Note: The thread I made before failed to submit, so I'm posting again.

As gamers, we've developed a comfort zone for the games we play. We are occupied and more than satisfied with our shooters, platformers, and RPGs that take up the majority of our game collection. However, there comes a time when a developer takes a big risk by crafting a game that bends a genre or meshes a couple genres together. Ouantic Dream's Heavy Rain had a strict narrative of choice-making and emotional moments within the gameplay. LA Noire reenacted the life of a police career with investigation and interrogation, as well as the shootout scenes. Titles like these lack the level of respect that they deserve, as they are overshadowed by massive hits like Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, and Gears of War. I am in no way against these great games, but when a developer gets a quirky new idea for a game, it almost never ceases to face neglect, regardless of the amount of praise it receives from critics. Next up in this lineup of quirky new games is Catherine, a tale of friendship, love triangles, and sheep.

In Catherine, you take the role of a man named Vincent. Vincent is in a relationship with a girl named Katherine. He is constantly being pressured by Katherine about marriage, and is very hesitant to take that step. Meanwhile, a beautiful blonde girl named Catherine comes into his life, resulting in a diabolical love triangle between Vincent, Katherine, and Catherine. In between, you're having nightmares from guilt, pressure, and overall stress from the two ladies in his life. This leads to a strange, yet satisfying gameplay style, where Vincent must climb to a goal by pushing blocks to scale to the top. With all that, there's also an enormous and deadly enemy pursuing you, that varies at every stage.

I was skeptical about such a concept, as anyone should be when trying out a strange new game. Fortunately, the folks at Atlus put a demo out to the PSN not so long ago. This is a smart move, considering that with a game like Catherine, gamers will enter cautiously. Without further ado, I downloaded the demo. It's just a demo, so if it sucks, I just click 'delete'. Right from the beginning, the demo educates you on the block-pushing puzzles (or let's call them "nightmare sequences") that take place in Vincent's nightmares. There were a couple of these stages, separated by an engrossing story scene where Vincent is with his pals or with Katherine. The demo ends after a final nightmare sequence after meeting the beautiful blonde Catherine.

My verdict? Well, surprisingly, Atlus turns a simple puzzle concept into a romantic thriller that keeps me at the edge of my seat! The puzzle sequences are satisfying and I am always eager to see how things turn out next in Vincent's struggles, so that's even more motivation to get through them. In the full game, you'll go through scenes where you must make choices that will always have one character hurt and the other character happy. Additionally, Vincent can play arcade games and chill out at the bar with his friends. Most importantly, you'll be able to continue on with Vincent's struggles and see a conclusion to the plot when the game releases on the 26th. If you haven't played the demo, try it now. Open-minded gamers will hopefully enjoy this new experience.

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So what do you think? Will you be picking this one up?

I would pick up a PS3 for this game, if I had the money and the inclination.

I would get this if I had the consoles it was on but because I do not I will just let it pass and go on being a great game.

i have a ps3 but to get the demos and stuff you need that ps3 + bonus thing you get and i forgot my password after agges of auto log in then i forgot my email adress to it too :| really wanna try this game out though sounds brilliant, good review