EDIT: This blog is going to be used as my personal blog for anything not related to the game in development. A link to the new blog about that can be found Here.
First game progress: The engine for the DooM game we're working on is almost complete as well as most of the character graphics. Sound and level design are the main things left to do. A lot of little things are needed too, but we'd rather get the game up and functional before doing minor tweaks. I'll get a video up of the current status of the game soon.
Since I'm already here and typing, I might as well do a quick game review:
Catherine (PS3/X360)
Catherine is the latest game from Atlus. Atlus has made several games that I have loved including the Persona series and the Trauma Center series. In fact, every Atlus game I had played was awesome. Because of this, I ended up pre-ordering Catherine without doing much research on it. So little, that I actually didn't even know what genre it was. In hindsight, I probably should have looked into it a little more. Catherine is primarily a puzzle game with the S.Link style RPG stuff from Persona 3/4 included as sort of a side quest. I should probably mention that the S.Links were what really set apart the last 2 Persona games from other JRPGs for me. They make the game so much more immersive, just by giving each character a unique personality and back story, as well as problems each character has to face in their S.Link sequences. Catherine has some of this as part of the Bar side story. In between puzzles, the main character, Vincent, hangs out at a bar with his friends. He can talk to them, drink, play games, or w/e you want, as you're in complete control. This combined with the excellent story structure I've come to expect from Atlus are the strong points of Catherine. Unfortunately, the weak point of the game, for me at least, is the main gameplay portion of the game. The puzzle sections. I've never really been a big puzzle game fan and Catherine did nothing to convince me otherwise. The puzzles just seem dull, which is weird for Atlus. They are also very easy to screw yourself over in. One wrong move can mean a game over. This is especially true on the boss levels. These levels will have most players dying. A lot. Outside of the boss levels though, the game is pretty easy. In between the puzzles, the NPCs will reveal new climbing techniques if you talk to them. I did appreciate that these techniques were not the average "use them once in the very next level and maybe once at the next boss then forget them forever" kinds of things, but most of them are pretty obvious to anyone with any skill for problem solving. The music in the game is perfect. Dark and atmospheric in the puzzle levels and more light and upbeat stuff in the bar portions. Fits perfectly.
Overall, I'd give Catherine a 5/10. The puzzles were dull, unimaginative, and a little too easy. The story was top notch though. If you're into deep and interesting stories, I'd recommend getting this game and playing through on easy. If you're looking only for an amazing gameplay experience with no regard for story, skip it.
I doubt this makes a difference, but I should probably mention that I have the PS3 version.
Well, that ended up being a little longer than I thought. Anyways, If there's anything you would like to see posted here that's related to video games in any way, leave a comment or e-mail me at nonulok@gmail.com. Videos of any games we develop will be posted on YouTube and I'll also be keeping a Twitter about gaming and just life in general. If there are any games you would like to hear a review about, let me know. I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, an original NDS, and a gaming quality PC so I'm pretty much open to anything.
Thanks for reading,
-Jake
Edit: I'm moving game dev stuff to its own blog and using this one for pretty much everything else. Not sure if Blogger will link it, but it's Here.
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