Thank you!

Catherine was released in Japan in February and a Western release in July. The game is scheduled for a European release in 2012.

Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena is a 2D title developed by Arc Systems Works. The game has a Japanese Spring 2012 release for arcades and Summer 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

First is Persona 4 The Golden, a Spring 2012 PS Vita remake of the genre-defining Persona 4 on PS2, which will bring a new character named Mary, new animations, and “wireless support for calling on others to help you when you’re about to die in a dungeon”. I’m not sure what that means, but I imagine that if you’re playing with someone else who’s playing Persona 5 nearby, The Protagonist can be revived by your friend when he’s down for the count (probably by some annoying instant-kill Hama or Mudo spell)

Persona 5 also seems well on its way with all the staff members in place with director Katsura Hasino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shouji Meguro.

On the strange side, Arc System Works, known for their furious BlazBlue series, will be turning Persona 4 into a 2D fighter for Xbox 360 and PS3 called Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena. Also releasing in arcades in Spring 2012 and then for consoles in Summer 2012, it takes place two years after the who-dun-it mystery in Inaba and already features Protagonist, Chie, Yosuke, and Aigis (with their default Persona forms). I expect some along the lines of a cel-shaded Bloody Roar. (Yep, I totally referenced that.)

So, was my excitement for the game justified and does it live up to the already good reviews? I can happily offer a resounding yes to both questions, and I will unreservedly add that this is one of the best games of the year so far.

Catherine at its heart is a puzzle game with life simulation mixed in split into two distinct parts: the game the sheep-filled nightmare puzzle section and the bar called the Stray Sheep where you interact with other game characters. The beginning of the game takes a little while to get going, but there are some good cut-scenes introducing our protagonist Vincent. He is an average guy who has a fear of commitment, and when his long time girlfriend Katherine starts dropping hints about marriage he starts to panic.

This leads to a not so good situation with another woman named Catherine, which causes Vincent to start having those afore-mentioned sheep-filled nightmares.  It is in these nightmares we find the puzzle section of the game, where Vincent is expected to traverse a wall of blocks to the top every night, or die in the real world if he fails.  The player in this section rearranges blocks in order to move up the wall, there is a time limit as blocks beneath you start to fall meaning you better move fast if you don’t want to die.

The challenges become increasingly difficult the further you get into the game, mostly because of the different types of blocks such as exploding blocks, ice blocks, and damaged blocks. Also the formations of how the blocks are arranged makes it more difficult to find the next path needed to move up the wall.

The puzzle part of the game can be very difficult; however I beat the game on normal and had a lot of fun trying to move up the wall. I did die a lot but I never became frustrated, because crucially the game always makes you feel as if you just need to try something different the next time. For example, there were times when I just experimented to figure out my next move, and memorized certain sections of the wall so each time I fell I would remember how I got up there. There are a few different things to help you like pushing select will take back previous moves, check points, and pillows that give you retries.  I would say that if you struggle with puzzle games I recommend playing the game on easy to begin with.

After you defeat the puzzle section for the night, you return to your normal everyday life of getting plastered at the Stray Sheep. During this time you will talk with your friends and other NPCs about their life and problems. You can’t enter the Stray Sheep without having some emotional problems, and you will act as psychiatrist to all these people.

How you interact with people during your time in the bar dictates how events will play out during the game, for example, if you don’t interact with certain people at the bar, they may not survive to visit the bar the next day. You will also get text messages from the two women you are seeing and get to choose the reply you want to send.

All these interactions tie in with a morality meter you will see throughout the game, and will inevitably change the outcome of the game based on your decisions and choices, culminating with 8 different ending to the game. So far, I only have seen one and I liked it even though it was not exactly the perfect ending. Overall, I have to say that Catherine blends the mature story elements and the puzzle elements very well together.

There are prizes for earning gold medals, such as new stages and a challenge multiplayer mode becomes unlocked when you defeat the game. The multiplayer mode is extremely fun, but be warned there is very little chance of either person reaching the top in the challenge mode. For me it ended with me and my opponent trying to kill each other more than trying to climb up the wall, which in itself of course is a diverting past-time!

The game does have some issues, towards the end of the game some people may grow tired of the block climbing (personally I enjoyed the challenge of each new level), but the lack of diversity may put some off. Also, the camera can sometimes be a hindrance; trying to climb to the opposite side of the wall is very difficult because the camera doesn’t move with you, so there are times when you need to be on the other side of the wall and are blindly trying to navigate the terrain.

However, these issues are very minor and don’t affect how great this game really is. Catherine is actually able to blend a great story into the gameplay so that your actions and the decisions you make actually affect the outcome of the game, like a traditional morality-led game. But despite that similarity, there is certainly nothing like it on the market today – for example, one of the best parts of the game for me was the beer trivia you would learn every night – and that uniqueness is one of the driving forces behind its success.

There are so many things story wise players need to discover for themselves that I would actually recommend you play this with a friend or girlfriend, and having two people looking at the puzzle does help: there were times when I missed something very easy but my partner would see it and point it out to me. Cheating? Possibly, but adaptability is one of the strengths of our species after all.

There is just something about this game that makes me very happy to play it; there is a maturity to this game that you won’t see in any other game on the market today, and I fully believe that this is one of those games that more casual gamers may enjoy thanks to the story.  I’ve recently written about the value of originality in gaming, and Catherine ticks that box firmly – so if you want something different, but completely entertaining, I would unreservedly recommend it as an essential purchase when it eventually becomes widely available.

Just don’t expect it to be anything like your favourite FPS, if that’s what floats your boat.

Catherine is available now in the U.S. on PS3 and XBOX 360, but as yet there is no confirmed release date for the UK.

Despite previous comments to the contrary, Atlus announced that Catherine would be hitting North American shores in the summer of this year.  They also announced an english game site, which is slated to be ‘coming soon’.

Catherine, already out in Japan, is a peculiar mix of puzzle and horror-style gameplay. As Vincent, you must navigate the vertical labyrinths of you own nightmare-addled head, chased by giant, horrible creatures and guided by peculiar bipedal sheep. It has some names attached to it that fans of the Shin Megami Tensei RPG series should appreciate, such as the acclaimed musical composer Shoji Meguro, character artists Shigenori Soejima, as well as the producer of Persona 3 and 4, Katsura Hashino. It alos boasts coop and competitive multiplayer modes, as well as leaderboards.

This news is disappointing to those who were looking forward to playing the Persona team’s first HD game. But despite Atlus USA’s comments, potential fans shouldn’t give up hope just yet.

Firstly, the sales figures for Catherine in Japan have been very good. During its first week of release — the week of 20 Feb. 2011 — the PS3 version sold 138,988 copies, placing it firmly at the top of the sales charts. This is more than twice as many as its nearest rival, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on PS3, which sold less than half as many at 67,045 copies. The Xbox 360 version of Catherine sold 19,178 copies, putting it in 7th place for the month, just behind the PS3 version of Two Worlds II, of all things.

Secondly, Atlus has only said that there are no plans to release in America “at this time”. This hasn’t ruled out a release altogether, just at this time. Atlus USA is known for bringing over what are perceived to be “niche” titles — games like Demon’s Souls — and enjoying considerable success among gamers tired of “mainstream” games. Catherine itself has a broad appeal thanks to several things: the pedigree of its developers, gamers’ curiosity about how “maturely” the adult-themed content will be handled and, let’s face it, people who “like the box art”.

In the meantime, of course, gamers who don’t want to wait and who either speak Japanese or care more about the gameplay than the plot can feel free to pick up the import version. The rest of us can keep hoping that Atlus USA will change its mind.

Catherine also handily outsold Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the Xbox 360, with those versions of the titles finishing 7th and 8th for the week, respectively.

Last week’s top-selling premiere Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 fell sharply to 5th place this week, selling barely 10 percent of what it did during its launch.

Other previous top performers Samurai Warrios 3 Z and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd showed more modest drops to 3rd and 4th place this week, respectively.

Western-developed RPG Two Worlds II made a relatively strong debut in the usually insular country, finishing in 6th place on the PS3 and 15th on the Xbox 360.

Other newcomers to the weekly top 20 sellers this week include DS adventure title Hakuouki: Zuisouroku in 9th and PSP rhythm title DJ Max Portable 3 in 14th.