"Never judge a book by it's cover". A common phrase that most people tend to use and probably one of the most cliched to ever grace the world of the English language but with that said, it still holds true no matter what we think of the phrase.
I think it's the phrase that is best suited for this game that I'm going to talk about in this review. But first a little bit of history. I first discovered this game on Gamespot back around in 2007 under the name Rainy Woods and by reading the comments on the trailer seemed very true to what it is, but we'll discuss that later. From what I saw of it, I was very intrigued because I don't believe we have many games like this that is a murder mystery and I would like to see more of that but nowadays we got our fix with L.A. Noire but this game came out a year before it though.
A few years later, it got a re-title and finally got a US release by Ignition Interactive in 2010 to a bunch of mixed reviews. The most glaring is IGN USA's 2/10 review while the UK side of the popular gaming site gave it a 7.5/10 to even the most jaw-dropping of Jim Sterling of Destructoid giving it a whopping 10/10 review and claiming it as game of the year.
This was something we've never though would happening within the journalistic side of the gaming industry but it did and we have to thank Hidetaka Suehiro (AKA SWERY 65) and the rest of Access Games for releasing this unusual gem. It eventually got a PAL release by Rising Star Games for the Xbox 360 but never an Australian release until the re-release of the game on the PlayStation 3 with the subtitle "The Director's Cut" which features improvements and more extended story details.
As you can probably guess by the title, the game I'm talking about is of course...Deadly Premonition.
One of the most bizarre games in history
This is a game that is kinda hard to describe without spoiling anything nor explain if it's actually worth the budget price sticker. It's one part a horrible game with very dated graphics, controls and other odd features that don't really enhance the gameplay but on the other hand, is a strange, unique, sincere and very hilarious adventure filled with odd characters that makes the rough ride worth it for some.
Without further ado, let's get into the setting and story, so I can adjust the tone of the game for you.
Francis York Morgan, our protagonist.
The story is set in a small town called Greenvale, a town surrounded by large trees, concealing a beautiful look for the visitors to look at. Somewhere in the woods, a body of a young woman was found hanged to a tree like a goddess. An FBI agent by the name of Francis York Morgan travels to the town to investigate. York is a hard working yet unconventional FBI agent as he has an imaginary friend named Zach that helps him along with the case, he's also working alongside the sheriffs of the town like George Woodman and Emily Wyatt to solve the mystery of this grisly murder that happened in a town populated by some of the most unusual folk that you'll ever see.
If the premise sounds familiar to you then you have probably watched David Lynch's cult favourite TV crime drama Twin Peaks. The elements are clear as day in this game. The main protagonist acts in similar manners like Dale Cooper, a murder in a small town that is populated by strange folk as well as odd dreams that work into the plot as well as other plot devices throughout the course of the game.
What really separates Deadly Premonition from Twin Peaks though is that the plot has a supernatural element that is also meant to be horrifying but that's something to be discussed about later in this review. Now keep in mind that I've only seen the first season of Twin Peaks (I don't know why I continued with the 2nd one) but while the show does have a style of it's own, Deadly Premonition does it so different that it doesn't really matter if this game is considered a "rip-off" because in nature, it really isn't. I'll get a little more into the story later but let's talk more about the gameplay aspects.
Resident Evil, this is not.
The gameplay is a strange combination. What starts off may seem like a 3rd-person survival horror game in the same vein as Resident Evil 4 but then later becomes an open-world type of game in a similar style of Grand Theft Auto and various other sandbox-style games but nowhere near as polished or as massively in-depth as you would expect. You can travel either walking or car, talk to people to get information about the crime, go to stores to buy stuff, etc. It seems to flow decently but the mechanics take a turn for the worst in this game which is something to be touched upon.
In reality no matter what praise this game got, if it was focused entirely on the mechanics alone, this would be a high contender for being one of the worst games I ever played. The aiming is very sluggish with no option to change the sensitivity, the driving is a bit sticky and the handbrake is way too loose and when driving in faster cars makes it more hell than anything. Some of the scripted events that have QTEs, especially ones that require you to use the analog stick are rather frustrating since some chase scenes can take a while to beat (especially at the last few moments of the game) but probably the most annoying flaw I had with the game is the map.
The Director's Cut does make an attempt to fix the issues with the movement controls by having the camera zoomed back so you can be able to move around a bit more than usual, rather than being like Resident Evil 4 where the camera was close behind York and the controls felt tank-like which was apparent in the original Xbox 360 release. A nice little fix but doesn't help much of the other faults the game has.
The Director's Cut does make an attempt to fix the issues with the movement controls by having the camera zoomed back so you can be able to move around a bit more than usual, rather than being like Resident Evil 4 where the camera was close behind York and the controls felt tank-like which was apparent in the original Xbox 360 release. A nice little fix but doesn't help much of the other faults the game has.
The map is probably the worst thing about traveling in this game. It gives you a marker whenever you want to go to the next part of the game within the clock (the game has a day/night cycle which uses 24hr time) but the marker is useless because it doesn't give you a line to give you a sense of direction on where to go. I guess it's kind of a good thing for those who want to explore the town of Greenvale more but for those who want to get through the game are going to be in for a tough time. Doesn't help that the map is pretty large which can be exhausting to travel from one place to another and your car has limited fuel but don't worry as the fuel doesn't burn out that quickly unless you keep using the same exact car over and over which rarely happens, at least to me.
York has the "sinners" sandwich
Not helping the game either is the visuals, even though the game is updated with slightly better textures in the Director's Cut, the game still looks like a PS2 game at best or at worst, an early Xbox 360 game. Also adding damage to the look is the over-exaggerated animations on both the body and faces which depending on the scenario can be either be creepy or unintentionally hilarious. Also adding to the visuals is the poor sound effects which invokes the feeling that I'm playing a lost Dreamcast game than a game that was made in 2010, including item drops which has high pitches to standard gunshots.
The game includes mechanics that really don't have much of a purpose (kind of) like the Food and Sleep meter in the pause menu in which you need to sleep or take caffeinated products to keep you awake and food to satisfy your hunger, not replenish your health since you have medkits for that. Also the stamina bar which makes sense when you run or walk slowly while holding your breath (that gets explained in the game) but when speeding up in a car, it also drains which is quite bizarre since cars don't do that in any game, let alone slow you down to a restricted speed limit. Also you have to change your suit once in a while where you also have to clean them for a fee since you will get smelly and bugs will come around which can be a nuisance.
But if you look at this game as being a game with a high-price tag, you're going to be extremely insulted but since it's a budget game, it can be given somewhat of a pass because most budget games don't go for much quality in the visual department. Gameplay is a hit and miss in that regard but since the only budget game I know is Earth Defense Force 2017 for the Xbox 360 which is considered a fun game by many, I can't really be the judge of that.
Another day, another coffee.
So with all of the bad things the game has going for it, why is this game so greatly admired by many gamers? Well, let me answer my question and it's a rather simple one. That of course, is the story, characters and other moments.
While the story concept and some of the characters are reminiscent to Twin Peaks but how it's played out is a lot more different than what you'd expect. But while David Lynch's TV show was surreal in it's own right, Swery's direction is surreal in his own way. Plenty of moments where it can feel sincere, mysterious or even insane with a lot of moments that makes you go "What the fuck?". The plot also gets deeper and more insane as you progress which leads to a rather satisfying ending once completed. I should also add there were some genuinely creepy moments that kinda scared me but only like one or two scenes (not to mention the town getting a red sky and the shadows come out at midnight which also involves giant dogs).
And if you think that's odd, there are moments in the car when York is driving alone, he talks about movies both obscure and popular and goes into detail into them like a massive cinefile. York also doesn't seem to be a very much of a people person as he tends to say a lot of graphic things without restrain like discussing with one of the cases he was on with the sheriffs of the town at a Diner. This what makes York entertaining as a character, even with his imaginary friend Zach around. York also has a lot of depth that makes the dream sequences that he has in the game make sense as you progress through the game.
Not to mention that he also tends to find clues in the most strangest places of all like his cups of coffee which he can be particularly picky about.
The bizarre nature of the game can be gruesome for some.
The other characters are just as odd as he is, like Thomas, a very feminine deputy who is a great cook and has a deep knowledge on squirrels as well as a shady businessman named Harry who owns most of the town in a wheelchair, wearing a gas mask, driven around by his assistant named Michael who speaks for Harry using pretentious poetry as his vocabulary. There's also the victim's mother named Sallie who is so over-in-her-head about her daughter's death that she loses control which does lead to a lot of crying and this golden moment.
The odd nature doesn't end there as there are puzzle moments where to see the doctor at a hospital for an autopsy gives York and the sheriffs a puzzle to solve via using a chess simulator on a computer to get a key card which brings to my next point about the game. The puzzles in this game while simple and don't really offer challenge has a level of oddity that makes the game fascinating like finding the umbrellas from the right rooms to put them on statues to unlock a door for example.
Also within the nature of the story, the dialogue can be unusual and funny as well, such as with the constant movie references in the car but York and the other characters tend to make interesting talk here and there which can either adds depth to the characters, drive the story forward or just seems so out of place that you can't help but laugh as well as the over-exaggerated facial and body animations like the infamous "F..K in the coffee" scene and the "Sinners Sandwhich" scene.
Another addition to the game as you are playing as a FBI agent, York is an profile specialist. Meaning that if you find certain clues to the crime in the sections where you fight off the shadows, you unlock a key that unlocks an image in the profiling screen where the images of the crime are blocked by noise but by finding the clues, they reveal making a picture on what happened to the victims and who is behind all of this. It's an driving factor to the story and while it may not make the case vastly clear, it does give hints on what happened that lead to the murder, etc.
Despite the issues that the game has, at least the game wasn't frustrating enough that made me want to throw my controller because the game is responsive and functional at the very least. Also adding to the odd yet massive town is plenty of stuff to do such as going on side missions which some of which do add depth to the characters and story, going to stores to stock up on food, medkits as well as buying new suits to wear and new guns and ammo but only open when the time is right and when it's raining. Also adding to the replay value for completionists are the trading cards that you can find within the game at certain areas and can use them when you visit the weapons shop run by Wesley where you can show him cards to gain rewards.
Another highlight is the sound design, aside from the poor sound effects, the voice work is pretty well done and adds character to the game depending on the situation where it can be serious or unintentionally hilarious given the dialogue of the game. The music is also pretty good although some tunes can be rather repetitive at times but the most memorable ones like "The Woods and The Goddess" and the infamous whistling tune are catchy enough to stick to your head for a while.
Beware of the Raincoat Killer
The Director's Cut version on the Playstation 3 offers a new scenario to the game which is a framing device about the story of the game being told from an old man to his granddaughter, it's not a big addition but does set up for an extended ending which this version as well as the game will get post-DLC (which I don't think it'll add to the gameplay as one would think), also has optional PS Move support and the game can be played in 3D and that's basically all of it. If you already played it on the 360, there's not much reason to play it again unless you want to see the new scenario so badly or didn't like much of the controls in the original release.
So I've pretty much covered what was needed to be said about this game and judging by what I've posted, it's a lot. Deadly Premonition is what I would like to call it a "broken masterpiece".
There are so many problems with this game that would render it as another piece of bargain bin trash that shouldn't be played but even with it's faults, it adds a level of charm that the game offers within it's bizarre storyline and odd yet interesting characters that you can't help but be sucked into because it's so engaging, surprising and sometimes funny to play and watch. It really shows that sometimes you have to go with your gut and play certain games for yourself to see if you're on one side or the other as finding a middle ground is close to impossible with games like this and the divided critics have clearly shown that.
For those who have an interest in this game but never had the chance, especially if you only have a PS3, then I definitely recommend it as well as for those who love a different story or enjoyed Twin Peaks. If you're unsure about it, I'd say give it a try by renting it if you can, borrowing it off a friend or wait for a price drop from it's retail price. If you're one of those who wish to aim for that high-level of polish in their video games or have a more high-focus on gameplay might want to avoid it.
Well, that is it for my first and long review on my blog. Thank you so much for reading :)
