E-Mail This Article to a Friend Balls to the wall Have a ball with Katamari Damacy BY JIM MURRAY
	Katamari Damacy Published and developed by Namco. For PlayStation 2. Rated E for Everyone.

This week’s review will be focusing on a new PS2 game called Katamari Damacy (huh?) that’s easy on the wallet (it’s just $19.99) and, more importantly, encompasses something that I’ve loved since I was a child: the Japanese culture’s overall sense of "wacky" humor and willingness to take chances. If you’re a gamer who’s been around the proverbial block, you know what I’m talking about. "Wacky" games like Parappa the Rapper ("Kick! Punch! It’s all in the Mind!"), Mr. Mosquito, Mad Maestro, Gitaroo-Man, Samba-De-Amigo, VibRibbon, and Seaman are just some of the titles that have been released in the past five years or so that are so… well, umm, Japanese that it still blows my mind that they ever got the green light to be released here in the States. Sure, these games won't ever sell a million or more copies like Gran Turismo or Halo. However, that doesn’t mean that they only deserve attention from hardcore gamer dorks like me.

So, let’s get back to Katamari Damacy, shall we? This game with the god-awful name just may be the wackiest of these very Japanese games yet. Ready for the story? (Trust me, you aren’t. I’m still trying to figure it out)

Your father, the "King of all Cosmos" has knocked all of the stars out of the sky. You -- the Prince -- have been sent to Earth to replace the stars by (ahem) rolling things up into balls, or "Katamari." Sound stupid? Well, I guess it probably is. However, words alone cannot tell you how fun and addictive this game is.

The goal of the game is this: The bigger the balls (oops, I mean Katamari), the better. And if it’s on this Earth, you can roll it up. Trees, animals, food, people, books, TVs, shovels, pans, clowns, airplanes, snails, fences and on and on and on. You’ll find yourself trying to get a bigger ball of junk (damn it! I mean Katamari) to please your ol’ Papa over and over again.

And if the one player mode wasn’t enough to make this game incredibly fun, there’s also a two-player split-screen mode where you’ll battle each other to see who can get the bigger balls. Explaining such a thing to your girlfriend would probably be difficult ("Honey! Look at how big my balls are compared to his!"), but Katamari Damacy is a perfect "girlfriend game": it’s easy to learn, addictive, cute, and, most importantly, non-violent.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything bad to say about this game. Is it the "Greatest Game Ever"? Hell no! Metal Gear Solid is, dummy. However, with its original gameplay, elegant-yet-simple graphics, and great soundtrack, you absolutely can’t go wrong by picking up Katamari Damacy. Especially considering it’s only $19.99. Now, go get rolling!!

Score: 9.5 (out of 10)