Catherine Q*bert-All

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I do have one question. There isn't a video or anything that plays after the credits is there? I let the credits run and did something else, but when I came back, it just went to the start screen. It doesn't seem like there needs to be anything, but I want to make sure.

Depends on which ending you got. Unless you got one of the three "true" endings, or the "good" lover ending, there's nothing after the credits.

Minarchist wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I do have one question. There isn't a video or anything that plays after the credits is there? I let the credits run and did something else, but when I came back, it just went to the start screen. It doesn't seem like there needs to be anything, but I want to make sure.

Depends on which ending you got. Unless you got one of the three "true" endings, or the "good" lover ending, there's nothing after the credits.

There are four endings? Wow... I guess I'll have to do a little googling and see how much time I'd have to invest to hit the other ones. It might be worth it for me. I forget what my ending was called.

Spoiler:

I ended up escorting Katherine in that cathedral mission away from Catherine, and I ended up with Katherine at the very end.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I do have one question. There isn't a video or anything that plays after the credits is there? I let the credits run and did something else, but when I came back, it just went to the start screen. It doesn't seem like there needs to be anything, but I want to make sure.

Depends on which ending you got. Unless you got one of the three "true" endings, or the "good" lover ending, there's nothing after the credits.

There are four endings? Wow... I guess I'll have to do a little googling and see how much time I'd have to invest to hit the other ones. It might be worth it for me. I forget what my ending was called.

Spoiler:

I ended up escorting Katherine in that cathedral mission away from Catherine, and I ended up with Katherine at the very end.

8, actually. And they require three full run-throughs to obtain, as your karma meter has to be in different places to see them all.

You escort Katherine through level 8 regardless of your ending.

What happened in the actual animated part of your ending, after the conversation at the bar? That's how you can tell which one you got.

Spoiler:

If they were in bed talking about the future, that's "good". If it was the wedding at the Stray Sheep with the totally awesome conversation, that's "true".

If neither of those sounds familiar, then yes, you missed some stuff when you left for the credits.

I got the "good" ending then, which makes sense from how I handled things.

Then to answer the question you asked way back on the last page, you didn't miss anything.

Minarchist wrote:
Spoiler:

If they were in bed talking about the future, that's "good". If it was the wedding at the Stray Sheep with the totally awesome conversation, that's "true".

Spoiler:

"I want my V-Card back!"

Spoiler:

Sorry, once that hole is punched, there's no going back!

I've posted it two or three times here, but probably still my favorite line of the whole game (though there are a few other close calls).

Ironically, out of all the endings I've seen so far, I like this one:

Spoiler:

The one where she comes down to the bar and they have a conversation where finally tells her the truth and she's willing to talk to him again and you pull away on them just talking.

It's one of the "maybe" colored ones, but honestly, I'd feel more trust in the relationship that would be built after they both took a bit of time to really get to know the "new" Vincent than any romantic nonsense right out of the gate.

Leigh Alexander posted a triumvirate of Catherine articles up on her SVGL blog not too long ago (I just found them today). One is a review, but the other two go in to a bit more depth on the relationship side of things. This one, in particular, summed up many of my thoughts on why the interaction in this game was so incredible -- I truly think it could be the pop culture game of my generation (that is, the listless 30-year-old). The Escapist article, launching a new series for her, was a bit broader and more vague, but I include it for the sake of completion.

...Man, I really want to play this again. Maybe in a month or two.

ARISE THREAD!

Just started this this morning, and man, it's presentation is so weird...and I love it!!!

I didn't realize that the game was told as a midnight movie on late night TV. That threw me for a loop - a very pleasant, red-afro loop.

I am pissed though: been listening to the Giant Bomb GOTY podcast and f*cking Patrick Klepek straight spoiled the Catherine reveal with absolutely no warning at all:

"Catherine is a great game but the ending with

Spoiler:

Catherine being a succubus

was pretty bad and tacked on"

Just all nonchalant like.

I had no idea what was in store (although after going through the first two nights so far, I would've put something mystical together) and now am a bit bummed that I already know what's happening.

poop.

Anyways, already finding the puzzles challenging and looking forward to more of the character building elements.

nel e nel wrote:

ARISE THREAD!

Just started this this morning, and man, it's presentation is so weird...and I love it!!!

I didn't realize that the game was told as a midnight movie on late night TV. That threw me for a loop - a very pleasant, red-afro loop.

I am pissed though: been listening to the Giant Bomb GOTY podcast and f*cking Patrick Klepek straight spoiled the Catherine reveal with absolutely no warning at all:

"Catherine is a great game but the ending with

Spoiler:

Catherine being a succubus

was pretty bad and tacked on"

Just all nonchalant like.

I had no idea what was in store (although after going through the first two nights so far, I would've put something mystical together) and now am a bit bummed that I already know what's happening.

poop.

Anyways, already finding the puzzles challenging and looking forward to more of the character building elements.

That is quite a spoiler and a bummer. However, there are a bunch of different endings. Mine turned out that way, however I've wondered if there are other ways the game can turn out where Catherine isn't a ... Maybe that'll give you some hope. If it helps, I tended to play the good guy, I think I got the partial good but not full good ending.

My favorite ending (and the one *I* think is canon) is True Neutral.

Minarchist wrote:

My favorite ending (and the one *I* think is canon) is True Neutral.

Spoiler:

Does Catherine end up being a succubus in every ending?

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

My favorite ending (and the one *I* think is canon) is True Neutral.

Spoiler:

Does Catherine end up being a succubus in every ending?

Spoiler:

Well, the Boss says that she's not human in every ending. The only ones where you really find out (and see her father) are the "good" evil and "true" evil. I don't think you see her father in the "bad" evil; she just leaves. Also, the "true evil" ending is magnificent. :-)

That really is a crappy give-away.

Spoiler:

I mean, it's not like it was a surprise when it was finally revealed, but the game built you up to that level of crazy mysticism going on. You know there was something unnatural happening, yeah, but the game gets full-blown out there by the end...but it is built up so you're ready for it.

I understand "the game's been out a while" logic, but that's just...agh.

Aaaagh!

Irresponsible. Especially since Catherine wouldn't be as huge a hit. If someone spoiled Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3 or Skyrim for me, I'd be irritated, but I'm also a minority of folks that haven't grabbed any of those games.

Catherine, on the other hand...

I read the spoiler (natch). Didn't see that one coming, although it doesn't diminish my interest in the game at all. I just need to, you know, buy it now.

The really interesting thing about the reveal is that it brings up a real relational issue about what, exactly, constitutes cheating -- without the spoiler, it's a pretty clear-cut case. Like I said, it's my GOTY for the incredibly realistic take it has on complex adult relationships, between Vincent and his GF, friends, and other people around him; it raises a lot of questions that it doesn't answer. Also, the puzzles are fun.

It was up there for me too, Minarchist, for most of the same reasons. The music being excellent is another reason for me. The only reason I liked a few other games better was that the puzzles got a tad repetitive for me towards the end. I still haven't tried any coop puzzles. That might be fun. Maybe I'll try it again if it comes out on PC for some crazy reason.

Well, truth told, the game itself doesn't handle these adult situations in the best or most mature way possible. Especially considering a lot of the questions.

But it does it really well for a video game, and decently well for most other forms of entertainment as well.

But God dammit, I didn't like Katherine or Catherine.

Spoiler:

I'd have had the protagonist hit on the waitress...until I learned "her" secret. Thank God they didn't spoil that one, as it was one of the more amusing parts of the ending. Well, the ending I got at least.

I feel bad for you but they did say that there'd be spoilers throughout. I had quite a few moments in Saints Row 3 spoiled, but I was willing to take the risk.

ccesarano wrote:

Well, truth told, the game itself doesn't handle these adult situations in the best or most mature way possible. Especially considering a lot of the questions.

Sometimes not, but I think it was handled in such a way that it was a reflection of the stunted man-child Vincent, not the developers themselves, which I thought was even more thought-provoking. Though admittedly I may be looking for explanations that might not be there.

...I didn't like Katherine or Catherine.

I'm telling you, man, True Neutral is the way to go. It felt (by far) the most accurate to what Vincent would have chosen.

I'll have to go through the game again and figure out what True Neutral is (trying to avoid both of them?).

But I do agree about being a reflection of Vincent as a man-child. Even though the game provided choice, you were directing a pre-written character. You just determined which aspects of his pre-existing personality became more dominant.

In some ways, actually, Catherine is a similar sort of analysis of the man-child as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It's two very different approaches, but it certainly speaks to the generation. I've known plenty of my brother's friends, all in their 30's, who were fine just skating by through life with the bare minimum. Go to work, go home, do your thing, hang with your friends and play video games. A bunch of my friends from high school are doing the same thing.

Catherine does approach this sort of thing very well, I think, but if you're not the sort of character Vincent is, or have no patience for that sort of person, I imagine it could present a dislike of the character and the story.

ccesarano wrote:

I'll have to go through the game again and figure out what True Neutral is (trying to avoid both of them?).

I actually got it on my first run by total accident, just answering what I thought Vincent would really say. I think you have to be within one notch of the middle of the bar on either side, then answer the final-stage questions in the right way. Being too hot or cold on the karma meter then answering the questions correctly will only get you the "good" neutral ending. (Note that there's no "bad" neutral ending, unlike the lawful and karma endings. Interesting, that...)

Blind_Evil wrote:

I feel bad for you but they did say that there'd be spoilers throughout. I had quite a few moments in Saints Row 3 spoiled, but I was willing to take the risk.

Oh yeah, it's a faux anger at it's core. The thing was that the 'cast I was listening to was the last of the GOTY series, and they had been relatively good about spoiler warnings in all of them so far. So after 10 hours I just wasn't ready for a bomb like that to be dropped all casual like. They had even talked about Catherine a couple of times without spoilers, and everything I've read about it up til now never even touched the subject of the reveal, so I guess I got a bit comfortable thinking they wouldn't have done that. And most of the other 'spoilers' weren't really that big, IMO.

I mean, is revealing

Spoiler:

Burt Reynolds

is in SR:3rd as big?

But as I said, I've already gathered something a la Lifeforce is happening: they already prelude the whole game with the strange murders and the shot of the desiccated corpse is a big hint. Right now I'm looking forward to figuring out who the various sheep are in the real world.

WHO'S WEARING THE TIE?!?!
WHO HAS THAT FUNNY HAIRCUT?!?!

I'm also curious about the meter. I'm going with my gut on the answers and texts, so it'll be fun to see how those shape up.

Burt Reynolds was not a surprise, and none of the deckers.die mission was either. The game does definitely lose something with reduced shock value...either that, or I just don't like it as much as everyone else.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Burt Reynolds was not a surprise, and none of the deckers.die mission was either. The game does definitely lose something with reduced shock value...either that, or I just don't like it as much as everyone else.

Yeah, they kinda talked SR3rd and Skyrim to death at the end there deciding the top 2 slots on their final list, so I don't blame you if you were less than overwhelmed by that game.

Back on topic: I had a thought that Catherine reminded me of The Ring/Ringu:

Dinner scene after night two and Vincent overhears a couple talking about 'the dream where if you fall you die in real life'. Kinda reminded me of the whole urban legend/ghost story thing that Ringu had going on.

YOU WILL DIE IN 7 DAYS!!!

Also glad my mother-in-law had no idea what she was buying when she got me this for Xmas. My wife came in on a pretty eyebrow raising conversation about marriage: "Isn't this game...hilarious honey?"

Almost at the end of Night 3, and I gotta say, Q*bert is way easier than Catherine.

nel e nel wrote:

Almost at the end of Night 3, and I gotta say, Q*bert is way easier than Catherine.

Effing run away now.

I had planned to play this through a couple times but the idea of doing the last two nights again scurred me away!

I'd like to mention that I was thoroughly challenged on Easy mode and do not feel like less of a man for it. So, yeah, unlike most games, I don't feel compelled to play on normal at least. This game is hard.

ccesarano wrote:

I'd like to mention that I was thoroughly challenged on Easy mode and do not feel like less of a man for it. So, yeah, unlike most games, I don't feel compelled to play on normal at least. This game is hard.

Remember, this was a game in which they patched Easy mode to make it easier. And added a "super easy" mode while they were at it.