Deadly Premonition

      As I am writing this review I can easily think to myself what it is about the game that makes me like it so much, although when trying to portray to others what it is exactly about the game that has reserved a special place in my heart I often find myself at a loss for words. Why is it so hard you may ask? I suppose it is because at a quick glance of the game there are many aspects within it that almost throw up a giant warning sign to stay away. Although as I began to watch the endurance runs here on Giantbomb I couldn’t help but actually enjoy what I was seeing and eventually purchased the game for myself. Was it the crazy weird story that jumped out and grabbed me? The odd sense of humor the game has? Maybe it was the low budget graphics, music, animations and at times just awkward moments? All these elements combined seemed to continue to draw me further into playing the game and to be honest I am not sure why. I feel that I am possibly under the “Deadly Premonition Effect” and it won’t let me go!
 
      To be honest the main contributor for keeping me interested in the game was its story. Without spoiling the story for others who have yet to play the game I will try to described what kept me hooked. As the game started the story took a somewhat slow and confusing approach to what was going on. Playing as FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan, call him York because that’s

what everyone calls him, you have been called into the small town of Greenvale to investigate a recent gruesome murder. You begin with meeting the local townsfolk to see if you can gain any leads and as you do so you also encounter the other world in your path which is mysteriously haunting the town and it all starts to make sense. Though when I say it makes sense I use that word loosely as when the game starts to pick up all kinds of crazy things begin to happen and you soon find yourself in a twisted and engaging story. Without saying too much about what happens all I will say from here is I thoroughly enjoyed the story a whole lot and it was the main reason I kept coming back. Aside from a few odd things which sometimes didn’t make sense this low budget storyline is nearly just as good or better than your usual blockbuster. 

      The gameplay by itself is rather linear I believe as it usually followed a pretty straight path of fighting your way through an otherworld section than a few cinematics which would reveal certain parts of the story to the players.  Also usually between each mission there would be side mission that you could, or could not indulge yourself in. Some resulted in a small nearly pointless item and others were at times huge game changers. I often found myself not attempting the side missions and although they extended the game time for the players and had some useful items I managed the entire game without those items easily and I made it to around twenty hours of gameplay time just in the main story and a few side missions.  Another oddity was the “time” in the game. The clock ran in real time and while it could be useful I guess if you wanted to do side missions I found it only

useful for wasting the countless cigs I had picked up throughout the entire game. Also, one nearly useless game mechanic was the games map. While the game was open and there were many paths to take, the map at times almost made it more confusing than helpful. Accompanying the at times odd gameplay sections were the games pretty awful control schemes and although I do mean quite awful, after a few hours of gameplay I did in fact get comfortable with the way it was set up. Though I did get settled in with the controls for the game there were a few elements that were really just…annoying…one was the games lock on system and while it did lock you onto the enemy it really had something for pointing you directly at their ass, no seriously it did. Another amazing terrible addition to the game was the running sequences, while some were short there were others that longer and flicking the stick back and forth for several minutes proved to not only tedious but quite boring and annoying. Clearly the gameplay is where the games weakest point is, and although there are several…several flaws within the gameplay elements I eventually overcame the problems and was able to enjoy the game. 

      Lastly I would like to take a look at the games graphics, animations, sound and music which although remarkably low budget it was really fitting I feel for a game like this. The graphics for the most part are just bad and look last gen, but there was something about them that set really well with the game and looked justified for the $20 price point. They gave me almost a nostalgic feeling as it felt like I was playing a game of the past and…well it looked like it too. Not only graphics but the

animations in the game were just as low budget and at times the characters would stare and make odd gestures that made absolutely no sense and you couldn’t help but to laugh a little at it. The sounds and dialogue found themselves in the same category as well and sometimes were too loud, too quiet, way too overdone or at times the voice actors seemed to just be reading text from a page into a microphone, but again I must put forth that all this very oddly was fitting for the game and just felt right. Lastly was the music in the game which I just loved. Throughout most of the game you heard the same several tracks nearly the entire time and while some say they could get old, they really don’t. In one cinematic the game could play through several different tracks to try to set the mood for what the characters were saying. It would go from that happy whistling tune to that mysterious saxophone like music and I couldn’t help but smile because it was so dumb and awesome at the same time. While there were limited tracks for the game and were repeated countless times I can’t say I would have it any other way.
 
      Deadly Premonition, while flawed, I can honestly say is a good game. I enjoyed nearly every minute I played. If I wasn’t enjoying the good story I was enjoying how dumb yet funny the game made itself sometimes. Crazy story, bad gameplay; WTF moments, boring side quests; awesomely good, awesomely bad. Deadly Premonition is one of those games where on the outside it looks really bad and to the average gamer it might not do much for them but waste their time. But for those like me the game is deeper than what most see and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside. I thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Premonition with all its oddities and weird gameplay. Give it a try, it’s better than most people make it out to be.