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Katamari Damacy Brings Object Conglomeration To U.S. Gamers
Thanks to IGN PS2 for relaying the news that Namco has confirmed bizarre PlayStation 2 'object conglomeration' videogame Katamari Damacy for U.S. release, as it's officially "due out on [North American] store shelves this September." The article explains of the previously featured PS2 title, thought "very unlikely" to get a U.S. release at the time: "Your father, the great king, has inadvertently eliminated the stars from the sky and it's your job as his son to clean up the mess that he's created. To do so, players become a sticky rolling mass that can collect objects and items from all over the world" - a review of the Japanese version at Game Science explains gameplay further.
"To do so, players become a sticky rolling mass that can collect objects and items from all over the world"
I always wanted to play a game where I'm Oprah Winfrey.
For every annoying gentoo user, are three even more annoying anti-gentoo crybabies. Take Yosh from #Gimp for example.
I spent over an hour at Katamari Damashii in Namco's booth at E3. I had seen the gameplay on a Slashdot story before, and was surprised to find it there.
Anyone who likes quirky games that aren't your run-of-the-mill FPS/stealth/platformer/racing title should at least give this one a rental. It really is a breath of fresh air and *gasp* an original game.
It's not even a sequel of anything!
I *knew* that I should have patented my idea of "throwing random words together to form the title of a game/company/slashdot article!"
--- We are not in the 8th dimension. We are over New Jersey.
Gee i always wanted to know how a spit out wad of bubblegum continued on it's great journey. now i know that they given intelligence and motility and rove the planet trying to find the best place to make a blackspot on the sidewalk..
It's called S. Baldricks' T-shirt. In my game you collect sticky (and spicy -- that's a twist the Japanese never thought off) objects from cuisines all over the world.
But beware the dreaded Mom and her sinister washing machine or you'll go back to level 1!
While in Japan I got a chance to play this.
Graphics are kinda weak though I may just be biased against cell shading.
Physics are pretty impressive and there is less slowdown than one would expect given the technical nature of the game.
I found it pretty dull after a while though, there simply weren't enough hazards in the areas I got a chance to explore.
Beside it was an interesting game where students battle supported by adults... that game is tonnes of fun and probably worth picking up.
There are hundreds of games that are available RIGHT NOW, and many of them are very good. Even if (gasp!) namco has nothing to do with them. How about some coverage of all the readily available indie games? There are plenty of great ones out there, and they mostly get very little press.
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
Bah, this is an important story, if only it shows that there is a (percieved) market for odd Japanese games in the US. If you check the review it states
A European release can't be ruled out, but a US release seems very unlikely..
So not news you say? What if rocks from Mars were coming to Earth (and would take a few years to get here). "Bah," you would say "we have plenty of rocks here already. Why can't we talk more about the rocks that are here?"
Simply put, it wasn't going to happen, it will. Yay!
But this is an exeception of course. If I see anything about EA releasing next years version of one of their sports games I'll be there with you screaming "enough!!".
And to the rest of you: import it now. You will not regret it.
Thank you, Slashdot.. I've been seeing commercials for this the last few months and I had no idea what it was. Looked neat, but compared to the rest of stuff on Japanese TV it's practically normal.
I do hope this is released in Europe, not only does it look like good fun but very few other people will see past Driv3r (or is that Driv£r?) and buy it, so I'll be able to pick it up for budget price within a couple of months of it's release.
I don't need a compass to tell me which way the wind shines.
Also, the soundtrack (which is supposedly fantastic) won't be changed for the US release... and the game will probably be a budget ($30? $20) release when it comes to America?
You can watch a movie of the gameplay.. it totally rules :-)
As an anonymous employee from G4techtv (dodges hate) I can say that are whole team is happy about this game being brought out in the USA. Our news show featured a preview of it a few months back, and many calls to Namco USA were sent on behalf of the game. Best part for USA gamers: they are keeping the cool japanese music.
I've played this game to completion for the most part. The concept is deceptively easy. You roll around and pick up stuff... EVERYTHING. Anything that is a 3D model can be picked up provided you have a clump that is large enough to do it. But you see, you have to learn the levels to find get the right sized objects to build the ball up the fastest. It doesn't help to find a zone full of pencils and erasers when you're the size of a bus. It also doesn't help if you're the size of a basketball and there's nothing but people sized objects around. The levels are expansive and have great depth from teeny tiny to, well, all the way up. The level designs really work so it can be a challenging game. It's not just a concept piece.
The game also has some GREAT music and artwork . Even after you've gotten gold on all of the levels you can still keep going because the game keeps track of all the objects you've picked up and there are hidden objects in each stage that you have to find. Literally hundreds of different kinds objects from cymbal monkey toys to different magazines and from Ultraman (himself) to baseball stadiums.
Assuming this will be a discounted title (in Japan it was nearly half price), this is a must buy for PS2 owners looking for something different.
Let me tell you that it is very fun and worthwhile. However, it's being overhyped by people who have ignored similarly excellent Japanese games for so long that it's ridiculous how much attention it's getting, all by itself.
Maybe it's a sign of the times that some people can live a gaming lifestyle without knowing much about Japanese games, but seriously, I would expect more from Slashdotters (because face it, with high-paying jobs like what many of us have in the tech industry, we can afford to spend a little more on imported luxuries like this). Personally, domestic games are the exception in my collection, and my library doesn't really suffer for it.
So hook up us noobs with a list of best/strangest games for current systems and PC! I seem to remember seeing a PS1 game literally about a line that bounces in tune to music.