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| Topic Started: Dec 16 2005, 11:40 AM (299 Views) | |
| JimNasium | Dec 16 2005, 11:40 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3146407&did=1 After Katamari Damacy hit it big, conventional wisdom (and a few overly optimistic release lists) said that the Prince of All Cosmos' ball-rolling adventure was headed for Nintendo's DS. And had it been true, it doubtlessly would have been glorious. What could be better than the ability to take Namco's freewheeling adventure portable for a quick fix of cosmic aggregation any time, any place? Nothing, that's what. So imagine the kids' surprise when Katamari did indeed go portable... but for PSP rather than DS. "Say," many gamers remarked upon hearing the news. "A DS version we could understand, because flicking the stylus to roll a katamari a la Monkey Ball DS would have been totally intuitive. But isn't the PSP sort of, you know, missing half the analog inputs necessary to reproduce the PS2's dual-stick control scheme?" And indeed, initial play tests from Tokyo Game Show bore out this concern: Me and My Katamari looked fantastic and featured the same addictive, adhesive gameplay as its console predecessors, but the controls just didn't seem to work when mapped to the PSP's D-pad and face buttons. Happily, things aren't as bad as they first seemed. After putting in a little time with a near-final version of the Japanese game outside the manic environs of the TGS show floor, we've found the control concerns are much less drastic than initially reported. Katamari on PSP does take some getting used to, but it's a far cry from the disaster early reports had suggested. Despite the analog controls being remapped to the PSP's less-intuitive face buttons, all the commands of the console game have been carried across from the PS2 installments. You still move your katamari with a tank-style interface, with your left thumb on the directional controls and your right thumb on the four iconic face buttons. (The analog stick has been relegated to maneuvering the camera.) Press Up and Triangle -- the equivalent of pressing forward on two dual analog sticks -- to move forward; press Right and Circle to roll right; and so forth. Up and X will cause you to rotate the katamari right, while Down and Square rotate left. It's a little unwieldy, to be sure, but nevertheless it works better than one might expect thanks to the inclusion of some extremely helpful additional control functions. Alternately tap the Up and Triangle buttons to dash; double-tap Left and Circle to make a 180-degree turn; double-tap Right and Square to use the "Prince Look" function and survey the environment. Even more helpfully, the left and right shoulder buttons can be used to turn the katamari as you roll. Holding down the left trigger results in a much slower left rotation than pressing Down + Triangle, but it's a convenient way to alter your course as you roll, and it single-handedly prevents the potentially troublesome interface from being unusable. With a touch of practice, a determined player should be able to master the controls in due time. And there's certainly plenty of incentive to make the effort. The graphics and gameplay in Me and My Katamari do the game's predecessors proud -- the simple, colorful visuals translate beautifully to the smaller screen. There's just the right amount of detail to be interesting, yet the clean look prevents the on-screen information from feeling cluttered or confusing. More importantly, the basic gameplay premise of rolling around and collecting everything in sight as your sticky katamari ball's growth constantly changes the scale and perspective of the game world has been carried over intact and is just as appealing on the go as on a television. Me and My Katamari combines the structure and setup of its predecessors. Players again control the diminutive Prince of All Cosmos as he struggles to satisfy his callous (yet lovable) buffoon of a father -- although any of the royal cousins collected during the course of the game can take the Prince's place. As the King and his family are vacationing on a tropical island, levels are selected by wandering about the beach and fielding requests from various creatures. Level goals have a lot in common with those of the original Katamari Damacy; don't expect to see any of the more inventive special levels or physics featured in the recent We <3 Katamari. There are no racing, sumo or firefly stages, no flaming katamaris to roll around. However, each stage features a number of replay incentives, including the ever-popular unlockable endless mode and a variety of gifts to collect (the Prince can wear even more accessories at once this time). While this is a disappointing cutback, Namco is making up for it by including a second island filled with specialized levels where the goals are more specific -- for instance, one stage will consist of a challenge to roll up a katamari full of sweets. The objects in these stages are assigned different point values, and the Prince's final results are judged based on how effectively they fulfill the specific objective -- very similar to the We <3 Katamari stage where everything was assigned a monetary value, in fact. The levels themselves should offer more variety, including a wider mix of environments within each stage; some levels will feature an equal mix of land-based and underwater action, and the Prince will be able to move freely between them. Best of all, Me and My Katamari will offer support for up to four players using the PSP's ad-hoc wireless capabilities. Internet-based gameplay is nowhere to be found, unfortunately, but the arena-based challenges may offer the most compelling multiplayer katamari-rolling yet. Gone is the odd (though entertaining) cooperative shared control featured in We <3 Katamari; the battle arenas will more closely resemble the two-player stages from the original game, but with more players... and more diverse objectives. While our concerns about Me and My Katamari haven't been completely assuaged by our brief demo, especially after learning that series creator Keita Takahashi won't be directly involved in the game (he's off designing playgrounds or T-shirts or whatever, leaving series producer Mitsumasa Fujita in charge), we're still optimistic that the final results will be very good. Maybe even great. The final game arrives in Japan next week, and you can be sure that we'll be putting the import through its paces. For your benefit, of course. Stay tuned for additional coverage -- it should be a very Kata-merry Christmas. |
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| The Prince's Bride | Dec 16 2005, 12:08 PM Post #2 |
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One Love
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Thank you for posting this, JimNasium. I was really wondering how they were going to incorporate the 'Dash' function on the PSP (it would be kinda hard to alternate control pad and buttons instead of the analog sticks). It sounds like they came up with a managable alternative though . I really hope I get a PSP soon. I want this game so badly .Also, my younger brother presented this idea to me, but are the Katamari makers releasing a game on the PSP rather than on PS2 to force us fans to buy a PSP? If they are, it is certainly working on me . I kinda wish that it would come out on DS instead, since we have one; but then again, katamari may be too easy if it used the touch screen.
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| SocRATes | Dec 16 2005, 04:00 PM Post #3 |
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Big Fat Rat
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Reading this is painful, just painful. I was hoping the PSP version would be terrible, so I wouldn't be so horribly tempted to buy a PSP (which, of course, I cannot afford, especially since I'm saving for the PS3, when that comes out)! But, augh, it looks so good! Phew.... |
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| vix | Dec 16 2005, 04:32 PM Post #4 |
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Run you clever boy and remember...
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why couldn't wlk have that!?!?! ![]() and dammit...now I have to find a way to buy a psp! It sounds like an awesome game despite the lacking in the control department...the levels and theme sound awesome.... Must...buy....psp....
If you think about it though, katamari has been exclusive to the sony area...if it were to be on the ds, then they'd end up porting it to the box and cube and junk, lol...i don't think katamari will ever be on any other systems besides those owned by sony. |
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| aaron | Dec 16 2005, 04:42 PM Post #5 |
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fastidious planet
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Must... Re...sist... But... I have the money to spare... And the psp... <_< I won't miss $50... But I won't get it buy christmas now... I must... Should I? |
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Thank you for posting this, JimNasium. I was really wondering how they were going to incorporate the 'Dash' function on the PSP (it would be kinda hard to alternate control pad and buttons instead of the analog sticks). It sounds like they came up with a managable alternative though
. I really hope I get a PSP soon. I want this game so badly
.
. I kinda wish that it would come out on DS instead, since we have one; but then again, katamari may be too easy if it used the touch screen.


why couldn't wlk have that!?!?!
10:30 AM Jul 11