Digital Life: Beautiful Katamari Review

The paucity of new ideas is doubly sad because the allure of high-definition visuals and online play that this Xbox 360 version offers are obvious drawcards. The host machine's processing power compared to the PS2 ensures stages are incredibly rich, and the way the scale seamlessly changes as your ball gets bigger (from rolling up paperclips to entire continents) is impressive.

Solo players can devour all levels in just a few hours, then are cheekily charged extra to download more. Fortunately, online leader boards provide replay incentive and the four-player battles are good fun. Being able to play improvised ball games while you wait in a meadow instead of a featureless lobby is a thoughtful touch.