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In Europe we’re used to being treated as second-class citizens by the computer game industry. Or should I say, third-class citizens. Releases, particularly those from Nintendo, usually make their way to the US and Japan long before we see them over here. At least we get treated slightly better than the Aussies.

Beautiful Katamari has been out in the States since “Fall 2007″. A fact that the recent demo on Xbox Live rather lazily reminded us of. I’ve been waiting since then for a publisher to show some signs of releasing the game over here.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Katamari games, you see. Like many of the unique titles that come out of Japan (Space Channel 5, Pikmin etc.) the gameplay in Katamari reminded me of some of the bizarre, experimental wacky ideas that you used to get in games from the 8-bit computer era.

So, I’ve been playing it for a couple of days now, what do I think? It’s probably too early to say. I’ve completed the first handful of levels but I keep coming up against the same problem…

The problem seems to be that I’m pretty rubbish at the game. I’m perfectly used to not being good at games, of course, but I am really struggling to get to grips with moving my dratted Katamari around the screen with anything approaching style and elegance.

I suppose that pushing around a random collection of debris should feel a bit awkward but surely I should be fairing better than I am? At the end of a play session I am absolutely exhausted. My whole body feels tense, my arms are aching. It’s as though I’m having to physically push the thing around the game world. Very strange. “King of Cosmos” knows what it would be like if I was playing the rumoured Wii version!

The main attraction of Katamari, for me, is the idea that you begin by picking up little items in a shop and eventually you end up rolling up that very same shop you started in. Unfortunately, I’m unable to get to that stage because I run out of time. A “timer free” mode only unlocks when you score 100 points in a level, I believe, and (at the moment) I’m just not good enough to do that.

We’ll see how it goes. I really need to learn how to relax while playing the game, though!

Tags: Beautiful Katamari

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