I like Catherine, I really do. Maybe I would've finished it had I spent more time on it. I took about 2 weeks after Gamefly said it had shipped for it to arrive in the mail. Maybe the game's difficulty, even on normal mode, was too frustrating for me. Most likely, though, is the fact that a buddy and I discovered Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst after a week of playing Catherine, and I enjoyed playing that game more.
What prompted my interest in Catherine was word of mouth advertising. A lot of people blogged about it, and one of my friends said they'd played it and was thinking about buying it. I had to know what the fuss was about.
I was immediately impressed upon booting up the game. The graphics are great. voice acting is believable, and the overall presentation is polished and well conceived. I could tell they were aiming for a mature vibe, and they struck it well.
Great graphics. Is it a game or anime? 
Going with my mantra of starting games on the toughest difficulty, I started on hard and gave her a go. There I was at my first tower, surprised to find myself in a puzzle game. The controls took some getting used to, and I managed to make my way to the top, but I knew that I'd best reduce the difficulty or I'd quickly get frustrated. The first puzzle took over an hour for me to figure out.
I got a better understanding of the game as the plot began to unfold. I found myself engrossed in Vincent's dilemma, partly because it was delivered so well, but moreso because I could relate to what he was going through. I'd been in that situation before, caught between a steadfast, boring relationship and a scandalous affair with an adventurous hottie. I could empathize with the emotional toll it was taking on him, and thought the producers did well to convey his misery.
And that is where this game shines. The questions presented in the game effect the direction of the plot, and help pull you deeper depending on which path you choose. I wanted to try and be the good guy, and carefully pondered each answer to try and remain faithful, at least in spirit.
Enter the nightmare...
I like how each day of Vincent's life is seperated by his nightmarish puzzles. Or perhaps that should be the other way around, where his tower-climbing dreams are seperated by his daily exploits. Without the superbly delivered story that happens during the day, I probably wouldn't have spent as much time on the nightly masochistic puzzles, if at all. As it is, though, reaching the following day is just reward for subjecting oneself to those infuriatingly complex puzzles, and made for a wide-plain spectrum of attack/release, risk/reward.
The puzzles themselves are well designed. Once the controls are mastered, a player can speed around the platforms, moving blocks to and fro, climbing higher and higher. I would have liked a little tweaking on the controls, though, because as a result of the X button (PS3) being the primary action button, there were times when I'd inadvertantly push the wrong block, putting me in a situation where I had to start the climb all over again. A couple of the puzzles were especially mind boggling, and I had to refer to walkthroughs a couple of times.
You'll be seeing this screen a lot...
I made it to night 5 before my attention was diverted to PSOBB. I wanted to go back and finish the game. I wanted to know how the story ended. I just couldn't subject myself to another night of infuriating puzzles. Hearing "edge, edge, edge, edge, edge, edge" over and over again as blocks locked into place got on my nerves. It felt like something was missing. Plus, puzzle games really aren't my thing, no matter how enticing the wrapping is.
Who knows, maybe I'll rent it again some day and finish the quest. If the game had arrived sooner I probably would have finished it. It's a good game.
What I liked:
Amazing visuals.
Mature vibe.
Engrossing story.
What I didn't like:
Controls are solid but flawed ever so slightly.
Dying dozens of times on one puzzle.
Edge. Edge. Edge. Edge. Edge. Edge.
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