Catherine Q*bert-All

Blind_Evil wrote:

Demo is coming next Tuesday.

Suppose that's what I'll use to distract me until A Dance With Dragons hits the doorstep.

This will likely be the first demo I ever download. It's a shame I'll be out on business until Thursday. It's also a shame I don't have the money to pre-order it, but that's another story.

I've lost most of my interest in this game, so I hope that demo connects with me as the gameplay I've seen does nothing for me.

Demo is coming next Tuesday.

Suppose that's what I'll use to distract me until A Dance With Dragons hits the doorstep.

Quick reminder bump: demo is up on XBL now. I'm not sure if it's for gold members only, or if it's up on PSN yet.

The controls are a little squirrelly at first. Once I'd died a few times on the second stage I got a hold of them and it felt really smooth, and rewarding. The storytelling seems to be top-notch.

I tried the demo on Xbox because it wasn't out on PS3 network (go figure). The presentation is great and the "cell phone" mechanic is interesting. It remains to be seen how much that affects the story.
I could see the puzzle gameplay itself being far smoother using a controller with a proper d-pad. If I get this it will definitely be a PS3 purchase.

I was really impressed with the demo. I didn't have any problems with the 360's d-pad in this game, largely because the d-pad only really seems to crap out on the diagonals and this game doesn't use them. I'm interested in the story and the characters, and the gameplay has potential.

It's funny to play this having recently played Trauma Team because many of the voice actors are in both games. Also, the voice actress for Catherine should be familiar to Nier fans; that's Laura Bailey, voice of Kaine.

So I tried the PS3 version as well as the Xbox and I did indeed find the controls to be a bit smoother on the PS3. The positioning of the d-pad makes using it feel more natural for me than the position on the Xbox. The load times were also quite a bit faster on the PS3.

Well, I quite enjoyed the demo, though I don't find much appealing about the Qbert stuff. Everything else was top notch though.

Though I feel the sort of Auteurship shown here is exactly what games need, I wonder: Is it sad, or good, that I can be at the life place where I play the demo sorta drunk because of my life place, and think "f*ck this douche-nugget and his non-dilemma of which hottie to choose! I don't want to spend 5 to 8 hours dealing with his wishy-washy dickbag bullsh*t!" How about good for the medium that I can discount a game by theme, eh? Fair?

Well that was balls-to-the-wall weird.

I'm interested, I'll say that, if only because it felt like such a radical departure from everything else that's in my game box. I'll be watching reviews closely because even after playing the demo, I still have very little idea what the entire game is like.

I don't see myself picking this up for full price. The demo was a giant pile of WTH.

It was definitely interesting, but I'm not sure there's enough of a game there to keep me going.

It's an interactive anime. Anime Heavy Rain. I have some of the same thoughts. I want to buy the game to support people taking risks. I just don't know WTH it is.

So buy it and play it with an open mind. You don't know what you're getting. That's kind of the whole point with doing something new.

ALL games used to be that way, once upon a time.

Malor wrote:

So buy it and play it with an open mind. You don't know what you're getting. That's kind of the whole point with doing something new.

ALL games used to be that way, once upon a time.

In the end I probably will. I sold NCAA 12 tonight because it's the same old broken game. So I'm definitely up for a change of pace. Just flummoxed about what the actually gameplay will be throughout the game.

Malor wrote:

So buy it and play it with an open mind. You don't know what you're getting. That's kind of the whole point with doing something new.

ALL games used to be that way, once upon a time.

In the end I probably will. I sold NCAA 12 tonight because it's the same old broken game. So I'm definitely up for a change of pace. Just flummoxed about what the actually gameplay will be throughout the game.

From one of the few reviewers I tend to trust: http://www.1up.com/reviews/catherine...

Jeremy Parish wrote:

Catherine is a game for anyone who's ever feared commitment, dreaded aging, felt their heart stray, dealt with a pregnancy scare, spent long booze-soaked hours commiserating with pals at the local dive bar, or simply questioned the direction their life is going as they close in on middle age. It's for other people, too, but you guys out there with thinning hair and thickening waistlines are going to find a lot more to relate to in Catherine than you might expect from a mere video game. Sure, it's all wrapped in a bizarre story about sheep men trying to climb blocks to save their lives, but the uncanniness here just defines the down-to-earth humanity of the story all the more.

Catherine isn't a game for everyone, it's true. But in an era increasingly defined by developers' ever-growing fear of creating anything that isn't a safe, conservative million-seller, Atlus' willingness to create and publish something as unique as this is truly commendable. Best of all, it's not just a weird game -- it's a great one, too.

I wasn't quite sure about Catherine, but this review, along with some of the other positive impressions I've been reading, may have swayed me to pick it up sometime soon. It sounds like the box art and sex-driven advertising is not representative of the game's story.

I didn't really connect with the puzzle element in the demo so I think I'll be watching an LP sometime down the road.

I had to cancel my pre-order for this because of some unexpected car repairs, but I'll likely be buying it come payday on the first of August. I'm uncertain about the gameplay, but I'm on the lookout for this year's Nier or Deadly Premonition and this looks like it could fit the bill.

There are lot of positive reviews coming out for this. They all seem to agree that the difficulty is beastly but the story payoff and satisfaction of success are worth bearing it.

I am neck deep in PC games right now though - I'm a bit torn between supporting something that is clearly avant-garde and saving my money until the day I can actually play this.

Mine arrives thu/fri. I'll let you know.

I'm debating playing on super-easy first time through...

Minarchist wrote:

Mine arrives thu/fri. I'll let you know.

I'm debating playing on super-easy first time through...

You know the TA ratios for the hard playthroughs will be through the roof. Just start there.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

Mine arrives thu/fri. I'll let you know.

I'm debating playing on super-easy first time through...

You know the TA ratios for the hard playthroughs will be through the roof. Just start there.

I also know that there are eight endings, and an achievement for each. Plenty of time for hard.

Eight? I had no idea. There's at least a little bit of replay value beyond score-chasing, then.

Here's a full list of achievements translated from the Japanese version. The two really impossibly hard ones will be Brilliant Gold Man and Birth of a New God, I think.

Spoiler:

Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Nightmare Beginning- : Clear Stage 1
Bronze Trophy / 5 Pts. -Escaped the Prison of Sinners- : Clear Stage 2
Bronze Trophy / 5 Pts. -Escaped the Torture Chamber- : Clear Stage 3
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Passed your Court Hearing- : Clear Stage 4
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Crossed the Courtyard Room- : Clear Stage 5
Bronze Trophy / 15 Pts. -Walked through the Clock Tower- : Clear Stage 6
Bronze Trophy / 15 Pts. -Traveled the path to the Altar- : Clear Stage 7
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. -Legendary Achievement- : Clear Stage 8
Silver Trophy / 20 Pts. -True Freedom- : Clear Stage 9
Bronze Trophy / 30 Pts. -Good Night Baby- : Get the Lovers bad ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Invincible Man- : Get the Affair bad ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Like That Time- : Get the Lovers good ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Sleepless Night- : Get the Affair good ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Good Day For a Trip- : Get the Lovers True Ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Emperor of the Night- : Get the Affair True Ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Do as you Please- : Get the Freedom normal ending
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -End of your Travels- : Get the Freedom True Ending
Gold Trophy / 100 Pts. -Obtainer of Dreams- : View all endings
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Journalist Decision- : Solve Justin's problem
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Outgrowing Rules- : Solve Todd's problem
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Love Remedy- : Solve Archie's problem
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -All you need is love- : Solve Daniel's problem
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Final Drink!- : Solve Morgan's problem
Silver Trophy / 50 Pts. -Everyone's Hero- : Solve everyone's problem
Bronze Trophy / 5 Pts. -This Song Tonight- : Change the song in the jukebox
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. -Mailman- : Send 20 text messages
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Colosseum Mode unlocked- : Beat the game
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Pressure Man- : Move five blocks at once
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Slippery Man- : Push an ice block over five blocks
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. -Demolition Man- : Detonate five blocks at once
Silver Trophy / 30 Pts. -Superman- : Use a spring 3 consecutive times
Silver Trophy / 30 Pts. -Slow and Steady- :
Move a solid block 10 consecutive times
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Sake Connoisseur- : Hear all the trivia about Sake
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Beer Connoisseur- : Hear all the trivia about Beer
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Cocktail Connoisseur- :
Hear all the trivia about Cocktails
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Whiskey Connoisseur- :
Hear all the trivia about Whiskey
Bronze Trophy / 5 Pts. -Then There Were None- :
Continue to stay at the bar(Begin Stage 9).
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Babel Invitation- : Earn 1 gold prize on Normal
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. -Conquered Altar- : Clear the Altar Bonus Stage
Bronze Trophy / 15 Pts. -3 Star Man- : Earn 3 gold prizes on Normal
Bronze Trophy / 15 Pts. -Conquered Menhir- : Clear the Menhir bonus stage
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. -5 Star Man- : Earn 5 gold prizes on Normal
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. -Conquered Obelisk- : Clear the Obelisk bonus stage
Silver Trophy / 30 Pts. -Man Who Challenged God- : All gold prizes on Normal
Gold Trophy / 100 Pts. -Birth of a new God- :
Clear the Axis Mundi bonus stage
Gold Trophy / 100 Pts. -Brilliant Gold Man- : Earn all gold prizes on Hard
Bronze Trophy / 10 Pts. - Beyond the Riddle- : Clear 64 stages in Rapunzel
Bronze Trophy / 20 Pts. - Riddle within a riddle- :
Discover the hidden Rapunzel
Silver Trophy / 50 Pts. - Legendary Prince- :
Discover the truth about Rapunzel

The Three Gold Award Trophy unlocks Backside of the TV from Persona 4.
The Clear Babel Trophy unlocks Sun from Persona 3 Portable.
The Five Gold Award Trophy unlocks Hunting from Digital Devil Saga
and World Map ~Before Transformation~ from SMT Nocturne.
The Nine Gold Award Trophy unlocks Burn My Dread from Persona 3.
Conquering Menhir unlocks Mass Destruction from Persona 3.

I got this yesterday, but I'm a little concerned about starting it up. I don't know if I'm getting my gamertag back, and if not then I may have issues with save games being associated with the wrong profile.

I put about three hours in on Tuesday night.

Personally I enjoyed what I played. Most of what we've seen by the way of previews/etc is fairly representative of the game. Gameplay itself is almost solely the timed block manipulation and climbing mechanic, so if that doesn't grab you, you should probably avoid it. Any other gameplay is basically a town section from a JRPG - approach NPCs, chat, occasionally choose one of two options which effects a pseudo-morality meter.

And, like is generally reported, the gameplay ain't easy. It starts to get hard rather quick on normal difficulty. There's a 'generous' number of lives given to you at the beginning (about 12? in normal mode) but it doesn't take long to chew through them, especially during sections where it's not so much that your reactions are failing you but your brain is. Trying to work out a way to proceed where you just can't see it while being timed gets frustrating pretty fast - I experienced this on the first section of Night 4, where I went through my 12 or so lives just trying to see what it was I was doing wrong.

Ok, that said, the animation sections are exceptionally well realized and the anime cut scenes are also gorgeous. I can somewhat identify with the main characters woes/predicaments and sympathize with the weird choice-by-the-way-of-non-choice actions that happen so it appeals to me, but again, YMMV.

I'm definitely going to try and see it through.

Biggest disappointment I have is the lack of selectable Japanese voice-acting - the US version is exclusively english dubbed.

I played the demo last night for the first time. I don't think I've even seen a single video of it before last night, so I went in with complete surprise.

Holy sh*t man. The demo sticks you on easy difficulty, but that was still the most intense puzzle game of my life. Though in truth, I'd say it's more a puzzle-platformer or platformer-puzzler or something. That's how it feels to me, at least.

Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can see its unique style drawing me into addiction. I'll be buying it tomorrow after work.

I tried the demo. I did like the visuals/presentation.. but the gameplay. Just not for me I guess.

Jeff Gerstmann's review is on Giantbomb: he didn't like it very much.

Mr Gerstmann wrote:

[...] but Catherine's limited character interaction, shallow characters, and monotonous puzzles combine to form a unique experience that feels frustratingly limited in every respect.

I guess it's rather opposite of 1Up's review. I'm still very interested in this game, but I lack a console so I'll be awaiting someone's playthrough videos on Youtube.

I hope this game has given Atlus the engine needed for another Shin Megami Tensei and/or Persona title.

Forte wrote:

Jeff Gerstmann's review is on Giantbomb: he didn't like it very much.

Mr Gerstmann wrote:

[...] but Catherine's limited character interaction, shallow characters, and monotonous puzzles combine to form a unique experience that feels frustratingly limited in every respect.

I guess it's rather opposite of 1Up's review. I'm still very interested in this game, but I lack a console so I'll be awaiting someone's playthrough videos on Youtube.

I hope this game has given Atlus the engine needed for another Shin Megami Tensei and/or Persona title.

After reading Joystiq, Escapist's and Ars Technica's reviews, he may be in the minority on this one.