Atlus is known for making odd games that usually blends a mixture of genres. My last Atlus game was Persona 3 which fused RPG elements with a dating/life sim. Odd as it is, the game was incredible. After I sold my PS2, I had no way to replay Persona 3 and I was a bit devastated. I waited and hoped that Atlus would release a new game for the Xbox 360 as a nod to my PS2 nostalgia. And they finally have.B
Catherine is their new game and it's their most oddest title to date. Yeah it's weird as hell yet it has that Atlus style all over it. I heard about this game from various game site and made sure I kept it under my radar. Just recently a demo for Catherine was released in the Xbox marketplace and I snapped it up right away. The first thing I noticed about the game was that Art direction and anime cutscene were similar to Atlus past game. Story events play out in the cut scene and in the in-game sequences. During the start of the demo, we are treated to a cutscene depicting a newscast breaking a story about a number young males being found disfigured and dead. As we cut to main story, we play as the main protagonist named Vincent. He's just your ordinary 30 something year old guy who wants a no commitment relationship with his girlfriend, Katherine. When they meet, she hints about them getting married but Vincent is reluctant to. After a few cutscene having Vincent alone at a bar, he knocks out and we enter his dream world and this is where things gets crazy.
We see Vincent in nothing but his chonnies standing on blocks that stack up high. The atmosphere is dark and brooding and it appears he's in a nightmare. Suddenly you hear a screech and a menacing creature lurking at the bottom of the blocks quickly climbs upward attempting to kill Vincent. This is the games action sequences which plays as a puzzle game. Once we are granted control of Vincent, we are told to move Vincent up the blocks. He can pull blocks and push blocks to make paths to climb. He can also hang on to the blocks and move from each visible side. There is a lot of elements to the puzzle game but it seems very simple and from the few deaths I caused for Vincent so far, it can get challenging real fast.
After the first puzzle sequence, we find Vincent alone at the bar and thus we he meets a mysterious but tantalizing young women named Catherine (yeah thats Catherine with a C). She quickly introduces herself and find a seat near him. The next morning, Vincent wakes up to find that he and Catherine spent the night together at his house. I can imagine things will only get more interesting from here.
I am definitely looking forward to this game when it releases for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on July 26.
