Katamari Damacy
No, I didn't just swear at you in a foreign language. That's the name of a funky game on Sony's Play Station 2 (PS2). I had heard good things about it, and when my wife bought me a PS2 for my birthday (yay wife!) I just had to try out this game. (I don't think my wife knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she bought a game system for me.)
In Katamari Damacy you play the role of the Prince. Your father, the King of All Cosmos, accidently destroyed all the stars in the sky. It's your job to collect things on Earth and make stars of them. You get this little ball (called a katamari) and you have to push it around. When you roll it over small items (like push-pins, erasers, and coins) they stick to the ball. Most items are too big to pick up...until you pick up enough smaller items to make your ball bigger. As you progress through the levels, you go from inside the house collecting brushes, game pieces, and shoes, to outside collecting cars, street signs, and trees. Eventually (on the later levels) you can pick up homes, elephants, office buildings, football stadiums, and even small islands. (I told you it was a funky game.) But that's only half the story. It also has one of the most unique soundtracks I've heard in a game. Or anywhere else for that matter.
With that introduction out of the way, let me get to my real point. My sister-in-law was over one day to pick up her three-year-old son. I showed her the game and she got hooked. She stopped by the store the next day and bought her own copy of it. Her son was very interested in it, because it has bright colors, funky music, and is easy to control. (Did I mention he is only three years old?) Instead of making him pronounce "Katamari Damacy", he simply calls it "The Sticky Ball Game."
He was over a couple weeks ago and I let him play around with it. I was surprised at how quickly he got the hang of it. Though he hasn't really won a level, he still had fun and managed to collect several items. He let me take a turn, which consisted of me setting up the next level, then it quickly became his turn again.
Anyway. He was over again last night and apparently he's been playing the heck out of this game at home. He asked to play "The Sticky Ball Game." After I started it up he said he wanted to play the level with the red ball. I had no idea what he was talking about. He took the controller, found the level he wanted, and started playing. Sure enough, you get a red ball on that level. I didn't even realize the balls were different colors on different levels! Later he wanted to play with the yellow ball and knew right where to go for it, too.
This boy was getting into places I didn't know existed, making advanced moves, getting into tight spaces and running over narrow bridges. I was very impressed! He still doesn't quite get the idea of the time limit (you're supposed to get the ball above a certain diameter before the time runs out), but he enjoys playing anyway.
Three. Years. Old.
I started messing with computers when I was around 10, in grade school. I stuck with them and ended up programming computers for a living. It will be fun watching him grow up, to see if he sticks with computers, and to see where he ends up.
-- C.
In Katamari Damacy you play the role of the Prince. Your father, the King of All Cosmos, accidently destroyed all the stars in the sky. It's your job to collect things on Earth and make stars of them. You get this little ball (called a katamari) and you have to push it around. When you roll it over small items (like push-pins, erasers, and coins) they stick to the ball. Most items are too big to pick up...until you pick up enough smaller items to make your ball bigger. As you progress through the levels, you go from inside the house collecting brushes, game pieces, and shoes, to outside collecting cars, street signs, and trees. Eventually (on the later levels) you can pick up homes, elephants, office buildings, football stadiums, and even small islands. (I told you it was a funky game.) But that's only half the story. It also has one of the most unique soundtracks I've heard in a game. Or anywhere else for that matter.
With that introduction out of the way, let me get to my real point. My sister-in-law was over one day to pick up her three-year-old son. I showed her the game and she got hooked. She stopped by the store the next day and bought her own copy of it. Her son was very interested in it, because it has bright colors, funky music, and is easy to control. (Did I mention he is only three years old?) Instead of making him pronounce "Katamari Damacy", he simply calls it "The Sticky Ball Game."
He was over a couple weeks ago and I let him play around with it. I was surprised at how quickly he got the hang of it. Though he hasn't really won a level, he still had fun and managed to collect several items. He let me take a turn, which consisted of me setting up the next level, then it quickly became his turn again.
Anyway. He was over again last night and apparently he's been playing the heck out of this game at home. He asked to play "The Sticky Ball Game." After I started it up he said he wanted to play the level with the red ball. I had no idea what he was talking about. He took the controller, found the level he wanted, and started playing. Sure enough, you get a red ball on that level. I didn't even realize the balls were different colors on different levels! Later he wanted to play with the yellow ball and knew right where to go for it, too.
This boy was getting into places I didn't know existed, making advanced moves, getting into tight spaces and running over narrow bridges. I was very impressed! He still doesn't quite get the idea of the time limit (you're supposed to get the ball above a certain diameter before the time runs out), but he enjoys playing anyway.
Three. Years. Old.
I started messing with computers when I was around 10, in grade school. I stuck with them and ended up programming computers for a living. It will be fun watching him grow up, to see if he sticks with computers, and to see where he ends up.
-- C.
posted by Cerpicio at 8:53 AM
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