Winter Recommendation: Deadly Premonition

So, you've got £20, you already own Modern Warfare, Skyrim or whatever you're into but you still require a diversion. Beer won't help- you already have enough of that bought for you by your friends and relatives ('tis the season, after all) and you're bored because it won't stop raining.

What you need is some Deadly Premonition, son!

Oh God, Click Here

Deadly Premonition is without a doubt one of the greatest games of the decade. It got a 10/10 on Destructoid.com- and not even in the ironic way Street Cleaning Simulator managed to get a perfect ten on a few sites; D.P. is a fantastic game. Is it a driving game? Yes. Is it a horror game? Yes. Is it a third person shooter? Yes. Is it a paranormal thriller which causes pain and intrigue to shock through the system of everyone who beholds it?

Well…

The most important thing one has to remember about Deadly Premonition is that it was meant to be a PS2 game. This explains almost everything that could be described as 'wrong' with it as a product. The shooting is clunky and outdated, the graphics are horrible, the controls leave a lot to be desired and the animation is more hilarious than immersive.

It actually manages, in spite of all this, to be a brilliant game. The whole package is not only one of the most self-aware products I've ever encountered but is lovingly crafted by a man so obviously passionate that even the most banal comments become moments of genuine intrigue. It is a labour of the finest love, and should be regarded as such by all who are lucky enough to experience it.

Every time one is plunged into an horrific driving section the option is presented to listen to a conversation about classic film. Such classics as 1978 classic "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" are brought up, dissected and discussed in such a way that not only are you informed but you are entertained.

A game entertains you by teaching you trivia about film.

Neither can I, York.

You're going to enjoy it, and frankly for £20 (at the most) you'll be hard pressed to find a game more consistently entertaining and unintentionally brilliant. Everything it attempts it fails at- quite spectacularly, if one was to make such a cruel observation- however it's the success that follows in the wake of this failure that will keep you feeling warm and affectionate inside.

It's not the frankly awful shooting sections or the (actually pretty good) paranormal plot: It's the driving around in cars made of papier maché and interpersonal awkwardness of the characters which will keep you coming back for more. For example, you play as Francis York Morgan, an FBI agent whose chain-smoking lands him in a car crash at the outset of the twisted web of deceit and fascination that is the game's plot. You fight your way through a forest full of zombies who lurch in terrifying and unnatural ways until you eventually return to civilization and encounter the main female character of the game.

Then you don't mention the zombies, the forest or particularly the potentially lethal accident in any detail, or indeed at all.

Curious.

So how the hell is this convincing? Well, have you ever seen Twin Peaks? If not- go do that, then read the rest of the article. I'll wait here.

No, really- go ahead, I'm waiting.

You done yet?

Ok, good- well Deadly Premonition is pretty much the game of Twin Peaks. Everything from plot elements, to characters, to settings and even to pieces of conversation are covertly lifted from the cult 80s hit. It shares the show's sense of surrealism, but injects it with a healthy dose of Resident Evil style gunplay and a little more of the supernatural, which is always far more interesting than the regular natural in my opinion.

Since you just watched Twin Peaks you know how good of a thing this is. If you didn't watch it- well then you have no integrity and should stop lying to yourself and others. Either way, you need to try out this game- it's not half bad and if you're not instantly addicted to the nonsense then you are no fun and shouldn't have read this article really, should you?

Go watch Twin Peaks.

Toby Ellis