Best Game Ever

The other day my friend bard came to visit. He brought around a PS2 game he had recently purchased, which I tried.

Today I purchased a copy of said game for myself. The game is We ♥ Katamari, and it is officially the best PlayStation 2 game ever.

The goal of We ♥ Katamari is to roll your little sticky ball around, gathering items that are smaller than your little sticky ball. As you gather things, your sticky ball grows. Starting out with paperclips and pencils, you can end up gathering buildings and, I have it on good authority, even continents. Today I rolled up several famous land marks, including l'Arc de Triomphe, the Disney castle, and Mt. Rushmore.

The game is obviously Japanese, with its bright, flashy graphics and insane soundtrack; but on the whole it is done very professionally and cleanly. Nothing is confusing or overwhelming about the whole setup. Loading screens are hidden behind an amusing monologue: the inane ramblings of the King of the Cosmos. (It sounds weird, but it's done quite well.)

Controls are fairly intuitive. You direct the ball by moving both analogue sticks (both up moves forward, one up one down spins, etc) and there are very few button presses during gameplay (L3+R3 performs a 180° spin — that's the only one.)

All that aside, and most importantly, the game is really fun. There's something satisfying about being bullied about by puppy dogs at the start of a level, then hearing them yelp as you roll them up after growing a bit; not to mention the rewarding screams of citizens as you crush them inside your giant ball of sticky death. Or the feeling of absolute power as you start rolling up cars and trucks, achieving an awesome momentum as you grow faster and faster, knowing that nothing can stand in your way!

Having played this game twice (for several hours each time — time flies when you're completely engrossed) I profer my opinion that We ♥ Katamari is the best PlayStation 2 game ever.

... Matty /<