This is how we roll: impressions on the Beautiful Katamari demo
The much-awaited Beautiful Katamari demo is finally up in Xbox Live, and us here at QJ couldn’t help but abandon our workstations for a bit to get a glimpse of our beloved Prince rolling again. For those who haven’t encountered any of the Katamari titles but are interested in trying it out anyway, fret not, since a comprehensive guide will be shown while the BK demo is loading.
The demo starts off with the obligatory scene where the King of All Cosmos chats with the player in his usual whimsical way, complete with the all-too-familiar disc-scratching sound as he speaks. After the surreal chit-chat you’ll be given complete control over the Prince and the Katamari, and this is when things get a bit tricky.
The full article awaits after the jump!
The much-awaited Beautiful Katamari demo is finally up in Xbox Live, and us here at QJ couldn’t help but abandon our workstations for a bit to get a glimpse of our beloved Prince rolling again. For those who haven’t encountered any of the Katamari titles but are interested in trying it out anyway, fret not, since a comprehensive guide will be shown while the BK demo is loading.
The demo starts off with the obligatory scene where the King of All Cosmos chats with the player in his usual whimsical way, complete with the all-too-familiar disc-scratching sound as he speaks. After the surreal chit-chat you’ll be given complete control over the Prince and the Katamari, and this is when things get a bit tricky.
The rolling is done with the Xbox 360’s analog sticks, and while controlling the katamari with those sticks is definitely easier (and more painless) than the button-mashing in the PSP version, the awkward positioning of the left and right analog sticks somehow impedes the player from enjoying the game right off the bat.
Using the analog sticks surely takes some getting used to, what with the right analog stick set a bit lower than the left. In yours truly’s case, setting the controller on the lap and then holding the analog sticks with the thumb and forefinger made things a bit easier.
The fun really starts once you get used to the controls. That’s the time that you’ll get to appreciate everything that made the Katamari franchise such a hit: the bizarre, happy world rendered in insanely bright colors, the simplistic yet highly-detailed items that you pick up along the way, the head-bopping music, not to mention the hilarious screams the people make when you roll them over.
Besides the controls, another thing that may be a bit unsavory for some is the three-minute time limit in rolling the katamari. While it’s a given that the actual game has time limits imposed on every rolling session, it may be a good idea to be able to roll for as long as you want. On the other hand, the time limit is a fun challenge that lends more excitement to the demo.
Once the three minutes are up, the King will stop by for another chat (promoting the Beautiful Katamari game, of course). But the fun is far from over – no one can expect to savor the entire demo in mere three minutes, after all. The only option now is to get rolling again. Once you replay the demo, you’ll be pleased to find out that you will start rolling from a different spot. This is a nice touch, and gives a high replay value to the demo. With such an enormous stage to roll in, you may find yourself rolling for an hour just to collect every little item that can be picked up in the game.
We certainly couldn’t wait for the release of the full game, and you can be sure that we’ll give you posted with the latest Katamari news. Until then, Royal Rainbow!