Aug 11, 2011 12:20 AM
Games for Anime fans: Catherine review edited version
EDIT: It's now readable now, sorry, I was half sleep typing it up the first time.
Do you know the phase "Sex sells"? Well, when Atlus puts out the pooty tang in the game market, expect something quite strange, delightfully strange.
Catherine is the latest new IP from the masters of unconventional rpgs like the Persona games, Atlus. And I'm quite pleased to say, Catherine is one lady worth the time to play around with.
Honestly, it's been a long time since an original game like Catherine has came around, with a strange little story about love, betrayal, redemption, and sheep people.
This strange tale centers around an indecisive middle aged man, Vincent Brooks, who has been dating his girlfriend, Katherine Mcbride, for 5 years with Katherine deciding to push the idea of the two of them to stop beating around the bush and go ahead and get married, which starts a chain of events for Vincent as the stress of marriage being pushed on him and unintentionally pulls back by unwillingly cheating on Katherine, with another girl named Catherine, and as you control Vincent, you get to decide which girl to works towards, staying faithful with Katherine, or cheating his way to freedom with Catherine.
There's also the option of neither, as you can also work your way to make sure love is over, which by the way that ending has nothing to do with the picture, but be sure to get used to this sight as Catherine can also be a cruel mistress.
The majority of gameplay is focused not on the real world, but during Vincent's nightmares caused by his unfaithfulness, a literally block hell stands in his way, and if you can't overcome it, then Vincent's love life is the least of his problems.
It's sort of like Qbert, but with the inclusion of pushing and pulling blocks in a race to the top sort of fashion on several levels with slowly crumbling block towers litered with traps and other sheep, er... people for the duration of 9 of Vincent's days and nightmares.
The game can be either frustrating or challenging, which thankfully isn't because of controls (Well at least for the PS3, the 360 though, unless you're some sort of weird Philistine, I'd recommend seeking out a more appropriately working d-pad), but rather stressful spike ups in difficulty that even easy mode can wear one's patience down to zero (Though there is the option of very easy mode by holding the select button on the main menu, trust me, you'll want to play that mode first, hell even the game itself will even call you a masochist for trying hard mode).
And before the end of each nightmare, many horrifying bosses await to literally crush you like a bloody grape or stop you from advancing to the top of the block towers.
And outside Vincent's nightmares, you can hang out at a bar with Vincent's friends, get shit-faced (Trust me, getting Vincent wasted is the best and first you should do before anything else while at the bar), meet and greet with other people and help with their life problems (Similar to Vincent's), which will aid you in your conquest for C/Katherine, and even play a alternative version style of gameplay of the levels from the nightmares on an arcade machine (Ha! A game within a game) which they too are ridiculously difficult unfortunately (This game does not ease on you up, even when you're not sleeping).
The story itself is definitely not just some sleazy perverted sex charged matinee (The entire game feel more like an interactive movie), but a well written story with plenty of deep moments and interesting characters.
And with multiple endings, the replay value is instantly considerable, and worth the effort, though there's not much to do differently except deciding which C/Katherine you want to work towards ending up with.
Extra modes are also a blast to play, with an intense two player versus mode, and a marathon style co-op enabled mode, allowing not just one player to experience Catherine at a time, but fully unlocking more options will need you to be in your puzzle grinding A game (And you can only unlock these levels by achieving high scores in story, on Normal mode or higher!), though the marathon mode can played alone, I will warn you that they are the hardest levels in the game due to their unpredictable puzzles.
The audio is also great, and the dub is well performed with noticeable voice actors like Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Michelle Ruff, and many others. Fans of Atlus are definitely the ones who will get the most kick out of the music as many songs from the past games made by Atlus making charming appearances (Within a jukebox), and the great soundtrack by Shoji Meguro will make you want to pause and listen to the catchy beats and rock with them.
Graphics wise, it's not that Catherine isn't particularly astonishing, it is still acceptable, but the animated cut scenes match up to the quality of even the most best looking animation japan has conceived, and Persona fans will want to look into this game, because this is what Persona 5 may end up looking like, which is good.
However, Catherine isn't a perfect woman, the difficulty can really be a deal breaker (As I mention constantly), and there isn't enough events changed through Vincent's moral decisions when going for other endings... other than the different endings of course.
Overall:
+ A new and great original game
+ Excellent story that is worth the multiple playthroughs
+ Great music with a fantastic dub
+ Good looking animated cut scenes
+ Interested in puzzle games? If not, you're missing out.
+/- Fun multi-player options/ Unlocking them is frustrating
- Not enough is changed with Vincent's decisions other than a few inner dialogues and the endings, so the story doesn't change much despite your answers to questions.
- The difficulty can be unforgivably hard.
Single Player: 9
Multiplayer: 7.5
Graphics: 7/Animated cut scenes: 9
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 8.5
Last-ability: 8
Final Verdict: 8.25/10
Personal Score: 9/10
Highly recommended for anyone looking for something different from the norm.
PS3 version looks comfy~
Of the two versions to play, I caution you before you decide to play the X-Box version. I need to say that a working d-pad can make your playtime less frustrating.
Do you know the phase "Sex sells"? Well, when Atlus puts out the pooty tang in the game market, expect something quite strange, delightfully strange.
Catherine is the latest new IP from the masters of unconventional rpgs like the Persona games, Atlus. And I'm quite pleased to say, Catherine is one lady worth the time to play around with.
Honestly, it's been a long time since an original game like Catherine has came around, with a strange little story about love, betrayal, redemption, and sheep people.
This strange tale centers around an indecisive middle aged man, Vincent Brooks, who has been dating his girlfriend, Katherine Mcbride, for 5 years with Katherine deciding to push the idea of the two of them to stop beating around the bush and go ahead and get married, which starts a chain of events for Vincent as the stress of marriage being pushed on him and unintentionally pulls back by unwillingly cheating on Katherine, with another girl named Catherine, and as you control Vincent, you get to decide which girl to works towards, staying faithful with Katherine, or cheating his way to freedom with Catherine.
There's also the option of neither, as you can also work your way to make sure love is over, which by the way that ending has nothing to do with the picture, but be sure to get used to this sight as Catherine can also be a cruel mistress.
The majority of gameplay is focused not on the real world, but during Vincent's nightmares caused by his unfaithfulness, a literally block hell stands in his way, and if you can't overcome it, then Vincent's love life is the least of his problems.
It's sort of like Qbert, but with the inclusion of pushing and pulling blocks in a race to the top sort of fashion on several levels with slowly crumbling block towers litered with traps and other sheep, er... people for the duration of 9 of Vincent's days and nightmares.
The game can be either frustrating or challenging, which thankfully isn't because of controls (Well at least for the PS3, the 360 though, unless you're some sort of weird Philistine, I'd recommend seeking out a more appropriately working d-pad), but rather stressful spike ups in difficulty that even easy mode can wear one's patience down to zero (Though there is the option of very easy mode by holding the select button on the main menu, trust me, you'll want to play that mode first, hell even the game itself will even call you a masochist for trying hard mode).
And before the end of each nightmare, many horrifying bosses await to literally crush you like a bloody grape or stop you from advancing to the top of the block towers.
And outside Vincent's nightmares, you can hang out at a bar with Vincent's friends, get shit-faced (Trust me, getting Vincent wasted is the best and first you should do before anything else while at the bar), meet and greet with other people and help with their life problems (Similar to Vincent's), which will aid you in your conquest for C/Katherine, and even play a alternative version style of gameplay of the levels from the nightmares on an arcade machine (Ha! A game within a game) which they too are ridiculously difficult unfortunately (This game does not ease on you up, even when you're not sleeping).
The story itself is definitely not just some sleazy perverted sex charged matinee (The entire game feel more like an interactive movie), but a well written story with plenty of deep moments and interesting characters.
And with multiple endings, the replay value is instantly considerable, and worth the effort, though there's not much to do differently except deciding which C/Katherine you want to work towards ending up with.
Extra modes are also a blast to play, with an intense two player versus mode, and a marathon style co-op enabled mode, allowing not just one player to experience Catherine at a time, but fully unlocking more options will need you to be in your puzzle grinding A game (And you can only unlock these levels by achieving high scores in story, on Normal mode or higher!), though the marathon mode can played alone, I will warn you that they are the hardest levels in the game due to their unpredictable puzzles.
The audio is also great, and the dub is well performed with noticeable voice actors like Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Michelle Ruff, and many others. Fans of Atlus are definitely the ones who will get the most kick out of the music as many songs from the past games made by Atlus making charming appearances (Within a jukebox), and the great soundtrack by Shoji Meguro will make you want to pause and listen to the catchy beats and rock with them.
Graphics wise, it's not that Catherine isn't particularly astonishing, it is still acceptable, but the animated cut scenes match up to the quality of even the most best looking animation japan has conceived, and Persona fans will want to look into this game, because this is what Persona 5 may end up looking like, which is good.
However, Catherine isn't a perfect woman, the difficulty can really be a deal breaker (As I mention constantly), and there isn't enough events changed through Vincent's moral decisions when going for other endings... other than the different endings of course.
Overall:
+ A new and great original game
+ Excellent story that is worth the multiple playthroughs
+ Great music with a fantastic dub
+ Good looking animated cut scenes
+ Interested in puzzle games? If not, you're missing out.
+/- Fun multi-player options/ Unlocking them is frustrating
- Not enough is changed with Vincent's decisions other than a few inner dialogues and the endings, so the story doesn't change much despite your answers to questions.
- The difficulty can be unforgivably hard.
Single Player: 9
Multiplayer: 7.5
Graphics: 7/Animated cut scenes: 9
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 8.5
Last-ability: 8
Final Verdict: 8.25/10
Personal Score: 9/10
Highly recommended for anyone looking for something different from the norm.
PS3 version looks comfy~
Of the two versions to play, I caution you before you decide to play the X-Box version. I need to say that a working d-pad can make your playtime less frustrating.
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artist-retired
| Aug 11, 2011 12:20 AM |
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