We Love Katamari (PS2)

Herald rating * * * * 

The blocky, gaudy graphics could be straight out of South Park and the bizarre soundtrack will be the weirdest thing you've ever heard accompanying a game.

But it all works, despite the fact that We love Katamari asks you to repeat the same action over and over - rolling a sticky ball around until it has collected everything in its path.

You start out collecting small household items and end up adding planets to a great ball of mass as you spin it around the universe.

A king presides over the ball-rolling, giving you advice on how to make your katamari even bigger. He wants big katamaris to shine as stars in his cosmos and the bigger the balls the brighter they will shine.

We love Katamari may bewilder kids at first with its assault on the senses, but it's a pleasure to play.

The game presents you with all sorts of challenges, from creating giant snowmen to stopping a meteor shower. The different settings and characters keep the ball rolling, so to speak.

I see a cult hit in the making. G, $50