Maybe it was the point when Vincent Brooks, Catherine%26rsquo;s protagonist, grew ram horns from the back of his head. Or maybe it was ...

Fun story with multiple endings; Gorgeous anime-style art; Lots of puzzle variation

Getting stumped on Easy setting; Occasional wonky controls; Solving yet another puzzle

Catherine isn't like other video games. It isn't about saving the world, rescuing a princess, or slaughtering scores of nameless troops. It is, instead, about a regular guy in over his head.

Compelling; personal story; Devious; challenging puzzles; Unusual morality system eschews notions of good and bad; Constant sense of urgency enhances both the story and the gameplay; Fantastic use of sound effects and music

Overly demanding requirements for unlocking additional modes; Occasional camera and control troubles; Intimidating difficulty

If you're not, or never have been, at a crossroads in your life that represents choosing between freedom or security, then you'll be left with a lovely little puzzle game with a load of unnecessarily slow talking sequences that might be a bit boring.

What seems to be forcing me back to this game is its unique design. Its relentless ability to fuse a funny story with gameplay elements that are highly influential on how the plot plays out also has a pull on me.

The Mature rating on Catherine is an understatement, but not because of its anime-style partial nudity, overtly-suggestive sexual themes, devilishly-crafted cut scenes, and frequent use of alcohol.

As a JRPG fan, it was hard for me to be excited for Catherine at first. Here was one of my favorite JRPG teams taking a slight hiatus from the genre and making what turned out to be a puzzle game with a sexually charged story.

Basically, and briefly, as I age (nearly 40) I am truly growing tired of my favorite pastimes inability to keep me interested. Once in a while something comes along that while not triple A in gameplay, is presented in such a unique and trend bucking way that my imagination is once again captured.

Catherine is an unprecedented exploration of the pleasures and horrors of love. As Vincent, a man recently succumbed to the irresistible beauty of the game's titular diversion players find themselves swept into a treacherous love triangle.

Editor's note: Catherine is released in Europe this week. Here we present our review of the North American release of the game, first published in July last year. To the best of our knowledge it's still accurate with respect to the European version.

Atlus has created a challenging, clever title that explores complex issues and marries them to solid gameplay. Catherine is a surprisingly good game.

Intriguing plot, good presentation and voice acting; Moderately high degree of difficulty; Extra challenge levels available outside the main campaign; Hypnotic title screen

The social interaction aspect isn't for everyone; some of the cut-scenes drag; some choices present a blatant false dichotomy while others appear superfluous