Deadly Premonition Revives Classic Survival Horror
by Sam Witt
05/24/2010

Imagine that Resident Evil and Silent Hill shook hands while standing on the outskirts of Grand Theft Auto’s Liberty City during an episode of the poor man’s CSI. Deadly Premonition has melded together elements of many other games to produce one of the lowest production quality games ever seen on the 360, but easily one of the best games that I’ve played to date. This game is a trip down memory lane for those who played a few Resident Evil games back in the days of the original Playstation. Even though in story and structure the game varies quite a bit from the older survival horror games, you’ll definitely find yourself having a flashback or two.

The game puts you in the role of FBI agent Francis York Morgan (but all of his friends call him “York”, as you will come to find out). York is an interesting fellow who appears to have multiple personality disorder and also claims to see visions in his morning coffee of what lies ahead. You can even drink coffee in the game and try seeing the future for yourself. As York, you have been sent to investigate the brutal murder of a young girl in the small town of Greenvale, where everyone knows everyone else and the only crime that they usually see is petty theft. You are tasked with exploring the town, profiling virtually everyone that lives there (everyone is a suspect as far as you’re concerned), gathering evidence, and killing… zombies? The game has a “dream world” feature and if you enter one of these sequences you will have to fight your way through the remaining hours of darkness. Certain mission locations or specific times of day will morph the buildings into dilapidated, weed-entangled shacks and an eerie purple fog will drift menacingly over the ground. Inhuman terrors will rise from the Earth or clamber out of the walls moaning and groping sightlessly for York. It isn't enough that York must battle the undead, however. York must get enough sleep; eat enough food, shave and shop to survive as well. This may sound mundane, but it doesn’t really get in the way of the enjoyment. I remember as a kid liking games that called for that kind of attention to detail.

Graphically, this game could have passed as a top dollar PS1 game or a bargain bin PS2 title when those consoles were in their prime (probably somewhere in between). During regular game play, the textures are bland by today’s standards and the detail in virtually every object in the game is pretty low. This is not unwelcome however, as someone like me who enjoys the classics will feel right at home with the graphics of yesteryear. The game does have some rather nice looking cut scenes that help bridge the gap not only between segments of the story but also between older and newer-style graphics. The low budget graphics add to the game’s B movie feel, and the enemies often end up looking dull and sometimes laughable. It’s almost as if the developers attempted to make this game as funny as possible. It’s nice to see a game that doesn’t take itself so seriously, like the Halos or Call of Duties of today do. Watching a zombie bend over backwards and shimmy toward you in a dimly-lit environment should be scary, but the poor graphics make you laugh out loud as you pummel it with machine gun rounds (but you’re really laughing with the game, not at it).

The controls are rigid and difficult to master, and honestly remind me of learning to cope with the poor controls in Resident Evil 2, the first RE game that I ever played (and loved). Even more relevant to Resident Evil is the fact that when you are shooting at enemies, you are forced to stand still and cannot move until you lower your weapon. This is something many people complained about when Resident Evil 5 came out. I suppose that after you’ve played Gears of War to death, you expect to move when you shoot. Deadly Premonition, however, doesn’t care what you expect from a modern game and basically does whatever it wants. I haven't encountered any serious issues with the controls and can say that I’m quite content with the way that the game handles. Another example of the game’s bad great controls occurs when driving a car. Remember how awesome it was to drive just about any car in Grand Theft Auto? The developers nailed that feeling here, except that you can manipulate your headlights, windshield wipers and turn signals for some reason. The cars drive as if the town mechanic ran out of power steering fluid and never bothered to order more. Also, you can basically hit a brick wall going 65 mph but incur no damage. In fact the other officers in the game, who will sometimes hitch a ride, don’t seem to mind if you hit pedestrians or smash into walls and will chat cheerfully with you as you break countless traffic laws.

One of my favorite aspects of this game are the side missions. Occasionally between chapters you can take a break from hunting down clues and shooting zombies to explore the vast town and perform some optional tasks. Whether it’s driving around a crazy old woman dubbed the “Pot Lady” or competing in races, the side missions offer a wide variety of distraction from solving a brutal murder case. These are actually quite fun and can net you some useful weapons or items. When I was a kid I used to love to play the Zelda series, and the fact that the side-missions in Deadly Premonition actually have a point and can help you in the future reminds me of hunting down every glass jar or playing treasure hunting games in Ocarina of Time. There are 50 side missions to complete along with simply exploring and talking to the townsfolk who may or may not have some interesting nugget of wisdom to share with you. One stout fellow was kind enough to give me a tree sapling as a gift the first time he met me and I still have no idea what I’m supposed to do with it (but I’m sure it’s important). Speaking of talking to townsfolk, remember the days of text boxes? Here’s another game that has people mouthing things while text appears in a little black box and some repetitive sound effect chimes off each letter. I can’t say this is my favorite aspect of the game, but it certainly screams old-school.

Deadly Premonition is not a game for big-budget lovers. The elements of the game are really a recipe for disaster, but I can’t put it down. Any classic gamer who liked Resident Evil, the first few Grand Theft Auto games or really bad B movies will enjoy this game and appreciate the low-budget, comedic feel it has. Unfortunately, it isn’t a game that you will find easily on store shelves. Being the low-budget title that it is, the pressing of the game was limited and you''ll probably run into a few game store employees who scratch their heads at its name. But if you get your hands on a copy of this Xbox 360 gem, priced at an unbelievable $19.99, then you’re in for a treat.

Buy Deadly Premonition on Amazon.