As with every year, the gaming industry hits its slow and stagnant point midsummer, leaving little for gamers to sink their claws into to tide them over until the fall rush of blockbuster games. There is, however one game that comes along right in the middle of that dull point in the year and Catherine arrives just in time to serve as the perfect game for adding a bit of spice to what is otherwise a rather bland gaming season.
A dating sim mixed with block puzzle solving with a heavy dose of almost overly sexualised, yet mature and adult themes told through the form a narrative driven anime style plot is a breath of fresh air from the normal rehashed game plots seen year after year. The idea of Catherine in itself is original enough for many gamers to welcome this type of break from the monotony, yet also enough for many to shun the idea entirely, which is a shame considering how great of a game it really is.
Players take control of main character Vincent Brooks, an average early 30s male, completely content with his menial job and carefree life. Katherine, his loving, yet nagging girlfriend of five years, however has other plans. She wants a stable, committed relationship whereas Vincent approaches that idea like it means the death of all fun and freedom then goes to whine about it to his friends at their favourite bar. Things are only made more difficult when Katherine very nonchalantly mentions one day "Oh, and by the way I think I'm pregnant." That evening, he meets a young, sexy but obviously insane girl coincidentally named Catherine. She and Vincent hit it off at the bar and in a drunken blur, go home together and Vincent wakes up in a daze next to her completely naked. Vincent has cheated on his long time girlfriend and instead of ending things then and there, he finds himself falling deeper and deeper into his predicament, all the while being plagued by strange nightmares that's rumoured to be a curse placed on adulterous men. The string of young men dying strange deaths in their sleep does nothing to dispel these rumours and worry from Vincent's mind. It's up to the player to determine Vincent's overall fate and which of the "C/Katherine's" he ends up with.
The story of Catherine isn't a simple or straight forward plot in the least. It takes a similar anime style that Japan is known for and throws it into a twisted storyline full of lies, sex and betrayals. Perfect makings for a cheesy daytime soap opera but with the adage of a surprisingly well done psychological horror aspect presented in the dream, or rather, nightmare segments of the game. These nightmare portions are where you'll be spending the majority of the game. The nightmare world is presented as an almost infinite tower, populated by other cheating men who Vincent sees represented as sheep and a mysterious figure who judges their actions at the end of each section after climbing to the top of each block ridden stage, fighting their way to the Chapel and to what is described as "ultimate freedom" as well as fighting their own temptation.
While Catherine has a wonderfully original story arc to keep players intrigued throughout the 10 - 15 hour entirety, the game really shines during these nightmare scenarios where the player must quickly solve different puzzles using the blocks in various ways to create a staircase leading to the exit. These sections are made up of numerous stages for each night that Vincent sleeps, eventually culminating in a climactic boss battle with some form of deranged, disgusting or outright terrifying creature representing Vincent's real life struggles, albeit in a very demented way. Although it sounds simple enough, each stage is timed as the lower levels slowly but surely begin to fall beneath you, causing a very surprising amount of tension and stress when attempting to solve these quite challenging puzzles. This is possibly one of the best games I've played in a long while to offer a good amount of fair challenge. Even though players can choose their difficulty from the beginning, even on easy mode, you will be presented with more than a few rage inducing moments, possibly a few too many for the lowest difficulty setting.
During my first playthrough, I went with the normal difficulty setting and found myself stumped more times than I'd like to admit. This, however didn't result in the type of angry chagrin I would have expected from a game like this. Instead of dropping my controller in frustration and giving up or throwing it against the wall, despite my few urges to do just that, the game's difficulty in puzzle solving only made me want to press onward as much as I could with more determination than before as I gripped my controller harder, uttering "fuck you, game" under my breath and saying that I'll get it this time.
Catherine does unforunately fall into a few cheap kills along the way. Controls for one, can feel extremely wonky and clunky at times, making gameplay feel more stiff and unresponsive and even at some points, too responsive, sending me into one of the many trap blocks like a spiked square when I didn't want to step over or off the edge of the level, falling to my death for the millionth time. This is only exacerbated by the ridiculous designer choice to completely reverse controls once you get behind a block. What's more is that more often than not, deaths as a result of failing a block puzzle weren't any fault of my own, but instead the result of either one of the aforementioned issues or because I never saw something I needed earlier in a level.
I suppose this aspect was intentional but it seems to lessen enjoyment when I realise after completing the stage that the reason for my failing before wasn't due to my inability to solve the puzzles but because of one move earlier that completely fucked up the layout later on or in one instance, was due to a glitch I had to fix by restarting the entire nightmare section. Strangely, on the flip side of this lies another, yet minor complaint which is that while the game offers only a limited amount of lives, I never once actually died in game. I always had a ridiculous amount of lives saved up, even in the early stages that guaranteed unless I was a completely inept gamer, I would complete most stages without much worry considering by stage 4, I had over 80 extra retries.
Gameplay however is not limited only to these nightmare segments. To those who are familiar with previous games from the developer, Atlus' Persona Team's presence is easy to sense. While not throwing your controller across the room in pure frustration, the main story of Vincent's growing relationship issues flows well during daytime scenarios wherein the player can converse with Vincent's friends, answer text messages from either Catherine or Katherine, on occasion look at dirty pictures in the bathroom from the former and engage with the other patrons at the bar, who you'll quickly come to notice are also present in Vincent's dream world. Basically, this serves as the dating sim portion of the game and while I've never played a dating sim or VN before, Catherine does this aspect exceptionally well.
While I originally held a bit of uncertainty about these early portions of the game, I soon realised that simply talking to the other customers and friends can be just as fun and engaging as the puzzle levels. During the day, Vincent is also presented with the game's version of a morality system by vaguely presenting questions that will ultimately decide the decision made at the end of the game regarding who the player ends up with or which of the game's 8 endings you'll see. This was something I really appreciated seeing after the recent surge of moral choice systems in games. In spite of most games lately featuring painfully obvious "Good and Evil" style moral choices (see Infamous), Catherine presents each question with a certain amount of ambiguity that at times had me questioning which was the "right" answer for the type of ending I wanted. There's no black and white here. In fact, no right or wrong at all. They're simply choices to be made and reflect what you as a player and even person would want out of a real relationship and the game ultimately rewards you with what you choose.
In terms of presentation, the game succeeds at originality as well. Again, the obvious influence of the Persona Team's previous games are apparent and bring a pleasant and welcome style to the game's character design and creation. Vincent's crew of colourful characters bring a certain humorous vitality that draws the player into the game more. There were even several instances where Catherine had me genuinely laughing at the well written dialogue. My only main gripe in terms of the characters or presentation would be that some of the dialogue tends to fall flat early on but soon picks up to an enjoyable and well written plot. Graphics are another thing to be praised. While not outstanding in terms of realism, everything is in a beautiful and vibrant cell shaded style reflecting the wonderfully done anime cutscenes.
If I haven't made my opinion on this game clear yet then I'm not doing my job right. Catherine is a wonderful gaming experience that features a well told and unique storyline with some of the most innovative gameplay I've seen in a long while. While it definitely isn't the game for everyone, those who want something new and enjoyable need to at least rent the game to see if it's something you'd want to continue playing, and trust me when I say that you will want to see everything Catherine has to offer. It offers a wonderfully paced and mature narrative that is refreshing to see in gaming today and something that I hope to see touched upon a little more in upcoming Atlus games. Despite the fact that Catherine had me screaming at it so much that if I continued to do so anymore, my hair would turn gold and I'd go super saiyan, the euphoric and rewarding feeling of accomplishment gained at the end of each level makes all the frustration worth it.... that is of course not counting the times the game ocassionally likes to fuck you over with a bullshit glitch, but we'll just overlook that aspect for now.
Remember, that I am now taking requests for reviews, so any suggestions for future reviews or lists you may have, please let me know via PM or in the replies to this review.
[HEADING=1]Catherine[/HEADING]
Platform(s): Xbox 360, PS3
ESRB Rating: M
Developer: Atlus Persona Team
Publisher: Atlus
Release Date: February 17, 2011 (Japan), July 26 (North America), October 28 (Europe)
Genre: Puzzle/Sim
ESRB Rating: M
Developer: Atlus Persona Team
Publisher: Atlus
Release Date: February 17, 2011 (Japan), July 26 (North America), October 28 (Europe)
Genre: Puzzle/Sim
A dating sim mixed with block puzzle solving with a heavy dose of almost overly sexualised, yet mature and adult themes told through the form a narrative driven anime style plot is a breath of fresh air from the normal rehashed game plots seen year after year. The idea of Catherine in itself is original enough for many gamers to welcome this type of break from the monotony, yet also enough for many to shun the idea entirely, which is a shame considering how great of a game it really is.
Players take control of main character Vincent Brooks, an average early 30s male, completely content with his menial job and carefree life. Katherine, his loving, yet nagging girlfriend of five years, however has other plans. She wants a stable, committed relationship whereas Vincent approaches that idea like it means the death of all fun and freedom then goes to whine about it to his friends at their favourite bar. Things are only made more difficult when Katherine very nonchalantly mentions one day "Oh, and by the way I think I'm pregnant." That evening, he meets a young, sexy but obviously insane girl coincidentally named Catherine. She and Vincent hit it off at the bar and in a drunken blur, go home together and Vincent wakes up in a daze next to her completely naked. Vincent has cheated on his long time girlfriend and instead of ending things then and there, he finds himself falling deeper and deeper into his predicament, all the while being plagued by strange nightmares that's rumoured to be a curse placed on adulterous men. The string of young men dying strange deaths in their sleep does nothing to dispel these rumours and worry from Vincent's mind. It's up to the player to determine Vincent's overall fate and which of the "C/Katherine's" he ends up with.
The story of Catherine isn't a simple or straight forward plot in the least. It takes a similar anime style that Japan is known for and throws it into a twisted storyline full of lies, sex and betrayals. Perfect makings for a cheesy daytime soap opera but with the adage of a surprisingly well done psychological horror aspect presented in the dream, or rather, nightmare segments of the game. These nightmare portions are where you'll be spending the majority of the game. The nightmare world is presented as an almost infinite tower, populated by other cheating men who Vincent sees represented as sheep and a mysterious figure who judges their actions at the end of each section after climbing to the top of each block ridden stage, fighting their way to the Chapel and to what is described as "ultimate freedom" as well as fighting their own temptation.
DAMN YOU TEMPTATION!!!
While Catherine has a wonderfully original story arc to keep players intrigued throughout the 10 - 15 hour entirety, the game really shines during these nightmare scenarios where the player must quickly solve different puzzles using the blocks in various ways to create a staircase leading to the exit. These sections are made up of numerous stages for each night that Vincent sleeps, eventually culminating in a climactic boss battle with some form of deranged, disgusting or outright terrifying creature representing Vincent's real life struggles, albeit in a very demented way. Although it sounds simple enough, each stage is timed as the lower levels slowly but surely begin to fall beneath you, causing a very surprising amount of tension and stress when attempting to solve these quite challenging puzzles. This is possibly one of the best games I've played in a long while to offer a good amount of fair challenge. Even though players can choose their difficulty from the beginning, even on easy mode, you will be presented with more than a few rage inducing moments, possibly a few too many for the lowest difficulty setting.
During my first playthrough, I went with the normal difficulty setting and found myself stumped more times than I'd like to admit. This, however didn't result in the type of angry chagrin I would have expected from a game like this. Instead of dropping my controller in frustration and giving up or throwing it against the wall, despite my few urges to do just that, the game's difficulty in puzzle solving only made me want to press onward as much as I could with more determination than before as I gripped my controller harder, uttering "fuck you, game" under my breath and saying that I'll get it this time.
Duuuuuhhh.... now what do I do?
Catherine does unforunately fall into a few cheap kills along the way. Controls for one, can feel extremely wonky and clunky at times, making gameplay feel more stiff and unresponsive and even at some points, too responsive, sending me into one of the many trap blocks like a spiked square when I didn't want to step over or off the edge of the level, falling to my death for the millionth time. This is only exacerbated by the ridiculous designer choice to completely reverse controls once you get behind a block. What's more is that more often than not, deaths as a result of failing a block puzzle weren't any fault of my own, but instead the result of either one of the aforementioned issues or because I never saw something I needed earlier in a level.
I suppose this aspect was intentional but it seems to lessen enjoyment when I realise after completing the stage that the reason for my failing before wasn't due to my inability to solve the puzzles but because of one move earlier that completely fucked up the layout later on or in one instance, was due to a glitch I had to fix by restarting the entire nightmare section. Strangely, on the flip side of this lies another, yet minor complaint which is that while the game offers only a limited amount of lives, I never once actually died in game. I always had a ridiculous amount of lives saved up, even in the early stages that guaranteed unless I was a completely inept gamer, I would complete most stages without much worry considering by stage 4, I had over 80 extra retries.
Gameplay however is not limited only to these nightmare segments. To those who are familiar with previous games from the developer, Atlus' Persona Team's presence is easy to sense. While not throwing your controller across the room in pure frustration, the main story of Vincent's growing relationship issues flows well during daytime scenarios wherein the player can converse with Vincent's friends, answer text messages from either Catherine or Katherine, on occasion look at dirty pictures in the bathroom from the former and engage with the other patrons at the bar, who you'll quickly come to notice are also present in Vincent's dream world. Basically, this serves as the dating sim portion of the game and while I've never played a dating sim or VN before, Catherine does this aspect exceptionally well.
Stressed Vincent is stressed. ;~;
While I originally held a bit of uncertainty about these early portions of the game, I soon realised that simply talking to the other customers and friends can be just as fun and engaging as the puzzle levels. During the day, Vincent is also presented with the game's version of a morality system by vaguely presenting questions that will ultimately decide the decision made at the end of the game regarding who the player ends up with or which of the game's 8 endings you'll see. This was something I really appreciated seeing after the recent surge of moral choice systems in games. In spite of most games lately featuring painfully obvious "Good and Evil" style moral choices (see Infamous), Catherine presents each question with a certain amount of ambiguity that at times had me questioning which was the "right" answer for the type of ending I wanted. There's no black and white here. In fact, no right or wrong at all. They're simply choices to be made and reflect what you as a player and even person would want out of a real relationship and the game ultimately rewards you with what you choose.
In terms of presentation, the game succeeds at originality as well. Again, the obvious influence of the Persona Team's previous games are apparent and bring a pleasant and welcome style to the game's character design and creation. Vincent's crew of colourful characters bring a certain humorous vitality that draws the player into the game more. There were even several instances where Catherine had me genuinely laughing at the well written dialogue. My only main gripe in terms of the characters or presentation would be that some of the dialogue tends to fall flat early on but soon picks up to an enjoyable and well written plot. Graphics are another thing to be praised. While not outstanding in terms of realism, everything is in a beautiful and vibrant cell shaded style reflecting the wonderfully done anime cutscenes.
If I haven't made my opinion on this game clear yet then I'm not doing my job right. Catherine is a wonderful gaming experience that features a well told and unique storyline with some of the most innovative gameplay I've seen in a long while. While it definitely isn't the game for everyone, those who want something new and enjoyable need to at least rent the game to see if it's something you'd want to continue playing, and trust me when I say that you will want to see everything Catherine has to offer. It offers a wonderfully paced and mature narrative that is refreshing to see in gaming today and something that I hope to see touched upon a little more in upcoming Atlus games. Despite the fact that Catherine had me screaming at it so much that if I continued to do so anymore, my hair would turn gold and I'd go super saiyan, the euphoric and rewarding feeling of accomplishment gained at the end of each level makes all the frustration worth it.... that is of course not counting the times the game ocassionally likes to fuck you over with a bullshit glitch, but we'll just overlook that aspect for now.
I'm glad we're on the same page then!
Movies:
Best Movies of the Decade [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.164045-Best-Films-of-the-Decade-Warning-Extremely-Long-Review] I Inception [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.215806-JK-Reviews-Inception] I Oldboy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.236848-JK-Reviews-Oldboy] I Thirst [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.238393-JK-Reviews-Thirst] I Noroi [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.258713-JK-Reviews-Noroi] I Ghost in the Shell [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264848-Poll-JK-Reviews-Ghost-in-the-Shell?view_results=1] I Top 25 Favourite Films [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.273264-JKs-Top-25-Favourite-Films#comment_form] I Kodomo no Jikan (series) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.283845-JK-Reviews-Kodomo-No-Jikan] I Super 8 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.291002-JK-Reviews-Super-8]
Games:
Bayonetta [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.169030-JK-Reviews-Bayonetta-Warning-May-Contain-Spoilers] I Game of the Year 2009 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163760-Celebration-for-My-5000th-post-Game-of-the-Year-awards] I God of War III [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.182952-JK-Reviews-God-of-War-III] I NieR [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.203204-JK-Reviews-NIER] I Castlevania: Lament of Innocence [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206361-JK-Reviews-Castlevania-Lament-of-Innocence] I Maximo: Ghosts To Glory [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.212014-JK-Reviews-Maximo-Ghosts-To-Glory] I Kingdom Hearts [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.229506-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts] I Kingdom Hearts II [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.230725-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts-II] I Assassin's Creed Brotherhood [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.248762-JK-Reviews-Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood] I Top 12 Games of 2010 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.252471-JKs-Top-12-Best-Games-of-2010] I Bioshock [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.262110-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Bioshock] I Fallout: New Vegas [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.266849-JK-Reviews-Fallout-New-Vegas] I Silent Hill 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.270928-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Silent-Hill-2] I Dragon Age 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.276414-JK-Reviews-Dragon-Age-II] I Infamous2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.300006-JK-Reviews-InFAMOUS-2#comment_form]
Music:
Equilibrium's ReKreatur [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.204108-JK-Reviews-Equilibrium-ReKreatur] I Devin Townsend's Deconstruction & Ghost [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.307243-JK-Reviews-Devin-Townsend-Deconstruction-Ghost]
Best Movies of the Decade [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.164045-Best-Films-of-the-Decade-Warning-Extremely-Long-Review] I Inception [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.215806-JK-Reviews-Inception] I Oldboy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.236848-JK-Reviews-Oldboy] I Thirst [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.238393-JK-Reviews-Thirst] I Noroi [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.258713-JK-Reviews-Noroi] I Ghost in the Shell [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264848-Poll-JK-Reviews-Ghost-in-the-Shell?view_results=1] I Top 25 Favourite Films [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.273264-JKs-Top-25-Favourite-Films#comment_form] I Kodomo no Jikan (series) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.283845-JK-Reviews-Kodomo-No-Jikan] I Super 8 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.291002-JK-Reviews-Super-8]
Games:
Bayonetta [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.169030-JK-Reviews-Bayonetta-Warning-May-Contain-Spoilers] I Game of the Year 2009 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163760-Celebration-for-My-5000th-post-Game-of-the-Year-awards] I God of War III [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.182952-JK-Reviews-God-of-War-III] I NieR [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.203204-JK-Reviews-NIER] I Castlevania: Lament of Innocence [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206361-JK-Reviews-Castlevania-Lament-of-Innocence] I Maximo: Ghosts To Glory [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.212014-JK-Reviews-Maximo-Ghosts-To-Glory] I Kingdom Hearts [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.229506-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts] I Kingdom Hearts II [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.230725-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Kingdom-Hearts-II] I Assassin's Creed Brotherhood [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.248762-JK-Reviews-Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood] I Top 12 Games of 2010 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.252471-JKs-Top-12-Best-Games-of-2010] I Bioshock [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.262110-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Bioshock] I Fallout: New Vegas [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.266849-JK-Reviews-Fallout-New-Vegas] I Silent Hill 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.270928-As-Per-Request-JK-Reviews-Silent-Hill-2] I Dragon Age 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.276414-JK-Reviews-Dragon-Age-II] I Infamous2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.300006-JK-Reviews-InFAMOUS-2#comment_form]
Music:
Equilibrium's ReKreatur [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.204108-JK-Reviews-Equilibrium-ReKreatur] I Devin Townsend's Deconstruction & Ghost [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.307243-JK-Reviews-Devin-Townsend-Deconstruction-Ghost]
Remember, that I am now taking requests for reviews, so any suggestions for future reviews or lists you may have, please let me know via PM or in the replies to this review.
