Heavy Rain, as it turns out, is a difficult game to pin down. As I sit here trying to summarize my feelings, I find it hard to form the usual nice, tidy narrative explaining why the game was either spectacular or a load of crap.

At the center of the turmoil is one concrete statement that I feel certain of. Heavy Rain is a thrilling, unique title that tries to bring something new to the table and almost manages to succeed, but that ultimately has too many problems to recommend without reservations. 

Its strengths will be enough to make a certain type of gamer fall madly in love with it, and rightfully so. It makes a valiant attempt to push gaming forward by introducing stronger characters and narrative influence into the typically juvenile gaming landscape. 

Unfortunately, having a noble concept is not enough to qualify you as a success. Execution is key, and here Heavy Rain stumbles. Most will find a litany of problems that mar what could otherwise have been a terrific experience.

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One question lingers above the head of ModNation Racers, casting its ugly shadow on the game’s cute facade and refusing to budge until a satisfactory answer is provided once and for all.

Is ModNation Racers better than Mario Kart?

After all, Sony’s newest kart racer is clearly lusting after the throne. They have set out to infuse the user-created madness of LittleBigPlanet with the core kart racing gameplay of the king of the genre, Mario Kart.

Have they done it? Has the king been dethroned?

Sadly, in a plot twist straight out of a bad sports movie, ModNation Racers came within ten feet of being the king of the hill and then tripped over its own feet and rolled all the way back down to the bottom.

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Something about Katamari Forever feels disingenuous. The title endeavors diligently to appear carefree, wacky, and strange. It confronts you at every turn with craziness. The whole affair is supposed to feel simple and lighthearted.

Instead, something about it just feels off.

The first Katamari was genuinely clever and original. Enough time has passed since then, with enough derivative sequels passing through Namco’s pipeline, that it has become impossible to ignore the fact that the foundations of Katamari have not changed in six years.  

This isn’t the good kind of stagnation that Nintendo has down to an art form. This isn’t a case of preserving the essence of what made the original fun and simply delivering more of that with a few tweaks to keep it fresh. 

Katamari Forever is a clear demonstration of how delicate Nintendo’s rehashing really is. Too few new features, too many sequels, too little time between games, and countless other factors threaten to spoil the experience. To get away with making the same game over and over again, developers must tread carefully. Namco has eschewed their responsibility as caretaker of the Katamari franchise’s good name. I am of course not entirely serious when I say Nintendo is “making the same game over and over again”, but Namco is coming frighteningly close. 

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