Game Review: Catherine

1. Presented by: Daniel Maciolek Game Review: Catherine

2. Basic Information • Game Title: Catherine • Company: • Developer: Atlus Co. • Publisher: Atlus Co. • Lead Authors: • Director: Katsura Hashino • Composer: Shoji Meguro • Art Director: Shigenori Soejima • Genre: Puzzle/Horror • Price: • Standard Edition: $59.99 • Love Is Over Edition: $79.99 http://tales.namco.com/abyss http://tales.namco.com/abyss

3. Basic Information • Hardware requirements: • PS3 or XBOX 360 console • Respective Catherine game disc • 1-2 Standard Controllers for Console • 2.3 GB hard disc memory for installation • 516 KB total hard disc memory for game saves Images from http://catherinethegame.wikia.com, and property of Atlus Co.

4. Game Summary • Overview • Catherine is a puzzle/horror game available for the PS3 and XBOX 360 • It primarily features two different styles of gameplay • Nightmare sequences, in which the player must solve puzzles to climb towers of blocks • Scenes in the bar, where the player controls Vincent and needs to interact with Vincent's friends and other customers, as well as make decisions and respond to text messages.

5. Game Summary • Story Premise • Vincent Brooks, a 32-year-old systems engineer, has been dating a woman named Katherine (also 32) for roughly five years. Recently, she's started talking about getting married. • Vincent begins having strange nightmares where both he and other people who appear to him as sheep must climb towers of blocks, or face death. • This corresponds to a series of unexplained deaths that appear in the news. A rumor goes around that only unfaithful men are being killed. • After the second nightmare Vincent has, he wakes up in bed with a much younger woman named Catherine. • Incapable of remembering what happened after he left the bar the previous night, Vincent must attempt to work through how he feels about both Katherine and Catherine, while continuing to avoid death in the nightmares that repeatedly visit him.

6. Game Summary • Player's Role • The player takes on the role of the game's protagonist, Vincent Brooks. • The player must help Vincent survive at night, by guiding him through the puzzles presented as he rushes to climb collapsing towers of blocks. • The player must make decisions for Vincent during the day at the bar, which will eventually affect the outcome of the game's story. Vincent Brooks Catherine Katherine McBride

7. Game Summary • Installation • Game installation is handled by the PS3 or XBOX 360 console, and takes roughly 10 to 20 minutes. • Game Play • The vast majority of the game play in Catherine takes place in the nightmare segments, where the player must complete puzzles and run away from boss enemies on towers of collapsing blocks. • A smaller span of time is devoted to answering Vincent's text messages and conversing with other customers at the bar. Scenes on the landing between individual nightmare segments in the same night mimic this style of game play. • Catherine also features a mini-game in the bar which has block puzzles with no time limit, but much more complex features, as well as a challenge mode known as Babel that utilizes semi-random patterns of blocks to provide a different type of challenge. • An Arena mode exists for two players to race each other to the top of specially designed levels, or push the other player off to win.

8. Game Summary User Interface Nightmare Level Nightmare Landing

9. Game Summary • Scoring • Catherine scores players primarily in two ways: • The amount of coins gathered in nightmare levels, which is a combination of how quickly the player climbs, and how many piles of gold they pick up. • The fastest time to clearing each of the four levels of Babel, which also includes an online leaderboard.

10. Game Summary • Artwork and Graphics • Graphics in Catherine consists of a blend of primarily two styles: • 3D character models and environments, which are used for the nightmare segments, landing/bar segments, and for most cut-scenes • Animated scenes which are used exclusively for cut-scenes, particularly in dramatic points of the story, and some endings.

11. Game Summary • Sound and Music • Music • Catherine features a mixture of music from two distinct sources used in two distinct ways: • Original compositions by Shoji Meguro, used in story segments and daytime events. • Remixes of famous classical pieces, used in the nightmare segments. • Sound • Fully voice-acted with an English cast • No option for the original Japanese audio • Numerous sound effects to build immersion, particularly in cut-scenes, but also simple things such as the sound of walking, or setting down a glass

12. Game Summary • Special Features • Very Easy Mode introduced for the English release, which essentially allows players to easily clear the nightmare segments, making the game much more accessible • Rapunzel mini-game in the bar, offering 128 additional puzzle stages • Babel and Arena modes which become available after beating the game and meeting specific requirements • Sound test mode in the bar, in which additional songs are unlocked from both Catherine and other Atlus games, as the player collects trophies (PS3) or achievements (XBOX 360) • Unique text message system which offers players a wider than usual range of responses to select from for each choice, and includes varying short-term results depending on responses

13. Game Summary • Manual • 53 pages • Full color • Written in both English and French • Introduction • Brief character bios • Explanation of interfaces • Explanation of basic controls • Items List

14. Game Summary • Bugs • Relative volume issues • In the US release of Catherine, volume during animated cut-scenes is much lower than the volume during all other game segments • PS3 Home Button • Normally, when the game is paused, the screen will be blurred on the background screen will be blurred on the pause menu, to not give players limitless time to think about a puzzle • Use of the PS3 Home Button, particularly for the extremely difficult Babel levels, allows PS3 players to pause and observe the game with a clear background, while XBOX 360 users cannot duplicate the effect with their respective home menu • The fourth level of Babel in the US version drops blocks in the wrong order in single player mode, making it almost impossible to beat outside of using co-op

15. Game Review • Good Aspects • Puzzle Segments • Four difficulties to choose from, allowing for accessibility to a large range of players • Upper difficulties provide a very high level of challenge, as do the Babel and Rapunzel game play modes • Lower levels of difficulty involve very little effort, allowing access for players who are just interested in the story • Well-Executed Story • Catherine tackles adult themes rarely presented in most video games, and handles them without taking itself too seriously, or simply making light of them • Strong development and presence from side characters, each of which with relevant and intertwined stories • Numerous Game Play Modes • Variety of different types of puzzle game play offer a lot of options to players interested in the unique style of puzzle-solving presented by Catherine

16. Game Review • Bad Aspects/Design Mistakes • Strange Handling of Controls • When Vincent is behind a row of blocks, the game's controls are inverted for some reason, making it very confusing to move • Camera Issues • In nightmare levels, the movement of the camera is very limited, and cannot rotate behind the tower of blocks, only to the sides at most • Upward and downward scrolling is limited and slow • Combines with the issue of inverted controls when behind rows to create awkward game play situations where the player can't see their character, and can't tell which way they're moving • Decisions Don't Have Enough Impact • Outside of a few lines of internal monologue every once in awhile, most decisions the player makes will have no impact on Catherine's story until the very end of the game

17. Game Review • Similar Games • Not a large number of possible options • Catherine features an odd combination of elements • Puzzle-driven game play • Mature story line with adult themes • Supernatural plot twists • Games that feature vaguely similar dark storylines: • Shin Megami Tensei series by Atlus Co. • Persona series by Atlus Co.

18. Game Review • Audience • Adult (17+) • Catherine contains material covering a variety of adult themes • While there is no sex that takes place on-screen, creative camera angles are used for scenes that feature a large amount of nudity • Catherine features a large amount of drinking, and rewards players for doing so by increasing their speed in nightmares • Blood and gore isn't present in any large degree, though Vincent's deaths due to being crushed or impaled usually involve him bursting into a pool of blood and bones • Strong language is used throughout the game in large quantities

19. Summary • Strengths • Deep story featuring adult themes • Variety of game-play modes and difficulties • 8 possible endings • Weaknesses • Strange controls often cause frustration • Camera issues can sometimes add to that difficulty • Volume bug breaks immersion, forcing players to adjust volume before and after animated cut-scenes

20. Summary • Is It Worth Purchasing • Short Answer: Yes • Longer Answer: It depends • Non-puzzle fans may want to try out the demo first, to get a feel for the style of game-play • Players not interested in the large number of different puzzle modes may feel that content is lacking in the main game, and may either want to rent Catherine, or wait for a price drop • Players not interested in either the story or the puzzle game-play should probably stay away.

21. Summary • Possible Improvements • Fix existing bugs • Add online Arena and Co-op modes • Choices could have had a bigger impact on the major events of the story prior to the game's ending

22. Citations • GameFAQs: http://www.gamefaqs.com • Official Catherine Site: http://www.catherinethegame.com/ • Catherine Wiki: http://catherinethegame.wikia.com/wiki/Catherine_Wiki