By Mike Rougeau

Beautiful Katamari

“OK, Mr. Sunshine! da-da, da-da-da da da da da, da-Katamari Damacy.”

Anybody who can sing along with those “da’s” (and please do, as loud as possible) can skip to the end of this review, because they already know exactly what to expect from Namco Bandai Game’s newest outing in the Katamari Damacy series, “Beautiful Katamari” for the Xbox 360.

It also means they already know whether they’re going to like it. Katamari games have a penchant for quirkiness seldom seen this side of Japan and are definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

Gamers assume the roll of the Prince, a miniscule noble who gets stuck cleaning up after his enigmatic father, The King of All Cosmos, after he characteristically destroys most of the universe. The Prince must descend to Earth and roll around a colorful ball called a katamari – Japanese for “clump” – to assist the king in remaking the various celestial bodies.

Everything the Katamari touches will stick to it, and though it generally starts out fairly small (think the size of an eraser), through a snowballing process it grows progressively larger. Gamers will eventually find themselves rolling up continents, planets and even the sun.

Newcomers to the series will likely find themselves wondering what the point is. Frankly even I’m not entirely sure where the appeal really lies. Maybe it’s the childishly colorful graphics, or perhaps it’s the sexually dubious and deeply philosophical king himself.

It definitely has something to do with the soundtrack. Game play is joyously accompanied by original orchestral and J-Pop compositions. These tunes range from eerily beautiful to triumphantly cheery, and are a delicious treat for the ears.

The game’s sound effects also deserve a mention. From the DJ scratching noises that take the place of spoken dialogue, to the sounds that nearly every object, person or otherwise, makes when absorbed by the katamari, the sound effects are extremely varied and unique.

Veteran rollers, however, will be dismayed to learn that the more creative levels, like many of those found in previous Katamari game “We Love Katamari” for the Playstation 2, are largely missing. They’ll no longer find themselves rolling enough fireflies to light up a cramming student’s textbook, or rolling up a witch’s candy house before Hansel and Gretel are devoured. Nearly every request from the king this time around involves reaching a certain size while picking up a certain type of item, all within a short time limit.

In addition, unless you feel like shelling out more cash for extra levels downloadable from the Xbox Live Marketplace, an online content distribution center available through the Xbox 360’s interface, at the end you’ll be salivating for more, and sadly, you won’t find it. Unfortunately “Beautiful Katamari” is a great deal shorter than its Playstation 2 predecessor.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Nintendo’s first “Legend of Zelda” game for the Gamecube, 2003’s “Wind Waker,” took the series in a new direction. Standard, realistic graphics were thrown out the window in favor of a cartoony and Japanese style. The latest game, “Phantom Hourglass” for Nintendo DS, takes the series even further from the norm, assuming the same graphical style as “Wind Waker,’ and altering the gameplay.

“Phantom Hourglass” more fully utilizes DS’s unique functions than any game to come out on the system until now, and it does a good job, too. Gamers have finally received a title that truly defines what DS is capable of.

Our beloved legendary hero, Link, is controlled entirely using the stylus and touch screen. Gamers can drag along the screen to move, tap and slash at enemies they want to attack, and even draw the path of Link’s trusty boomerang or bombchus to tell them where to go.

This control scheme works exceptionally well; within 10 minutes gamers will have no problem telling Link exactly what to do using the stylus. The DS’s other functions are used nicely as well – gamers will find themselves yelling into the microphone (never mind looking like a lunatic) and even folding the two halves together to solve puzzles.

Which brings me to the most important part: gameplay. Veteran “Zelda” fans will be happy to learn that, despite the unconventional control scheme, this definitely feels like a Zelda game. All the essential items are there, and though the levels are kind of linear, there are puzzles in each dungeon that will have players scratching their heads for a few minutes, if not longer.

The sailing element of “Wind Waker” has returned as well, and this time the tedium has been completely removed due to a smaller ocean and improved navigation. Simply draw a path on the map and the ship will steer itself.

The plot, while unfortunately hardly touching upon the heartrending themes of “Wind Waker,” is compelling enough, and the lovable and quirky new cast of characters more than makes up for whatever is lacking.

Bottom line: those who own a DS should pick this game up immediately. Those who don’t should get a friend with a DS to buy the game, and then steal it.