I’ve been playing Beautiful Katamari so much lately that last night the game infected my dreams. I was rolling up objects in my neighborhood in a surreal yet blissful sort of way. Needless to say it was one of the wackier dreams I have had in a long time.
In regards to Beautiful Katamari itself, the game is good - not great. It offers die-hard rollers nothing new in the way of innovation and is perhaps a bit too repetitive despite it’s short length for newcomers. It’s no doubt enjoyable, but I’m afraid it mimics ‘Me & My Katamari’s (the third Katamari, and low point of the series) mechanics a bit too closely.
A dedicated roller can blast through the game in one sitting, even though the difficulty feels a bit ramped at times up versus previous Katamaris. If you’re not a completionist or achievement whore there isn’t really a lot of incentive to replay the stages. There are on-line leader boards in addition to the countless cousins and gifts, but I’m not sure if that will be enticing enough for anyone but the hardcore rollers.
I don’t mean to be so harsh on Beautiful Katamari, but I am just such a huge fan of the Katamari series that I feel incredibly let down by it’s almost effortless first ‘next gen’ offering. The game’s length and lack of variety come off as disappointing side effects of a ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it’ mentality. Sure, the Katamari concept itself isn’t broken, but it is bit tired and could benefit greatly from a huge shot of espresso.
There is a first in Beautiful Katamari, and that is with the game’s on-line multiplayer. Unfortunately, this is just as limiting and uninspired as the main game. Don’t get me wrong, multiplayer Katamari is a good hoot (when the lag isn’t killing it) but it’s extraordinarily light on features.
Every match is just a race to collect as many of a single object as possible. Whomever has the most at the end of the time limit wins. It’s a simple as that, and while fun for a few fleeting moments, does very poorly to extend the game’s longevity. Why there isn’t just a ‘whomever rolls up the biggest wins’ mode is an absolute mystery to me. On-line co-op could’ve also been a big addition to multiplayer, with two or more Katamari rollers working together towards a shared goal. There is local co-op mind you, but it is the broken two players on one Katamari mode that we first saw way back in We Love Katamari.
It’s funny to say all this despite the fact that I started off writing about how much I’ve been playing Beautiful Katamari. Chalk me up to that ‘completionist/achievement whoring’ category I suppose because I will not put this game down until every cousin & present is found and ever eternal mode unlocked (achieve 100pts or higher on a stage). I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming DLC even if it only expands the game slightly.
At only $40 I can go a bit easier on Beautiful Katamari. Due to a lack of innovation and variety however and the short length of the game I would place it on the money scale at around $25 - $30 of its price tag. It’s not a bad game by any means but it might just fall short with both fans of the series and newcomers alike. Such a shame
Wow… I can’t think of any other way to start off talking about the God of War demo aside from that… just… WOW!
I felt like an unstoppable Spartan straight out of 300 as I ripped hordes of Persian soldiers to shreds. Sure, it was more button mashing than muscle for me, but it was still an immensely satisfying experience.
It’s not just the action in this game that reminded me of 300, the colors, graphics and music all had a similar feel. Not sure if everyone will see it, but in my case I couldn’t ignore it. I found myself lingering in sections of the demo where enemies would spawn purely to delight in dispatching as many of them as I could. When there were no soldiers left I would move on to the next hot spot and repeat the process. I continued playing this way through the demo several times until not a single Persian soldier dared oppose me. What a rush.
I have never played God of War title before, but Chains of Olympus has me contemplating picking up the two previous PS2 titles. Hell, when God of War 3 rears it’s head on the PS3 I will be hard pressed for willpower to resist making the purchase (of the game and the PS3 that is).
The full version of Chains of Olympus isn’t set to be released until March 3, so it’ll be a while before I can fully put the portable Kratos through the paces. To say I am eagerly looking forward to that day would be a massive understatement.
Took advantage of the ‘buy 2 get 1 free’ offer at Toys r Us this weekend and scored myself a copy of the Orange Box (the other two copies are for friends). I haven’t cracked the seal on the game just yet so I don’t have any comments on the package, but I do want to take a moment to comment on the mess that is currently the video game section at Toys r Us.
I’m not entirely sure what has happened over the years, but Toys r Us seems to have all but abandoned their video game section. The section is in complete disarray. Games are strewn about the place in absolutely no order whatsoever, shelves are bare or loaded down with crap games and new releases are nearly non-existent.
Walking into the gaming section greets shoppers with a ‘we don’t give a shit’ type of vibe. This is backed up by the piss poor attitude of everyone working in the section. What used to be a possible stop on my video game buying route has now become an extreme last stop only when absolutely necessary.
Just wanted to say something as I was appalled at what I had seen yesterday. Was happy though to nab the last three copies of the Orange Box though
I’ve noticed something in the Advance Wars: Days of Ruin screenshots that has me a bit concerned. I’m ok with the change in characters and art, but I’m nervous about the new ‘chunky’ look to units on the map, and when looking closer I discovered a big reduction in map real-estate.
On the left is a screen shot from Dual strike, and you can see the displayed visible area of the map is 12 spaces tall by 16 spaces wide. Take a look at the screen from Days of Ruin and you can see it taps out at 8 spaces tall and 10 (or possibly 11) spaces wide. With the gigantic new sprites the map just looks more like a cluttered mess than a strategic battle.
Hopefully I am missing something in this screen and there is perhaps a zoom function, but I’m very skeptical of that. Perhaps it’s all too early in development to get in a tizzy over this, but I just can’t help but being worried about the loss of screen space “(
With Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Halo 3 finally in my possession the top spot on my wishlist has become a bit vacant. Not anymore however with the announcement of Advance Wars 2 for the Nintendo DS. The change in characters and art has me a bit concerned, as the first screens of the game portray a much more grittier look sans the familiar faces of Andy, Sami & Max.
I suppose Advance was was due for a change after three editions of the game with little graphical improvements. Honestly though, as long as the tried and true gameplay is intact, Intelligent Systems can do no wrong.
No information about when this game will be out is available yet, and Nintendo is surprisingly mum on what will no doubt be a big seller for them. Wonder if it’ll include WiFi this time? If not, I suppose there is always Field Commander on the PSP.
I feel like some comments on Halo 3 are a bit overdue at this point. Honestly, I’ve been playing it way too much to even take a moment to jot down my thoughts. Bottom line, it’s Halo - with more. The improvements feel much better from Halo 2 - Halo 3 than from Halo 1 - Halo 2.
There are some new bells and whistles, a spit shine, new weapons, vehicles and locals, but everything still remains very much Halo at the core. This isn’t a bad thing at all, in fact, it’s just what the doctor ordered in my opinion. Ever since I picked up a 360 playing Halo 2 was a chore, so I have been eagerly awaiting a next-gen version of Halo minus the map loading and voice issues. That’s pretty much what Halo 3 offers (with the new bells and whistles of course) and I’m happy to be on board.
One of the coolest additions to the game now (and very much next-gen I might add) is the ability to replay a match and take screenshots from any angle. More titles need to include this function (Skate does as well, but I’ll get to that game later on) as it’s a great way to extend ‘gameplay’.
Halo 3 doesn’t need a review score or anything, because most likely if you own a 360 you already own it. If not, then you’re probably not going to get it, so whatever arbitrary number I give to the game is really pointless. It’s fun, it’s Halo, and I’ll be playing it for the foreseeable future.
I don’t really have nothing to say about Socom because I hardly spent any time with the game. I picked it up on sale for $10 and barely put the game through it’s paces. Not sure exactly what it was, but I just couldn’t get into it. I was glad to be able to Goozex the game and get a few points for it rather than just have it sit in my collection unplayed and unloved.
I was ecstatic to get rid of this game on Goozex. What might have been a fun, relaxed, mini-game-multiplayer blast turned out to be a giant steamy turd. Sure the reviews called it out for being crap months before I got my hands on a copy, but I thought they were perhaps wrong. Turns out, I was the one who was mistaken.
Fuzion Frenzy 2 is devoid of joy. From the bland and uninspired mini-games, to the suicide inducing announcer, this game is a chore to attempt to play. It may have had a bright moment or two, but they were like distant stars shining in a sea of shit. I absolutely hated this game, and never ever want to lay eyes on it again.
On a scale of 1 - 10 I would rate this game as microscopic.
Still getting adjusted to WordPress here, trying to work out all the kinks before posing resumes. Currently I am having an issue with images disappearing when I post from my Flickr account. Apparently the alignment code is the culprit, just trying to figure out how to fix it.
For the most part I am enjoying the change. After I sort code issues I’ll start working on a redesign.
