Our new episode is up on iTunes!

I feel horrible having to resort to youtube videos, but I had to do it twice on night seven.  I just got tired of screwing myself up because the puzzle only had one real solution.  Admittedly this doesn't have often in the game, but it really frustrates when other sections allow for a great deal of thought and creativity.  I find that the game's difficulty fluctuates between easy to absolutely insane based on the linearity of the puzzles. 

Despite my flip out on this game, I think Catherine is quite good and a worthy purchase for those looking for a quirky game.  I just think the game is scoring a little high given some of the problems others and I have outlined. 

Just got up to the sixth night on normal (I think it's 6-3 on youtube, strangely enough), and the game's systems and mechanics are completely working against me at this point.  The third level on this night is more about memorization and guessing than actual skill.  You have to rely on pushing block out to let others fall, which is probably the worst designed part of the game.  The camera gets all spastic, you can't see what's connected, and you're really just trying in vain to see what happens.  I've only gotten through the first part of this stage twice based on blind stupid luck.  Every other level up until this point has been hard but fair, but this has officially crossed the line.  The slippery controls (I love how X does almost everything in this game, including acting as a suicide button if nothing's under you), awful camera and randomness has all come together to make this stage absolutely brutal and stupid.  It's pure trial and error at this point.  I was loving the game but this stage shows the severe limitations in the mechanics. 

Edit-
Looked on youtube to get a couple of hints and I was able to pass the stage with ease.  Overall, the puzzles are fun and engaging, but a few of them are way out of balance.  I've struggled with two or three levels that required precise movements, otherwise you wouldn't be able to complete them.  Given the chaotic nature of the game along with the fiddly controls and camera, these were very close to controller throwing rage fits.  I don't mind when there's one solution to a puzzle, but screwing yourself completely and not even realizing it is not my idea of fun. 

For the record:

Xenogears: A tremendous achievement of storytelling that (much like Eva) ran out of funding and time, resulting in half of an awesome game and half of something... else...

Kingdom Hearts:  I loved the first game because it was you and Donald Duck on a magical adventure.  KH2 had some great gameplay and awesome set-piece moments, but it felt like the series got away from the core roots that made it so whimsical and fun.  As of late, the series has been milked and processed to the point of complete garbage, and I'm not even sure if a third core entry could right the ship.

TWEWY:  That shit is awful.  Seriously, though, the gameplay just baffled me and I had no interest in the main character. 

We often have to argue back and forth about games that we cover here on the site, and Dawn of War 2 caused a pretty big battle.  I was on the losing side, but I honestly see where the other viewpoint is coming from.  If we reviewed every game with RPG elements we would pretty much be covering everything.  RPG elements have become synonymous with almost every type of game out there, so we try to pick the games that are most closely related to the genre, if that makes sense. 

Thanks for the kind words, guys.  You have no idea how much I smile when I read stuff like that. The new episode should be up by the end of the week.

To IA:
That's actually a pretty interesting idea for discussion.  I've only sold back two games (Deus Ex for PS2 and Street Fighter 4) because I really like to have the collection and I love to go back and replay games every once in a while.  I find that with disposable income comes some choices that are based around having the game more than actually playing it, however.  I've bought a few games that I haven't had a chance to play, but I knew I wanted them because they are either very difficult to find or because I may want to play them in the future. 

A new episode looms on the horizon.  Stay tuned...

I really enjoyed the PSN demo.  It's certainly something to break up the summer lull as we all wait for Human Revolution and the start of the crazy fall season. 

Good point, Eusis.  I was just expecting something deeper and more nuanced from the start.  The demo did a terrible job of conveying the core mechanics, the jumping sections were god-awful, and the combat was fairly boring overall.  Felt like a huge step backward from the best action titles on the PS2 and XBox, and that's saying something.  It could have been a bad demo, but regardless I'm not spending my money on this one.

I'm all for supporting new ideas and IP, but I didn't enjoy the PSN demo at all.  The game just felt clunky and odd.  While I'm sure it opens up quite a bit and there's a lot of depth to the combat system, it felt very last gen to me.  Pretty visuals aren't enough of a reason for me to lay down 60 bones these days. 

Totally forgot to post here this morning.  Episode 27 is up and ready for a listen!

I really liked the game, but there is a really obnoxious section around the halfway point where you can tell Suda took control of the bus while Mikami was taking a piss in the back.  Awkward turret sections and awful side-scrolling levels mar what is an otherwise fun and imaginative experience.  The gunplay is decent throughout, but the controls (despite constant tweaking on my part) never felt quite right.  Going back and playing Dead Space 2 shows just how fiddly the controls in Shadows of the Damned are.  The lack of a New Game+ also kills the upgrade mechanics, and doesn't offer any incentive to play again. 

I've returned two games in my life.  The first was the PS2 version of Deus Ex.  That game was a mess on console.  The other was, oddly enough, Street Fighter 4.  I just couldn't play the game correctly with a controller and wasn't about to spend another sixty bucks on a stick. 

The mini-map is all screwed up at times.  I've had it just disappear on occasion.  There's no actual map, which is another issue.  It makes you reliant on the bread crumb path, and that doesn't always work.