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Namco Bandai Games has released an iPod adaptation of its sublimely weird, endlessly inexplicable Katamari Damacy series. i Love Katamari ($7.99) follows up on the franchise’s previous console and mobile offerings with a new accelerometer-controlled twist on Katamari Damacy’s unique roll-em-up gameplay.
As with earlier Katamari titles, players control the rodent-sized Prince of All Cosmos as he rolls up all sorts of earthly junk in order to build a new assortment of heavenly bodies. Though it starts off small in size, a properly-sized katamari will eventually grow large enough to envelop cars, people, and even the occasional island.
i Love Katamari uses a tilt-based control scheme, with swipe control features available for precision rolling. Gameplay spans five different environments and a variety of modes, including Story Mode (a time-based scavenger hunt), Exact Size Challenge Mode, and Eternal Mode.
being a huge Katamari Damacy fan, i was thrilled to see this released and bought it right away. wish there were more reviews at the time. this game, in its current state, is a major disappointment. as the katamari grows, the frame rate drops so significantly the game becomes almost unplayable. to make matters worse, you’ll find yourself tipping the iPhone/iPod Touch more and more just to get anything to move…it appears the accellerometer controls go increasingly out of calibration. you can squeeze out a few more frames per second by putting your iPhone in “airplane mode”, but Namco Bandai really needs to address these serious issues. hopefully some updates are on the way.
This iPhone version of the game is at this stage simply unplayable. Hou can enjoy it for the very first level… May be… If you love the concept. But you will never be able to go further. Wait an update. Or play something else.
[...] Keita Takahashi’s famed Katamari Damacy series continues to live on despite his lack of involvement with the franchise’s most recent entries, with sequels appearing for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and even our beloved iPhone. [...]