Zero Punctuation: Catherine

[1337mokro]

I don't think you have a right for that snort Mr Croshaw. As I remember it you were an acne riddled high school kid who slashed his way through old school games "cough"Commodore 64"cough" and had the patience AND FREE TIME to play through space trade simulators.

You now spend your life as an internet celebrity playing a game every single week of the year except Christmas and the occasional times you attend a gaming event. Compared to that my relationship with my blow up doll seems like I'm leading a wild swinger life style.

 

[Atomic Skull]

One thing you have to keep in mind is that Vince has such a hard time resisting Catherine because as a succubus she takes on the form and personality of Vince's "perfect woman".

So I guess that says a lot about Vincent.


Yahtzee must not have played through the complete game because eventually Vince does sit down with Catherine and tries to explain to her that he's already involved with someone and it doesn't work, at all. But then Catherine's nature is to seduce men and destroy relationships. Breaking apart men who won't commit to marriage and family and women who are in their peak years of fertility is her job.

 

[minotaur199]

has anyone noticed this "mistake" on the title screen:

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/691/captureesq.jpg/]

I dunno if it was done on purpose or what...

 

[metamorphosis18]

Nice to see Yahtzee taking an interest in games again, and fair reviewing.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

For Yahtzee to pick Catherine to review was a bit... fanservicey

I guess it's apropos? XD

Well the game has generated quite a bit of buzz, so he may as well get in and get it over with so he isn't hounded with requests.

That Street Fighter anime was sweet. And yes, I'd say it's worth watching just for that ONE scene.

Actually I think its worth watching for the incredibly BITCHIN' fight between Chun Li and Vega in her flat: I mean she throws a couch at him and kicks him through her fucking wall...badass.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

I can't help but agree with Yahtzee. Gameplay was alright, or at least the dream sequence part was. Maybe a bit difficult, and an odd control ploy here or there, but it was an effective puzzle game when it needed to be, with a straight and laid out objective (get to the top), met with unique variables (blocks you can't move, ice blocks, etc.).

But yeah, Vincent was a tool and a half, and while I suppose there are people that could relate to him, I certainly couldn't, and I cringed just playing the demo, watching his insecure ass fuck up in the simplest aspects of relationships.

Could he not just confront his girlfriend about her frumpy nature, lightly and effectively, and find a balance point between stability and fun with her? Am I the only one who's ever told his girlfriend she's had a flaw, and is therefor human? I don't think so.

Besides, choosing Catherine over Katherine doesn't make much sense to me, because as frumpy as Katherine is, she does win in the aspect of not being fucking insane! And as such, can be reasoned with, as I mentioned.

And besides, what's the future with Catherine, anyways? Keep in mind, I've only played the demo and watched the Susan Arendt review, and this one. Even if I did get the game, I'd either stop playing out of the unfulfilled desire to bitchslap Vincent, or just play through doing the sensible thing and stay steady with Katherine, because I don't favour crazies.

There are several reasons for him to choose Catherine, though they are revealed late in the game. If you don't care about spoilers, look up the Lord of the Night ending on youtube to see what I mean.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

End Of Eva Reference..Nice, also one the best anime movies but that's my opinion. Moving on the game is rather nice and I like the change of pace this time around. It's also worth pointing out that the game sold over 20,000 copies in the first week so it's doing well for a niche game.

 

[Theysaid]

I was hoping he'd be a bit more obnoxious toward the game... it sounds like he actually played all the way through. At least the last few lines made the review worth it even if he didn't go into full-on hate mode.

 

[I forgot]

"Did I mention this game is japanese"
What's that supposed to mean? Seriously, everytime Yahtzee reviews a japanese game, it gets a bit racist. It's like when my friends think I should laugh because they're talking about someone and then mention they're Puerto Rican. That shit isn't funny.

 

[Ratlover]

Id say its intelligent cube with an anime twist, whats wrong with that, freaking nothing, your opinion is invalid about it, Next!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bluecho]

Yeah, if there's one thing I dislike about the premise it's that a "stable" relationship is portrayed as "unfun" and "restrictive". There's a reason people get married, it's because they WANT to have stability, security, and a significant other that acts to marginalize their faults so they both become better people. I know a man is much cleaner when he has a wife around to complain, which as I may have mentioned is a good thing.

 

[Hagi]

Yeah, if there's one thing I dislike about the premise it's that a "stable" relationship is portrayed as "unfun" and "restrictive". There's a reason people get married, it's because they WANT to have stability, security, and a significant other that acts to marginalize their faults so they both become better people. I know a man is much cleaner when he has a wife around to complain, which as I may have mentioned is a good thing.

I don't really think this game is marketed at people old enough to have made that realization. I haven't played it so I can't really tell for sure but it really strikes me as being marketed towards a more pubertal crowd.

I guess it's more mature then your standard space marine vs. alien menace but I honestly don't understand why this game is seen as dealing with mature themes. But maybe that's just me.

 

[Atomic Skull]

it sounds like he actually played all the way through.

He didn't else he wouldn't have made that comment that Vince should just sit down with Catherine and explain things to her to break it off.

Vince *does* try that and it doesn't end well, at first she's like "oh ok you can see her on the side I guess" and then when it becomes apparent she's being dumped she beats the living shit out of Vince (she's actually a demon so no, it's not just that Vince is a wimp)

The thing is, Catherine is a succubus, she exists to seduce men and ruin relationships. No amount of explaining is going to dissuade her.

 

[Atomic Skull]

Yeah, if there's one thing I dislike about the premise it's that a "stable" relationship is portrayed as "unfun" and "restrictive". There's a reason people get married, it's because they WANT to have stability, security, and a significant other that acts to marginalize their faults so they both become better people. I know a man is much cleaner when he has a wife around to complain, which as I may have mentioned is a good thing.

I don't really think this game is marketed at people old enough to have made that realization. I haven't played it so I can't really tell for sure but it really strikes me as being marketed towards a more pubertal crowd.

I guess it's more mature then your standard space marine vs. alien menace but I honestly don't understand why this game is seen as dealing with mature themes. But maybe that's just me.

I'm old enough to have realized that marriage is a lightness black pit of despair. Yes, it really is the end of your life as you know it. Marriage sucks, don't do it.

 

[Ximiraku]

He didn't else he wouldn't have made that comment that Vince should just sit down with Catherine and explain things to her to break it off.

Vince *does* try that and it doesn't end well, at first she's like "oh ok you can see her on the side I guess" and then when it becomes apparent she's being dumped she beats the living shit out of Vince (she's actually a demon so no, it's not just that Vince is a wimp)

The thing is, Catherine is a succubus, she exists to seduce men and ruin relationships. No amount of explaining is going to dissuade her.

The only way to even KNOW that would be to go for Catherine. Which I'm assuming a lot of people haven't.

BTW you forgot to say Spoiler Warning.

 

[notarapist2020]

this is not henti for all you jerkers out there

 

[notarapist2020]

please stop reviewing terrible games yathzee try and play somthing good also could someone who knows yathzee email post that i need to tell him that although he most likely wont give a crap

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

i didn't care for this game when i first heard about it and now i just don't give a shit about it

Yeah, this is my mindset.
I usually NEVER take any of Yahtzee's reviews very seriously, but his complaints cover every single worry I had about Catherine in the first place.

So yeah, I'll be passing on this game, and there won't be no tears in MY eyes.

And was it just me, or was this episode of ZP actually very funny this time around?

I really don't care if you don't want to play the game, but I have to ask: what was so special about this review that made you take it seriously compared to the rest?

It's just that his complaints are ones that I was worried about this game.
>too much of a romance drama
>Vincent being a tool
>Incredibly hard gameplay
>Almost zero control outside of the nightmare block puzzles

 

[kinapuffar]

I played it, I finished it, I loved every second of it.
I'm going to start playing it again later today to see the other endings.

The puzzles are hard and challenging, but in a way that makes you want to keep trying until you get it. And the controls weren't that bad.
Yeah you get reversed when you're on the backside of the blocks, but only a complete retard has problems adapting to that.
Also, if you just HOLD down the button, the controls don't get reversed.

Catherine is about story. If you're the type of person who has difficulty getting through a whole movie without falling asleep of boredom, it probably isn't for you.
Otherwise it's a really great story that touches a lot of levels and has some serious depth if you get into it.

Autosave is also unnecessary. You have the save stations, use them.


But then I mainly belong to the glorious PC gaming master race. The concept of saving a game hasn't been lost on me.

 

[Deacon Cole]

I tell you what, when it turned out that the main action of the game was a retro sliding block puzzle, I was flabbergast. Yeah, there's all that character interaction bollocks, but the main gameplay is a sliding block puzzle. Funny how that didn't seem to be in the hype. At least I don't recall it. And if it was, I suspect it was played down like it might be something you do once as part of the nightmare sequences, where each night the protagonist has a different dream that delivers a different mini-game. But, no. It isn't. Wow.