Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360), 8/10

Console(s): Xbox 360

Story (8/10):
Well, the story is pretty basic in Katamari. It starts out when the King of All Cosmos is enjoying a nice game of tennis with his family. He hits the ball so hard that it rips open the universe and creates a giant black hole that sucks up just about every planet. As the Prince, your job is to roll around earth with your Katamari to rebuild the lost universe.

Controls (10/10):
The controls are extremely simple here. All Katamari games feature the same controls. You use the 2 thumbsticks to move, and the shoulder buttons offer different camera angles. The only time you really have to use another button is when selecting a level. The controls fit perfectly for Katamari and are easy enough for just about anyone to start playing.

Graphics (8/10):
The graphics are nothing too spectacular. They aren't really next-gen graphics and could easily be mistaken for PS2 or older. But graphics don't really affect anything here. They fit very nicely in the game. There isn't the best shading and everything looks weird, but that how Katamari is supposed to be. Katamari is a very strange game, and the old style graphics, bright colors, and various amounts of objects fit right in with Katamaris style. The thing I've always loved about Katamari is the way things are set up. There's giant dinosaurs in the ocean, the King is the size of the sun, penguins hang out in the middle of town and the Great Wall of China is a short distance from the Statue of Liberty.

Sound/Music (10/10):
The music is what really makes Katamari what it is. The music sounds really upbeat. I don't know what else to say about it, because it's in Japanese and doesn't make sense to me. The point is, it's crazy, just like Katamari is. There's
no other soundtrack that could possibly fit better to this game.

Replayability (7/10):
Katamari is definately worth replaying a couple of times. Not because anything changes, or you'll unlock more stuff, but because Katamari is a very fun game to come back to every now and then. The only problem is, you wont want to come back to it for a long time. It's not a game you'll play every week, or maybe even every month. Only when you're in the mood for Katamari. Basically, there's no reason to ever make a new file, and you'll probably only play each level a couple of times before getting bored.

Online/Multiplayer (if any) (6/10):
There is really only one online mode here. You go online, and against 1 to 3 other people, you race to see who can collect the most of a certain item. It gets old pretty fast, and isn't really fun the first couple of times. It's better just to play offline. There are a few offline modes, where basically you just go around and collect shit. The number of co-operative levels are limited. To be honest, Katamari is not a multiplayer game. It's best to just play alone, because you'll have a hell of a lot more fun.

Game-play (10/10):
I love the game-play on Katamari. In every level, you're given a size goal. You have to get your Katamari to that size or larger in a certain amount of time. You collect objects onto your Katamari by pushing the Katamari into them. They will stick to the Katamari on touch, and make it even bigger. You can only pick up objects though if your Katamari is larger than the item you wish to pick up. Also, you're able to pick up every object if you're big enough, including Earth itself.

Overall Score (8/10):
Well, Katamari is quite the unique game. Nothing else even comes close to the gameplay of Katamari. At the same time, I would recommend buying it used. Unless you're a big fan of the series, it would be better just to rent it or get it for $10. I wouldn't recommend to actually buy it for full price, because it gets boring fast and you'll only want to play it every now and then.