Me & My Katamari

"I Want You In My Life... and My PSP"

When the Katamari Damacy franchise hit the PS2 alot of people didn't know what to make of it, after all it is a game about rolling stuff up with a big sticky ball, but once they got a chance to play it many fell in love with the quirkiness of the game. And now everyone can finally play it on the go, Me and My Katamari on the PSP is a match made in heaven.

Gameplay:
Here's where the game drops a couple of points, nothing major though so don't freak out just yet. Because of the PSP's lack of a dual analog set-up the controls are now mapped to the face buttons, (Up and Triangle will move your Katamari forward etc.) thus simulating a dual set-up. While it is nowhere near as precise or eleqouent as the controls found on the PS2 you'll quickly agree that this is the perfect set-up on the PSP. It takes a couple of levels to fully get use to it and it does leave you with some minor hand cramps but the overall feel is just right. Also the levels are now broken up into chunks, when you reach a certain size the King will pop up and the game loads (about 2-3 seconds) a new area. It doesn't really take anything away from the game but it's worth noting.

Graphics:
Amazingly the PSP is able to handle near PS2 graphics, albeit with some minor flaws. The first difference you'll notice is that there isn't as much stuff going on when compared to its console counterpart. There's also some slowdown that pops up when your Katamari gets too large, but other than that the experience is just as good if not better due to the fact that you can take it on the go.

Sound:
Not much to be said here. If you've played any previous installments you'll know that Katamari has one of the best soundtracks available in recent game history and the same can be said about Me and My Katamari. Although there are a couple of news tracks the bulk of what you'll hear consists of "best of" tunes from the first two games. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course.

Replay:
Katamari games have been known to be on the short side so that's what you can expect here. Aside from 16 main levels you'll get the chance to replay old levels to unlock presents or clear the set record in order to unlock that level's "Eternal Mode". It's exactly as it sounds as it lets you play for... well, eternity. The only downside to it is that you can't save your new Katamari size. One more unlockable would be the 2-D Mode. It's similar to what Rockstar did with The Warriors and their "Armies of the Night" mini-game as it takes the established formula and sets it in 2-D. Overall though there's much to do with the game once you're done. Including playing it again simply based on the fact that it's FUN.

Me and My Katamari is one of the best games you'll find on the PSP. Even with the lack of fully adequte controls the game still is able to charm the pants out of anyone who plays it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/06