Catherine is like no other game out there. How can a mix of horror, erotica, and fun puzzle solving go wrong? It doesn't
Catherine is not your typical game. You're not some white knight hero out to do the right thing like save the world. Instead, your a 30 something year old man who's having girl troubles(and wetting the bed among other things) You play as Vincent, a regular guy with a regular job with a regular life. A man who seems to have trouble biting the bullet and getting married to his long time girlfriend Katherine. Yes, it seems his Katherine is getting a little annoyed with Vincent dodging her advances about him having dinner with her family, staying at her place all day, and tying the knot. Vincent is hoping that he can keep going through just having things stay as they are, until he makes a possibly very big mistake. After a night at the bar, Vincent finds himself waking up in his bed...with a very attractive lady lying next to him. The only problem is this lady is not his girlfriend Katherine, but a complete stranger...named Catherine!
I know some of you are right now thinking that this might sound like one of the most boring plots in the history of gaming, but for some reason I am finding myself very interested in this plot line, more so then some of the very action packed shooting games that I play. Maybe its has something to do with how its all so real, i myself know people having the exact same(well, almost) problems that Vincent is having. The story so far is letting me choose how i want to react to both ladies. A Order and Disorder meter appear after i make choices, the Order relating to Katherine and the Disorder relating to Catherine. You can make choices in the means of text messages which you will get frequently. Someone will text you a question, and you can in turn respond with an answer(usually 3 to 4) Deciding on how you respond will have you react differently to each of the girls. It will also change the way they react to you, so be careful! There are also other plot points (such as the mystery killings) but as of now i don't know how it will all play out, so i wont go to much into it.
The odd story is one thing, but the game play takes it to a whole new level. Every night Vincent goes to sleep he has a nightmare. This is where the fun, or possibly frustration begins. Your goal is to make Vincent climb to the top of the tower that is set before you. This involves pushing, pulling, and creating blocks to climb. During all this, the bottom of the stage is always falling away, making you have to rush to get to the top of the tower, or you'll fall and die. To me, this is quite a thrill. Every stage is different, but they all so far keep the gory monster hellish theme. There are many different types of blocks that you will have to overcome(ice, exploding, falling blocks, and even blocks that eat you) so it never gets stale. There are even boss battles, where a giant version of something in real life tries to knock you off the tower, or cause trouble in some other ways. So far every boss has been pretty cool, and some are pretty funny.
I'll admit there are a few times when climbing blocks can be a bit of a chore. The camera will sometimes zoom to far onto the boss, leaving you unable to see Vincent very well. At some points to when you climb behind a block, it gets hard to see what your doing. This is something that happened to me at the beginning of the game though and i soon got used to it when it happens. The other thing to say about this game is yes...its hard. Right now I am playing Normal, and there are some times that i want to pull my hair out. I'm actually thinking of dropping down to easy, as I have been stuck at a certain part for a while now. On easy mode, you can also choose to redo, meaning if you pushed a block off, or put it in the wrong place, you can redo and have that block pop back up, letting you try again.
All in all this game is surprisingly good. I don't consider myself to be someone that's into a lot of puzzle games, but due to the story and game play, i really want to find out what happens and i really want to keep climbing those towers. This NOT a game for everyone. Its very easy to see how some people would absolutely hate this game. I feel the story is made more towards older players(I'm 22) and am not to sure if its enough to keep the younger players interested. However if you're in the mood for something different, a good story, and a big challenge, then Catherine should be in your house(and possibly bed) by today!