|
Saturday 26 January, 2008
GAMEPLAY
After playing for another two hours, I realized how a game that is so simple can be so intriguing and challenging at the same time. I started with a small katamari that can barely pick up any objects, to a huge ball that can even knock a person off their ground. I replayed the third and fourth level hoping to get a better score. In the end, I found out that the best strategy into getting the highest score possible is to just head on to areas where it would have more objects than others. Simply go straight and you are pretty much set to go. Not only I found a better approach to the game, I also discovered some “secret” rooms that I did not see. In fact, the “secret” rooms greatly increased my score because of the amounts of objects that were easy to pick up and allow you to grow at a much faster rate.
On an interesting note, I never paid attention to the growth of my katamari until now. The camera zooms out as I get bigger, in order for me to pick up bigger objects. At the beginning of the game, everything around you looks unreachable and giant; but then after awhile, if you go back to the same spot, everything shrinks! This motivated me to continue to play the game, and also serves as a constant reward.
I started playing the 2 players mode with my friend also, which we both race against time to build the biggest katamari. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the regular mode. The screen splits in two and it was extremely difficult to see where you were going. Furthermore, the competition takes place in the same arena for every round. There were no variety in the versus mode and I would much rather stick to my single player mode, where I could freely explore the environment. I will definitely keep Katamari Damacy in my PS2 system for another month or so (at least). I still need to beat this game!
DESIGN
The developers of Katamari Damacy are definitely geniuses. This game is so out of the ordinary, but it has the components of every successful game. They are able to create something so simple, but yet entertaining at the same time. There are unquestionably many signs of strong level design in this game. It is very easy for the player to maneuver the controls and meander their way through the level without any difficult obstacles. Once the player is familiar with the two analog sticks, there isn’t much to worry about.
The main thing that I noticed is the endless possibilities of achieving the goals. The designers of the game allow the players to decide where they want to roll their katamari. However, despite the easy controls, there is actually a lot of strategy involved in order to pass the various levels. Players need to decide what to roll up on their katamari and where these desired objects are located in order to pass the level within the time limit. Therefore, the simplicity of the game is not really that simple anymore, because there is a level of critical thinking and strategizing in the game.
The other essential components that made the game so fun to play are its sound and graphics. Every time you roll an item up, it actually makes a sound of the item. For example, when you pick up a telephone, you will hear a ring. Each of the sound effects parallels the game so it does not feel out of place; plus, it even enhances the game play as a whole. Furthermore, after playing the game, I am very interested in purchasing the soundtrack. The music varies from Japanese rap to soothing jazz, which again, relax the players and let them play with ease. Last but not least, the graphics of the game is in fact very simple. This might sound a bit boring, but this is what makes the game so interesting. The objects that you need to roll up are not necessarily the best looking designs out there. However, with too many details on the objects, it misses the point of the game. The designers of Katamari Damacy truly accomplished a game that is playable by all ages because of its incredible design and gameplay.
|
