Don't focus on every little thing on the map, try picking up stuff that's just barely smaller than your katamari. Remember to move on to the next part of the level, that's where all the bigger stuff is.

It's strange, I just bought this game a week ago and I finished it after maybe 4 hours. It's way too short and some of the achievements are next to impossible. They have more levels for sale at the marketplace but they cost $5 each. F that.

My girlfriend's a Katamari nut, so when it was released here a couple of weeks ago we picked it up straight away. She's a bit disappointed with it, as everyone seems to be (mainly because it's not as funny, varied, or long as We ♥ Katamari), but it's still Katamari, so she's still really enjoying it, and looking forward to the DLC (assuming it ever gets released here). The whole DLC thing is really annoying, though -- if it was my call, there's no way I'd spend full price on a four-hour game knowing that I'd need to spend more to unlock the rest of the content on the disc, but in this case I was overruled

She's keen to try the online multiplayer stuff, which seems to be completely uninhabited publicly. Would anyone be interested in a game?

Ohhh Katamari, how I love thee. I know two people who have bought a PS2 just to play We Love Katamari, my wife being one of them. I am still bitter that they never released the original in Europe. Beautiful is coming to the house as well, but I haven't seen it yet. Obviously I'm not overexcited, having read all the less than enthusiastic responses to it.

Have you noticed how you can get a sort Katamari kick out of the Showtime mode in Burnout Paradise? Works for me.

I thought Beautiful Katamari was clearly harder than earlier iterations. I didn't enjoy the attempt to artificially lengthen the game through tight time limits, so about half way through I gave up. Who needs the aggravation?

I'm not sure my advice on how to do that level is worth much, but I'd echo Luna's comments. The second you are big enough to go to a new area, go there. When I knew I was getting close to the required size, I'd make my way towards the bigger area in preparation. As you get bigger, you can make up a lot of ground in a very short period of time if you're in the right area, so don't worry if you're only 2/3rds there with a minute left.

Man, I feel frustrated just talking about this game.

Actually I beat the game last night. Turns out I was just trying to pick up things that were too big and that was slowing me down. Thanks luna.

I'm not sure the experiences are all that different. Getting bonuses after a few attempts? Sure, by then you should have a decent idea what the levels looked like and where you should go. I missed the old Katamari style where I could pass almost all of them on the first try. If I liked the level and wanted to go back in it, then I could, but there wasn't this set up where you had to try a few times to get the lay of the land.

It may be easier to get high scores on Beautiful Katamari. That was never really my focus, so I honestly don't know. I agree with KT's assessment: