Catherine's Australian release next week is more than a little tardy, and I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't pick up the distinctive Japanese adventure (available on PS3 or Xbox 360) closer to its American release last July, too. But it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, so it seemed appropriate to delve into the story of Vincent's love life and see whether he would do the "right thing" and marry his long-time girlfriend or succumb to the intoxicatingly beautiful and vivacious Catherine.
Games typically handle adult relationships clumsily, but in Catherine the game's dialogue, characters and story are by far its biggest strength as it explores themes of love, commitment and growing up. Screen Play particularly appreciates how the unusual game offers true dilemmas and lets players judge the characters for themselves without being overly didactic.
Some players will see Vincent as a commitment-phobic and selfish slacker wasting his life at the bar with his mates, others will simply judge him pathetically weak and indecisive, while others might sympathetically see him as hen-pecked and presented with a rare gift of new vitality by a mysterious and fun new woman.
It's genuinely interesting making dialogue selections and even watching the scripted story sequences to see how events unfold. Vincent's drinking buddies are particularly believable, and their discussions always interesting and entertaining.
It's also fascinating when the game asks you about your own personal scruples, and then gives you an eyebrow-raising glimpse of how other players around the world responded. The action sequences of the game are played out in Vincent's nightmares, and they are suitably frightening for players because of their harsh difficulty and the truly grotesque and repellent foes that represent Vincent's worst fears.
Each nightmare typically consists of a series of towers to scale, with Vincent having to push and pull blocks to assemble makeshift staircases before the tower crumbles or a monster catches him. Some blocks are immovable, have traps installed or can crumble underneath Vincent's feet, but special items like being able to create a block in thin air or climb two rows can significantly help. The race to the top is often genuinely exhausting, with frustration common because of the speed and precision required.
Screen Play was willing to persist with the demanding night-time trials because I had become infatuated with the engaging and surprisingly mature story, whose only real disappointment is that it delves into the world of the supernatural rather than keeping the horrors contained in the subconscious. There's no doubt Catherine is a weird and flawed game, but it's also one that's wonderfully refreshing and fascinating. Gamers with the taste for the exotic who have been as tardy as me should wait no longer. What have you been playing lately?