CATHERINE is Our PAL

Next week sees the release of Atlus' long awaited game and HD debut, Catherine. PAL gamers will be happy to know that what seemed to be an everywhere bar Europe release has been changed. The problem initially arose due to the lack of Atlus' European offices, meaning that the majority of their published games take a while to hit our shores, sadly, some don't make it at all. In this instance it's a little different though, UK publisher Deep Silver have announced that they will be picking up the game and are aiming for a 2011 release.

'Catherine is something new, fresh and exciting; unlike anything else in the gaming world €“ a unique mixture of genres. This agreement proves once again that games published under the Deep Silver label are not €˜more of the same€™, €˜run of the mill€™ productions.' - Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Deep Silver

Atlus are known for their more prominent Shin Megami Tensei/Persona series, but with the developers quirky outlook and gripping games, anything with their name is worth checking out. With Catherine, at first glance, 'quirky' seems to be an understatement. The game follows Vincent, just a guy trying to get by with minimal confrontation. His girlfriend Katherine wants to get married, something Vincent isn't so keen on, so trying to avoid confrontation and any life changing decisions, he heads to the bar. Here at the Stray Sheep is where he meets Catherine, who is the complete opposite of Katherine. Trouble begins when Vincent wakes up the next morning with Catherine, (the other one) who announces that he had better not cheat on her or 'who knows what will happen?'

The game is split into two parts. Day, when Vincent juggles both Katherine and Catherine, the feat is done through the choices you make which influence a sort of morality meter that represents one of the girls on either side. Unlike the good vs evil scales in most games where you can go through an evil streak, committing horrible deeds at pinnacle plot points without thinking anything of it, Catherine doesn't seem to be so cut and dry which pushes you to give more truthful answers, as some of these choices can seem insignificant leaving you unaware of the overall affect they will have for the rest of the game. After day comes night, and Vincent's nightmares. The nightmares see Vincent adorn his pink heart boxers, equipped with his pillow and a set of sheep horns attached to his head, this nightmare world is also inhabited with sheep that you can interact with... Obviously. During these puzzle/platform stages, Vincent must climb a tower that is slowly falling apart below him, whilst avoiding traps and sheep that block your path. Split into numerous stages, each nightmare ends with an outlandish boss trying to defeat Vincent. A number of Atlus releases are usually over looked but Catherine seems to be something fresh that is worth checking out.