By all accounts and current gen standards, Deadly Premonition is a mediocre game at best. However, if you can trudge through the mud and reach the precipice of the game, you’ll probably be happy you did. Deadly Premonition comes from the creative mind of Hidetaka Suehiro (also known as Swery). His vision showcased that there can be much more to games than high pixels and frame rates. Trust me on this one; if you play the game, you’ll see my point. However, get past these notions, and you’ll be awarded with a very unique gaming experience. The town of Greenvale serves as the main setting; and offers a very Twin Peaks sense of aura. During your investigation, as main protagonist Francis York Morgan; just call him York, because that’s what everybody does, you’ll be in charge of investigating a series of gruesome murders. Legend has it that the murders are being committed by none other than the town legend Raincoat Killer.
During your stay in Greenvale, you’ll have to interrogate a variety of suspects; all very colorful in their own unique way. You can take part in a variety of side quests, such as finding a old piece of memorabilia for the town’s hotel owner. You can even go fishing; although, this is a very annoying process. During your investigations, York will often be shut off from the “white” (Premonition’s version of a somewhat normal world); and be transferred into a “red” or evil existence. Here, the game turns into a Silent Hill of sorts. Monstrosities of various manner will come at you to be disposed of properly. One annoying aspect of this world’s version is that every creature you kill says the same thing… “I don’t want to die.” First time, not so bad. After 100 or so, it gets downright annoying.
While playing the game, you’ll be asked to complete a few puzzle activities; none of which are very difficult, but it does break things up a bit. One of the more intriguing puzzles requires you to get the correct umbrellas from various rooms and place them in statuettes. If you’re puzzle solving skills aren’t correct, you’ll hear York say more than once, “we’re still missing a vital piece of the puzzle.” This gets old, too. However, other than the repeat bits of various dialogue; the rest of the script is what gives this game merit. The story is truly engaging and will probably keep you guessing until the end.
On the gameplay front, apparently there have been some major improvements since the original X-Box release. While I’ve never played the original, common complaints seemed to stream around gun play and navigation. During my time with the PS3 version, the fight sequences were fairly standard to most 3rd Person Shooters. It wasn’t great (like not being able to move while aiming); but, I can only guess that it’s a vast improvement over the original. The travel sequences can be cumbersome. There is no way to set waypoints during the game, so you have to rely on a mini-map on the left portion of the screen. It works, but it’s very dated. Additionally, if you don’t pick up a radio (during an early side quest), Greenvale can require some major driving distances that grow tiresome.
That being said, even with its annoyances and less than average graphics, I’m still glad I played The Director’s Cut. The script and much of the dialogue are the greatest aspects of the game. See through its glaring weaknesses, and you’ll be glad that you spent time in Greenvale, attempted to solve the Raincoat murders!
Concept – 10
Graphics – 6
Sound – 7
Playability – 7
Entertainment – 8
Rating Average: 7.6