Beautiful Katamari

Beautiful Katamari is a prime example of what the tragic future of gaming will hold. While certainly pretty, the game lacked any innovation or real improvement beyond its predecessors. Lots of sequels fail to perfeorm to the standards raised by their prequels (coughHalo3singleplayercough). But this isn't the real tragedy in BK.

The fact that there is a downloadable level pack, that you have to pay extra for, that was already built when the game was released, is the real tragedy. The downloadable content doesn't even download the maps, they are already on the game disc, it just unlocks them so you can play them. The original game even comes with the extra achievement built in, one you can not get unless you purchase those extra levels. The argument could be said that if you don't want put pay for it, you shouldn't have to. But is that really fair? To have to pay extra for something we already bought?

To be so blatant that they want to just take your money with these levels that they are not spending 1 minute more of programming time on than they already had, really speaks volumes for the way corporations view gamers.

If you can swallow all the bile that this corporate strategy raises in your throat and actually play the game, don't block out any significant amount of time for it. The game is pretty, but short. You can finish it in a weekend. This title is just another over-hyped next-gen title that you should save your money on and just head to Blockbuster and rent for $8.