5 Nov, 2007
Ask any seasoned stick-twiddler to name a genuinely original game from the last five years and chances are that the first name that pops into their head is Namco's brilliant Katamari Damacy. Based on the fairly out-there premise of rebuilding the cosmos by rolling around a magical sticky ball, Katamari wooed gamers not just for its innovative core gameplay mechanic, but also its irresistible characters and bonkers style. We fell in love the moment we first saw the intro, which, if
Let the haters and the old ladies complain about how those newfangled video computer games teach us to be killers; we've always taken the view that violent games are a pressure valve for blowing off steam in a harmless way. Don't believe it? Play something fierce and bloody the next time you're in a really bad mood, and then try telling us you didn't feel better afterward.
But why stop there? If games can keep you from climbing a clock tower and expressing your inner pain in the form of
A trio of trademark applications have appeared in Japan rekindling hope that the Katamari series may make a return. For last month developer Namco Bandai registered three new names: Beautiful Katamari Damacy, Katamari Damacy Tres Bien and Katamari Damacy-kun.
And while our hopes have been raised again, the names can't be taken as proof of the existence of new games because applications can also cover potential TV shows, movies, fluffy dolls, sweets and just about anything
Thursday 20 April 2006
Keita Takahashi, the man behind the Katamari Damacy games on PS2, isn't as impressed with Nintendo's Revolution as most developers appear to be.
"I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games," Takahashi told publication Game Developer. "I see what [Nintendo is] trying to do, but it's putting such emphasis on the controller, and I'm thinking, 'are you messing with us?'"
We've heard the odd industry
Last week, the official website for Namco's ingenious ball-rolling collect-'em-up, Katamari Damacy, closed its virtual doors. And, yes, Namco has followed up the move with an announcement that the team behind the game has been disbanded, and there are no more Katamari games planned for the future.
The Katamari Damacy franchise is just three games strong, but that's been enough for it to worm its way into many more hearts than plenty of other, longer-running brands. The series has had two
The much-loved obscure Japanese game We Love Katamari is to be co-published in the UK next year by Electronic Arts and Namco.
The Redwood giant, mostly known for its glossy brands such as FIFA and Need for Speed, has decided to pick up and put out the weird Namco-developed title, despite the original having never appeared over here.
Fusing and confusing Super Monkey Ball with Marble Madness and a wodge of Plasticine, the game revolves around rolling over and collecting pretty much everything
