Catherine for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

This game looks like a quick cash in for sexual appeal, but oh boy it's not. It's a journey of a young man who has an affair with his long time girlfriend. It's the players choice to side with Catherine or Katherine. The game consists of two modes, day and then sleep mode(nightmare). During the day you socialize with the characters to further the story, and then in nightmare mode the game play consists of block moving and hopping. I'll admit I'm not a big puzzle fan, but I really loved playing the nightmare sections just to further advance this great story. The nightmare mode gets harder as it goes on, including more strategies, enemies, etc. The game has a really good soundtrack, and the graphics looks like its from an anime which looks quite nice. It's a great game for a puzzle fan, or anyone who wants to enjoy an interesting story.

It's been said before but it's worth saying again- Atlus's "Catherine" is unlike any other game out there. This is a unique experience, a mature game for mature gamers, tackling themes rarely if ever seen in a game before. At its core "Catherine" is a puzzle game- by moving blocks, you need to work your way to the top to an escape before the blocks below you crumble away or the boss of the level catches up to you. As you progress, different block types add to the challenge- blocks with spikes, ice, those that explode, all guarantee a nasty end and your starting over. You can build up quite a few continues while climbing the puzzle towers, which is a good thing, as you will die often. Run out of continues, and it's "Game Over", and then you need to restart from your last save point. While it's tough, it's not impossible. This is not only a puzzle game, it also tells a story- that of Vincent, a man plagued by nightmares and commitment issues, caught between long-time girlfriend Katherine and bar tryst Catherine, each of whom would make things very unpleasant for Vincent if she found out about the other. In this aspect, the game becomes sort of a relationship sim, with a slight RPG element- you play the role of Vincent and choices you make through conversation affects the game's outcome. The nightmarish puzzles also bring a survival/horror element in as well, as the bosses that try to kill you during the game's nine stages can be quite creepy and bizarre. The game controls fairly well, and both the puzzles and cutscenes due a good job of ratcheting up the suspense. The graphics are well done in an anime style, which suits the game perfectly. The voice acting is terrific, and the music sets the mood well. It's not perfect, as the camera sometimes works against you. It's not for everyone-those craving big action set pieces or more traditional RPG trappings are bound to be disappointed. For those looking to try something different, this is well worth your time.