Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360 Review)
Deadly Premonition is an open world action-adventure with a distinctly Japanese bent. Taking control of FBI Agent Francis York Morgan, call him York, you have been sent to the rural town of Greenvale to investigate a murder. As you might imagine there’s a little more to the murder, which is why York has been called in. Agent York himself is a very odd man too, constantly talking to someone called Zack, who isn’t actually there.
Deadly Premonition is clearly a budget title: Awkward animation is bizarre and jarring in an age of motion capture and fluid, hand animated characters. That said there’s an admirable ambition behind everything in Deadly Premonition. For example you’ll get into cars often and be both amazed and amused to discover it has working indicators and window wipers which don’t have any practical use in the game.
The most fun you’ll have playing is when you’re wandering around the town of Greenvale, talking to the residents and discovering bizarre little secrets. When you won’t be having fun are the times you have to put up with the games serviceable (but lacking) shooting mechanics and some of the worst quick time events ever created.
Deadly Premonition is not a shooter, no one would ever claim it is, but the shooting sections are so long and prominent that they can’t be ignored. They just aren’t satisfying and seem to exist solely to add variety and length. It’s hard not to feel that the time that went into making these sections [and adding working window wipers – Ed] could’ve been applied to expanding on the adventure and exploration aspects of the game. Or having more ways to interact with and experience the world of Deadly Premonition would be welcome. In reality even those sections of the game are marred by a painfully methodical pace. It turns what could be an enjoyable and interesting experience into a draining grind.
If you’re someone who is partial to a bit of offbeat storytelling and like the sound of an anime version of Twin Peaks, with an extra dosing of pop culture references then you’ll probably love Deadly Premonition. But if you’re someone who would rather have a fairly straightforward narrative and doesn’t like long meandering dialogue sequences about Jaws or the merits of DVD extras, this might not be for you. To its credit the voice acting in the game is pretty good (if a bit heavy on the ham) and the dialogue is often quite funny, although it isn’t always clear if that’s the intention though.
If there’s something you’re not likely to see discussed it’s the audio mix of a game, meaning the volumes of the different audio aspects. The music in Deadly Premonition is at such a volume it overpowers everything else; make dialogue nearly impossible to hear without adjusting settings. It’s a shame because it detracts from one of the games best bits, the music itself. Perhaps those making the game realised this and decided to make sure everyone would pay it more attention, either way it is a glaring and baffling error and definitely one worth noting.
Deadly Premonition represents a problem that is far too common in games with interesting stories and concepts; the actual game part is a bit rubbish. This proves even more problematic as the story, characters, setting and general tone are only going to appeal to a niche audience to begin with. Putting that stuff behind a wall of broken game mechanics and monotony makes it’s appeal dwindle to the point of insignificance.
When it comes down to it as interesting and crazy as the story may be, it just isn’t enough to eleviate the rest of the games mediocrity.
Ross Adams
AssortedRandomness 