Will Catherine give you an experience you will never forget? Or is it simply a one-night stand? Find out in our review!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3MbSVdrfzw
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Story:
To cheat or not to cheat... why yes... that is the question. And it is also the theme for the game Catherine. *whispers* By the way, you probably shouldn't cheat especially if you don't want to get the shivic beaten out of you.... anyways let's get back on topic XD. In Catherine you play as Vincent Brooks, a 32 year old male who has been taking life one day at a time. He has no future goals. He has no plans. All he wants is things to stay the same. And by same, I mean continue to hang out with his friends at the bar and drink so much until he experiences liver failure. :P.
Vincent Brooks has been with his beloved girlfriend Katherine (Katherine with a K) for five years now. And while things have been going pretty good... Katherine feels like it's time to take their relationship to the next level. Moving in together, marriage, children, etc... in other words... commitment. The thing Vincent fears the most. One night, Vincent meets a hot young blonde bombshell name Catherine (Catherine with a C), and "accidently" has a one night stand with her after a hard nights work of drinking at the bar. Unable to believe what he has done, and unable to face the guilt, Vincent must decide if he wants to save what's left of his relationship with Katherine (Katherine with a K) or start fresh with his hot new dream girl, Catherine (Catherine with a C). And he has to do all of this while surviving night after night in this horrific dream where he has to climb a mountain of blocks while dodging traps, sheep, and and.... okay... I'm going to stop there before I confuse you guys any further :P.
Catherine is a weird game especially when it comes to its story elements. But it's the weirdness of the game that gives off an undeniable charm that can easily hook anyone. Once someone starts playing, they'll want to keep playing to find out what happens next in Vincent's melodramatic love life.
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Gameplay:
I bet all this talk of romance, drinking, marriage, and baby making (oh yeah!) is giving off the vibe that Catherine is a full fledged dating simulator. Nope. Not even close. Catherine is actually a... dare I say it... a puzzle game! DUM DUM DUUUUUUUUUUM! Hey, get back here, don't you dare turn off this video! Before you get your underwear tied in a knot, hear me out. While it may turn some people off (hehehe see what I did there), Catherine is a great puzzle game from top to bottom.
A huge bulk of the game involves Vincent climbing/pushing/pulling blocks to reach the top of a level or area. Sounds easy right? Hahaha, you couldn't be far from wrong. Just like chess, while the concept of moving blocks is easy to grasp, it's another story when it comes down to mastering the game. This game will make you think. Add in special trap blocks into the mix, and strategic boss battles, and your brain will be needing surgery long after the game has ended. The puzzles in Catherine will brutally beat you down, but just like Dark Souls, the unrelenting challenge is what will drive you to keep pushing forward. Either that, or make you rage quit hahaha!
When you're not testing your brain power during the puzzle levels, you'll spend the rest of your time at the Stray Sheep, Vincent's favorite place to hang out with his friends and knock back a couple of brewskies. It is here where the game starts to feel like a dating sim hahaha. At the bar you can perform a variety of activities such as talk to your friends, get advice, mingle with bar customers, play an arcade game, use the jukebox, and use the toilet to look at dirty pictures that Catherine sends you... :P. Yeah... and that's not even the sexiest pictu- all right moving on hahaha.
Catherine does a great job in blending and mixing these two gameplay styles, puzzle solving and hanging out at the bar, and brings it all together into one cohesive and memorable gaming experience.
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Graphics:
Catherine is absolutely beautiful. Both the character and the game hahaha! Just like Catherine, the game is sleek, sexy, and drop dead gorgeous. Catherine utilizes a vibrant cel shaded style of graphics, and it matches the look, and feel of the entire game. The art direction is visually freaky, and at the same time, visually stunning. From the character design to the environment design, everything is top notch. There aren't that many girls that look and feel this way, and that's not a bad thing. Hahaha, oh wait did I say girls? I meant to say games... you know what... let's just move on hahaha.
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Sound:
Shoji Meguro, the mastermind behind the music of the Persona series, does it again. The in-game music is absolutely amazing. He takes traditional classical music and gives it his own unique modern twist. Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming, bobbing your head, and just standing there to engulf yourself in the amazing soundtrack that Shoji Meguro fabricated himself.
The voice acting is also top notch, and Laura Bailey (the voice actor of Catherine with a C) plays her role as a seductive temptress, very nicely. With a strong cast of voice actors, and believable voice acting, this is one performance you'll never forget. The characters feel real, and it's almost as if you're there sitting there with them knocking back some beers and discussing Vincent's love life problems.
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Overall:
Overall Catherine does not disappoint, if you know what I mean! *cough* Sorry about that. With great puzzle elements, an engrossing storyline, catchy music, and top-notch voice acting, you'd be crazy not to fall in love with Catherine. You know what they say, how do you know if you like her if you don't try her, errr I mean it... you know...the game... okay you know what let's just announce the score.
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Final Score:
Catherine gets 8.5 ruined relationships out of 10.