[Correction: Beautiful Katamari will be released as a full retail package and not a download on Xbox Live Arcade, as previously reported. GameSpot regrets the error. -Eds.]

　　The big, huge Katamari ball of junk just keeps on rolling, this time with a new installment called Beautiful Katamari slated to hit the Xbox 360 in October. We got to try out the latest build of the game and found that the game will offer a host of improvements--such as achievements and 720p resolution--that you'd expect out of a 360 game, while remaining strictly faithful to the surreal, entertaining gameplay that's defined this series since its humble inception a few years ago.

　　Whether Beautiful Katamari adheres too closely to that formula will be a matter of personal taste, but we can say after a few minutes with the game that it's definitely more of the same old wacky Katamari. You're still pushing an ever-expanding ball of junk around a variety of environments, picking up every loose object you can possibly run over. Fundamentally, Beautiful doesn't appear to have improved on the graphical fidelity of the PlayStation 2 games much, though, as mentioned, the game is running in high-definition now.

　　The levels are all-new, even if the gameplay isn't. Luckily, there will be plenty of new content in here. All of the game's levels will be newly created for this version (though Namco wouldn't say how many there will be), and the soundtrack will be all-new as well. You'll ultimately have access to around 50 playable characters, eight of whom will be new for the Xbox 360. Perhaps the biggest first for Katamari here is the inclusion of a four-player online mode, which will see all players competing to amass the biggest ball of junk in the shortest time. There will also be offline cooperative gameplay for two players, per the series' standard.

　　All these levels, leaderboards, achievements, and multiplayer modes will be accessible from a handy little hub called the Princedom, wherein you'll run the prince around a small assortment of buildings representing all the stuff you can do. We got to see only one brief level from the game, which started out in a children's playroom and moved into the street when our ball got past a certain size, but it's safe to say the designers will probably use more of the Xbox 360's power and take greater liberties with Beautiful Katamari's subsequent levels. We hope to see some of those levels and bring you more info before its October release date.