Awesome Games in the 21st Century: Catherine

Just played a demo for Catherine, published/developed by Atlus, a company which made games as the popular such as the Persona series.  It was actually a pretty good demo for something I wasn't exactly expecting out of Atlus; definitely a pleasant surprise.  The demo is up in Playstation Store and Marketplace and gives you about two levels and some story behind what the game is really about.  The game is mostly a horror puzzle platformer and deals with a playable character Vincent, who is basically spilt between choosing who he will be with; his long time girlfriend Katherine or a bubbly new interest Catherine (ps they have the same name). 

Like Persona the game format is basically the same; you have times where you have to do some in game role playing to decide Vincent's relationships with other characters depending on what action you choose, leveling up, upgrading, and instead of turn base combat go through nightmare stages that are basically puzzles.  The puzzle works out (as far as the demo goes) with Vincent trying to escape from a large being, which is the cause of why so many young men are dying in their sleep all around the town where Vincent lives.  To escape you have to control Vincent to push blocks around to make stairs up to an escape door.  But it's not that easy.  Everything is timed.  The later you respond, the more levels below you disappear.  Of course the plot is interesting and unique like it most of the Atlus games are, but the gameplay here that doesn't deal with role playing is simple but addictive. 

The graphics change from animation to normal 3D.  With this game compared to the recent Persona sequels, Atlus decided to stick with the popular and unqiue in game graphics and cutscenes so many fans have come to recognize as no other gaming company.  You can really tell it's an Atlus game. 

While the demo doesn't offer that much game play, the trailer at the end will definitely make you very interested.  It did come out very recently and have been getting mixed reviews; some giving this game higher scores than some others.  I suggest downloading the demo, which is available on PS3 and XBox.  But if you are a die hard fan of Atlus and their products, then this is something definitely for you.  Get on that...Jack.