I’ve long been interested in the series of Katamari games, but I’ve never gotten around to getting my own copy. So I finally downloaded the X-Box Live demo for Beautiful Katamari, and I just might be hooked. Basically, it presents one quick, three-minute level, in which you get to roll up a katamari ball from a wee size to a few meters. It’s a basic taste of the gameplay, but the demo is surprisingly re-playable. I have found myself logging on multiple times to just replay that same small level, trying for larger sizes. I’ve based four meters, and I’m aiming for five, a record that has eluded me thus far. The controls take some getting used to… Maybe Katamari experts will be fine, but for me, sometimes they are unwieldy and a bit frustrating. However, that obviously hasn’t halted my enthusiasm, so I continue to play on; gradually, I’m getting the hang of the controls. While a mere demo probably won’t be able to hold my attention forever, I have extracted quite a bit of fun out of it. I’d say I’ve likely played it more than 10 times, maybe around 15 or so, which would mean (for a three-minute game), at least a half hour. My point is, whether or not one wants to chuck out the cash for the full version, it might well be worth it to download and play the demo a bunch of times.
By the way, once one finishes the three-minute demo game, there’s this little sound effect that sounds like something from the effect-laden album The Who Sell Out. It kind of sounds like “ree-out” or whatnot, and seems like it’d fit right into the world of that 1967 record.
