Catherine

Catherine is on par with Bayonetta in my eyes--not because they both feature large-breasted women of extreme attractiveness, but rather because they are MORE than their mammaries.

As a disclaimer, I have not played it, but have rather spent the past few nights watching my boyfriend of several years play through it. I can honestly say that the game is just as fun to watch as it is to play. The two distinct worlds of the game are reality and the nightmare. Reality consists of beautifully orchestrated cutscenes and anime segments where Vincent, a down-trodden, generally pathetic man-boy stumbles through his life. What makes the real world stand on its own when compared to the horror of the nightmare is its ability to accurately and humanely treat with its actors; all of the people Vincent meets are human, not characters, with human feelings, emotions, and reactions. The writing is top-notch, and the translation perfectly suited to the American audience in its ability to tag our euphemisms and sayings without sounding thrown in.

In the nightmare, Vincent is rendered down to his underwear and forced to climb through an increasingly complex series of puzzles. You pull and push, slide and jump, dangle and haul your way through each level, working in three dimensions to try and reach the top and salvation. Along the way you are helped by your fellow travellers, who will give you hints and techniques. Interestingly enough your actions in the rest areas have an effect on the survival of your fellow sheep--ignore one random character too long, and they will disappear from the bar and the world entirely.

What has struck me the most about Catherine is how well it plays with my mind and emotions. By asking questions ("Who is responsible if you are cheating on your lover--you or the target of your affections?") designed to make the player question their own motives and moral compass while also poking at the decisions Vincent has made in the game proper, Catherine seeks to prompt the player to a higher level of retrospection. The questions are then, if you are connected to Xbox Live, displayed with a pie chart comparing the answers of the gaming community. Some of the results may surprise you, and the ratios may change as more people play this game, but it is a wonderfully complex psychological temptress of a game.

One kudos I wish to give to the game designers is their determination not to allow the player to undo their previous actions. There is no 'Yes or No' option at the turning point of the story--you as the player have already given your answer through your text messages and reactions to other characters. The results of your decisions thus don't feel like the rug is being pulled out from underfoot; you know your fate before it happens, whether you have actually addressed it or not.

This game addresses mature topics with a mature, adult voice. Men react predictably to cleavage, drink, and get drunk, while women are concerned about the future of themselves and others. It is not a chainsaw wielding horror game, but rather a serious examination of relationships and adult themes that are impossible to discuss without someone crying "But think of the children!" This game IS thinking about the children, and is trying to get those same children whether 14 or 24 to think about their actions and to examine their souls, and who they are as people.

In total, this game is absolutely worth a purchase if you are even remotely interested in story based games. It has a wicked sense of humor when it's not trying to bend and wrap your brain around concepts you understood but never considered, and easily stands as one of the best written games I have ever seen. I look forward to playing it myself once my boyfriend beats it, if only to see how my decisions would change the game.

This is exactly the type of game that would usually get stuck in Japan and never released in the US but I am stoked that Atlus took the risk to release it here. When I first purchased Catherine I was a bit worried the it would play like L.A. Noir or Heavy Rain. Although I loved both titles after I had finished each one I felt as though I didnt really play a game but more watched an interactive movie that most people could complete with their eyes closed. Catherine is anything but that, the main gameplay is centered around giant block puzzles in the main characters nightmares. I know the idea of puzzles seems tedious but I had a blast completing them and I am not a puzzle game fan at all.

PROS
-Soundtrack is awesome!
-Graphics and gameplay feel very unique.
-Dark interactive story with many different endings that sucks you in.
-fun puzzle gameplay.
-Great voice acting.
-Replay value, after you complete the game there is a fun challenge mode that appears. I am currently running through a sencond time to see the different endings.

CONS
-I have read many people describe the game as too diffficult but I disagree. It makes you think, but you are allowed many retrys and even have a back button that lets you retrace your moves. Thats not to say that you should choose the "hard" difficulty but I found the normal challenge level to be just right (no shame in choosing easy though).

Overall I love it, and I dont think you have to be a anime or puzzle fan to enjoy. If you are looking for a fresh feeling game with great characters and gameplay check this out! Or download the demo on xbox live before you buy it.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I'll go ahead and post up a short review for people considering the game.

The Good: This game is different. It broaches a subject matter not common in games, the graphics are anime/cel-shaded. (Like Valkyria Chronicles or Borderlands, if you're not sure what that is.) The story is interesting, and the main character is a pretty likable guy. From what I understand, the choices you make in the game drive you towards one of the girls and several different endings, and it's actually similar to the paragon/renegade system used in Mass Effect 2, except there's only one meter for both girls.

The Bad: The puzzle gameplay is frustrating. Honestly, I don't mind hard games, or complicated puzzles, but I'd like enough time to do them. With Catherine, you often have a giant nightmare racing up to smash you, so you end up retrying a lot. Also, you have a limited amount of continues. (but don't worry, you can get more) Then again, when you finally do get it, there's a sense of accomplishment that you won't get from a lot of the way too easy games that are on the market today. Honestly I don't think it's way too hard-just a little. Another simple tip that helped me alot-talk to your fellow sheep. You can move your meter and you learn new strategies for getting up the blocks.

EDIT: Now that I'm farther into the game, I'd like to add a little more detail. There's more to the levels than the blocks slowly falling, or some giant horror chasing you, you'll also have to contend with enemies smacking you around, boss special attacks, (so far I've had getting knocked down, and getting my controls switched to backwards), and trap blocks. Oh, and speaking of trap blocks, here's a tip that I found really useful: You can trigger the spike blocks by running over them quickly, and then you can treat them like normal blocks.

Oh, and I also should add more about the bar part of the gameplay. Basically, you sit and talk to your friends and other bar patrons, and your responses move your karma meter (not really karma I guess, but I can't remember what the game calls it) over to blue or red. I guess you could say hanging out with your friends is reminiscent of Persona 3 and 4, but you don't up your bond with them, but instead get a boost towards one of the girls (and take care because this affects your ending.) Also, your responses to text messages you get from either girl will move your meter. Oh, there's also a tower climbing minigame in the bar.

One thing I'd like to ask the Persona team though, what's up with all the games about climbing towers? Not complaining, just seems a little strange.