic objects and people would be harder to model on to the katamari.

Now, as for the gameplay itself, I think it’s as fun – if not more so – then the original. I really enjoy the act of rolling up objects to get bigger and roll up bigger objects. There’s also something compulsive about grabbing everything so see so you can complete your collection. This game just seems to tap into something simple in my brain, and despite it’s incredibly base concept, it’s worlds of fun.

Beta complained about the lack of unique level goals, but I didn’t miss them myself, since I didn’t see many in the original and missed We Love Katamari. The Hot level, though, is a pain in the butt. You have to get your katamari to a certain temperature by grabbing hot things and avoiding cold things. This is the single most evil level in the game.

The music, in true Katamari style, is catchy and fun. I could play some of the levels again just to hear the music. The multiplayer aspect is cool, and I really enjoyed the co-op with two players rolling one katamari. Beta and I did quite well since we work well together in general. I was unable to test the versus mode in time for this review, but I might post an update later if necessary.

Beautiful Katamari is a good continuation of the series, even if it’s just more of the same. The King of all Cosmos is just as loopy, and the game is just as weird, but that’s it’s charm. If you enjoyed the previous games, you’ll enjoy this one – just don’t expect any evolution of the concept. Alphasim out.

UPDATE: Beta wanted to toss her two cents in and say that this game is lacking in unique goals compared to We Love Katamari. Since I did not play that game, I was unable to point that out. Of course, if she didn’t like my review, she could have done one herself, but she opted not to.

Score
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