Why is Catherine getting such great reviews.

[Rad Party God]

Maybe because it's truly a great game?, one that's not afraid to be different and innovative?.

 

[TheDooD]

I like the idea of the gameplay but the storyline looks a little geared towards men to me. It doesn't give me the impression that they intended women to want to play it. Which is why I haven't bothered with it. No point in putting myself in a position to be offended when I can just leave it to who it was intended for. Maybe I have gotten the wrong impression of it though. I don't know.

I seen a few girls play it on JTV and they enjoyed it. There's nothing really offensive about Catherine. If you took the ads seriously like its gonna be a sex romp it far from it. It's basically a Soap Opera, it has legit relationship issues that both men and women go through. Also with good humor and even some trivia. The Puzzle game play always throws a new cog or twist into your progress. If you want to get this game play on easy so you can enjoy it without getting wrecked at how brutal the puzzles get at time.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It's the first deep and mature game that deals with sex and relationships in the front and center...and it's also interesting and fun and a good game to boot. Rarely do such big risks pay off so it deserves the praise it gets.


The only problem it has was that it doesn't include the original audio, but I imported the game from Japan (back then it wasn't even announced for USA) so I avoided the dub and all it's localizing effect. (herbivorous males don't really exist in American culture you see)





As for the comments about it being offensive...that's just ignorant really. This game is about the male psyche regarding sex, it's not gears of war.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It kind of looks sexist but I guess I don't know anything about it.

I'm annoyed about female video game characters though...

In what way does it look sexist?

 

[omega 616]

It seems like a really bad game, I have seen a gameplay vid and stuff but it just looks like a bad anime coupled with a puzzle platformer.

To be honest I think a lot of "reviewers" have had there palms crossed with silver or a few "rate this game as awesome or never rate one of our games again" type deals you can't refuse.

I think there targeting us right in the geekiest parts of some gamers, "an anime mixed with a game! My dreams have come true!" kind of things but to be honest I am not big on the whole anime thing, I watched bleach, DBZ and if you count pokémon that as well but not really my cup of tea.

I don't care what anybody says, "I'm a real boy gamer" my 300+ hours on oblivion says so! So I will be swerving this game.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It seems like a really bad game, I have seen a gameplay vid and stuff but it just looks like a bad anime coupled with a puzzle platformer.

To be honest I think a lot of "reviewers" have had there palms crossed with silver or a few "rate this game as awesome or never rate one of our games again" type deals you can't refuse.

I think there targeting us right in the geekiest parts of some gamers, "an anime mixed with a game! My dreams have come true!" kind of things but to be honest I am not big on the whole anime thing, I watched bleach, DBZ and if you count pokémon that as well but not really my cup of tea.

I don't care what anybody says, "I'm a real boy gamer" my 300+ hours on oblivion says so! So I will be swerving this game.

Yes cause if Atlus goes away all the rich reviewers will have nothing to review once every 4 years, they had them by the balls didn't they? <_<



Bleach DBZ and pokemon is not all that is to anime. Expand your horizons, don't watch dubs and look into stuff deeper before declaring them one way or another. These series are aimed at teens and are action oriented (except pokemon which is aimed at kids), that's just but one of the genres of anime...and Catherine is nothing like that.


Just because you watched a couple of series on tv in English you aren't suddenly an expert on what you refer to "the geekiest parts of gamers".

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It kind of looks sexist but I guess I don't know anything about it.

I'm annoyed about female video game characters though...

In what way does it look sexist?

The media and cover art surrounding the game basically make it look like a japanese dating sim. All of the art I have seen on it on escapist has been a half naked blonde girl and look at what you get with the special edition

'A standard-sized pillowcase featuring Catherine in lingerie.' :|

You can't really blame women for being put off or getting the wrong impression. I have kind of looked sidelong at this game for a while. I wasn't really sure what its deal was and I'm someone who is very into games.

 

[omega 616]

Just because you watched a couple of series on tv in English you aren't suddenly an expert on what you refer to "the geekiest parts of gamers".

Hit a nerve? Just saying my opinions in a none aggressive manner, not like I came into this thread spouting abuse at anybody who likes it.

Not saying they paid them hundreds to praise the game just it probably happened. Everybody loving the game is near enough unheard off except when money has crossed hands.

No, really? There's more than 3 commonly known anime's in the world? Wow, who knew ... everybody, that's who. I am not saying them 3 are the best or anything like that, it is all that I have watched.

I don't care for "omg, it's so deep", so what if it's deep? It's not exactly going to cover new ground in anyway. Just going to be retelling a story that's been told a million times before just in a cartoon style this time.

If I want deep and emotional story lines I will watch Hollyoaks or some other soap. The face can convey a lot of emotion an animated face can't.

I have to watch dubs, subs are annoying. It's like watching a movie, reading a book and listening to a song all at the same time, except the song sounds like it's sped up and played backwards. No offense to anyone it's just what I hear and it's very distracting. Probably a lot of people see it the other way round, Asian people thinking English voice actors are distracting to listen to.

Anyway, surly the dialogue is roughly the same. Whats the difference between reading English and listening to English.

I never claimed to be an expert on anything, least of all anime. There just not my thing, just bore me unless there's some child like quality to them (fancy fight scenes and such).

Never watched DBZ or Bleach on TV, not on TV in my area, watch them on the internet.

Anime is the geekiest thing though, about 99% of people on this site watch it or read the manga to it. cos playing as the people from it and everything, that's why I stick my money on it being the geekiest thing.

 

[Zeema]

because the Reviewers enjoyed playing it

thats why its getting good Reviews because it was Fun.

 

[Exterminas]

people feel obligated to like this game in order to be a "real gamer" hence why IGN gave it 9 out of 10.

Does the fact that I refuse to play the game because it has anime cutscenes mean I'm not a real gamer? Cause I don't think so.

No, it just means that you have really strange standards when it comes to excluding Media.
Did you also refuse to watch the Godfather because it had a horse in it?

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Just because you watched a couple of series on tv in English you aren't suddenly an expert on what you refer to "the geekiest parts of gamers".

Hit a nerve? Just saying my opinions in a none aggressive manner, not like I came into this thread spouting abuse at anybody who likes it.

Not saying they paid them hundreds to praise the game just it probably happened. Everybody loving the game is near enough unheard off except when money has crossed hands.

No, really? There's more than 3 commonly known anime's in the world? Wow, who knew ... everybody, that's who. I am not saying them 3 are the best or anything like that, it is all that I have watched.

I don't care for "omg, it's so deep", so what if it's deep? It's not exactly going to cover new ground in anyway. Just going to be retelling a story that's been told a million times before just in a cartoon style this time.

If I want deep and emotional story lines I will watch Hollyoaks or some other soap. The face can convey a lot of emotion an animated face can't.

I have to watch dubs, subs are annoying. It's like watching a movie, reading a book and listening to a song all at the same time, except the song sounds like it's sped up and played backwards. No offense to anyone it's just what I hear and it's very distracting. Probably a lot of people see it the other way round, Asian people thinking English voice actors are distracting to listen to.

Anyway, surly the dialogue is roughly the same. Whats the difference between reading English and listening to English.

I never claimed to be an expert on anything, least of all anime. There just not my thing, just bore me unless there's some child like quality to them (fancy fight scenes and such).

Never watched DBZ or Bleach on TV, not on TV in my area, watch them on the internet.

Anime is the geekiest thing though, about 99% of people on this site watch it or read the manga to it. cos playing as the people from it and everything, that's why I stick my money on it being the geekiest thing.

You're not being aggressive but you are being aggravatingly shortsighted. Everything you're saying is simply ignorant or missing about 99% of the facts. You're basically saying a whole lot of big things about subjects you don't know anything about (which I can tell by the things you're saying) and this obviously is going to annoy someone who cares deeply about that subject.



No, this is new ground as far as games are concerned, this isn't an anime. This is just like any other Japanese game, it's just that the cut scenes are anime and not CGI, the actual content isn't going to be magically more-anime than that of other Japanese games.



Just because you personally think deep stories are not for animation it doesn't make the game actually bad, if people are not like you and they accept expression through that form of art then they are entirely justified to enjoy the game and rate is as they have.



Oh and to make sure you get something out of this; Catherine isn't based or related to any anime, there isn't any anime or manga out there with these characters upon which this game was based, there is no element of "playing the guy from the anime" in Catherine. It is simply a STYLE they went for.

 

[FallenTraveler]

I have not yet played this game but i have watched and read reviews on this game as well as a few gameplay videos.

I am very interested in the story of this game and the unique style of which it is told. BUT the gameplay that i have seen of this game looks quite boring and repetitive.
If perhaps i cannot afford Catherine at this moment might i be better off watching Death Note while playing Minesweeper and then rating it 9 out of 10.

If this was an anime series without the gameplay (obviously) would it get great reviews?
I almost feel as if people feel obligated to like this game in order to be a "real gamer" hence why IGN gave it 9 out of 10.

I prefer a review like the escapist one because it does not give the game a score but explains the game to the viewer.

Please do not take this thread as a hater thread, i am very interested in what you all have to say especially the people who have played this game.

I just bought the game and could not put it down. The way the game is put together is just incredible. It's a shame that this game WILL be seen as just sex appeal when it's so much more.

The story is quite possibly more addictive than the gameplay, it's quite a fascinating and odd experience (odd in an amazing way)

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

The media and cover art surrounding the game basically make it look like a japanese dating sim. All of the art I have seen on it on escapist has been a half naked blonde girl and look at what you get with the special edition

'A standard-sized pillowcase featuring Catherine in lingerie.' :|

You can't really blame women for being put off or getting the wrong impression. I have kind of looked sidelong at this game for a while. I wasn't really sure what its deal was and I'm someone who is very into games.
report

The game is about sex in a psychological sense. They simply showed the more raunchy aspects to attract attention to it. There's the obvious level of feitshization going on but you should also notice that they have boxers and a pizza box in the bonus pack too, it's not really as simple as you may think of it from a first glance.


I'd think women would be interested in the inner-workings of the mind of a man who is afraid to approach women romantically and the way he would react to such advances from aggressive women. Women's power to tempt men is one of the most explored themes in the game's world. It should be liberating having women's power to attract men be the front and center of a game not actually aimed at the frat-boy demographic. Instead of having it hidden or cursed out it is actually respected and honored in here, in one of the last placed you'd look for it. I think anyone who would be turned off by that just because of a simple titillation misses the fact that without the women actually using their charms to full effect any and all exploration could ever only go so far.



As for the cover art, you may only see a pair of breasts or buttocks (depending on the version) but I see a poor little goat dude struggling in there too. You really shouldn't look at just a part of the picture and judge it, look at the whole thing, put it together, then think about what it means. Just looking at the sex appeal and branding it cheap thrills only for men is the shallow way to go about this.

 

[FallenTraveler]

'A standard-sized pillowcase featuring Catherine in lingerie.' :|

Would just like to let you know that that is actually her casual outfit...

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

'A standard-sized pillowcase featuring Catherine in lingerie.' :|

Would just like to let you know that that is actually her casual outfit...

Not my words it's what was written in the blurb.

As for the cover art, you may only see a pair of breasts or buttocks (depending on the version) but I see a poor little goat dude struggling in there too. You really shouldn't look at just a part of the picture and judge it, look at the whole thing, put it together, then think about what it means. Just looking at the sex appeal and branding it cheap thrills only for men is the shallow way to go about this.

I would argue that looking further into it it does come across as a mature soap opera mixed with a puzzle game. However, this isn't the impression it puts across at all. The advertising is completely geared towards sex appeal and it I'm not the only one to get that impression. I have seen people being excited about it coming out and I was so tempted to ask so many times. 'Isn't it just a glorified dating sim?' Note that the items with the game are only mens clothes.

It really doesn't give the impression that it is for women in any way and the slutty pictures of Catherine come across as sexist and offputting. As for the cover art as a girl I wouldn't feel comfortable buying that the same way as I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a game magazine with sexy women plastered all over it.

It is suffering the same problem as Tomb Raider in that the media and advertising are completely misrepresenting what is actually in the game in a way that is offputting for female gamers.

 

[DeathWyrmNexus]

Because the experience as a whole is great to these people, myself included. The last time I played a game with the ironclad tungsten balls that Catherine has was Killer7. I actually love the puzzle gameplay, and the story is fantastic...

I strongly say play it. The demo is no indicator of what you're about to get. The block puzzling is frenetic, the story is gobsmackingly amazing, and the localization might be the best I've ever seen in my life. Try the full game for two hours, then decide. The demo was a bit disjointed.

A mini-rant that doesn't pertain to you at all, OP:

I'm kinda tired of the generalizing people make about its gameplay. It's as easy for me to say "You don't like Catherine because you're too insecure about being seen with a game that seems to wear its sex appeal on its sleeve" as it is for haters to say "It's Qbert with tits" or whatever. See, I can do it too. Honestly, if I were to continue the generalizing such haters make, I'd say people baselessly hate on Catherine as a duty to be a "moral gamer" in a stupid attempt to be some upstanding ambassador of games.

Is it THAT hard to believe that people play games for the entire package, rather than individual parts? I'd NEVER play the individual components of Catherine separately, but together, combined with the aesthetics, you got a fucking sexy and outright solid game that makes zero apologies and rewards you greatly.

Pretty much, it is a gamer's Black Swan. IE, check the moral thumping at the door, amirite?

My friend has it and I am interested in trying it but I don't think I will get the chance anytime soon. The funny thing is that my wife would probably be the one encouraging me to be the naughty one as often as possible.

 

[Joseph Alexander]

frantic, freaky, and shocking.
its a refreshing gush of cool wind in the abysmal heat that is gaming now a days.
thats the best way i can put it.
you'll remember it after your done, which is more then i can say about most.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

As for the cover art, you may only see a pair of breasts or buttocks (depending on the version) but I see a poor little goat dude struggling in there too. You really shouldn't look at just a part of the picture and judge it, look at the whole thing, put it together, then think about what it means. Just looking at the sex appeal and branding it cheap thrills only for men is the shallow way to go about this.

I would argue that looking further into it it does come across as a mature soap opera mixed with a puzzle game. However, this isn't the impression it puts across at all. The advertising is completely geared towards sex appeal and it I'm not the only one to get that impression. I have seen people being excited about it coming out and I was so tempted to ask so many times. 'Isn't it just a glorified dating sim?' Note that the items with the game are only mens clothes.

It really doesn't give the impression that it is for women in any way and the slutty pictures of Catherine come across as sexist and offputting. As for the cover art as a girl I wouldn't feel comfortable buying that the same way as I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a game magazine with sexy women plastered all over it.

It is suffering the same problem as Tomb Raider in that the media and advertising are completely misrepresenting what is actually in the game in a way that is offputting for female gamers.

It's a supernatural psychological horror soap opera with puzzle gameplay, yeah. Sex appeal matters, it's just that it's not just for itself this once. In this one and only game, sex appeal is not in the game for what we call fanservice, it is an actual core element of the storytelling. You need to dislodged those firmly placed ideas of what sex or sex-appeal can and can't be used for, because just now, sex appeal ceased to be just one of the cheapest ways to get men to buy your stuff whatever that may be. Sex appeal became more, it now can be deep and meaningful, it's not a baser instinct any more.