Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

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Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut is an open world, do anything you want, horror, mystery game for PS3.

To the point then:

NEW IMPROVEMENTS NOTICED: Compared to 360 version I owned:

-Improved, more precise on foot and in vehicle controls.

-Improved Graphics for trees, houses, cars, interiors, exteriors, roads, animals, night and day time, lakes, town, and many minor details.

-York's clothing has physics. His tie will flop as he moves.

-Farther Draw Distance with more clarity, less fogging.

-Expandable mini map while in-game. Very helpful.

-Updated HUD graphics.

-Autosave and standard single slot save (new?)

-Story Additions, new scenes, dialog, etc.

-Less muddiness while outside. Still pixelated though. Lots of visual noise. Frame rate still slows down on occasion.

-2D and 3D choice. 2D has better resolution. 3D is pixelated more.

STORY:

Join Francis York on his nightmarish journey into the forest town of Greenvale, as he tries to piece the mysterious clues together that can help him find and stop the unexplained Red Seed deaths taking place. Plenty of supernatural demons and surreal moments, many of which are heavily inspired by Twin Peaks.

CONTROLS:

Left analog rotates York 360 degrees, with a light pressure making him walk slowly, more pressure up to a normal walk. To run, hold L2. Right Analog controls the camera, also 360 and independent of the character's controls, so if you want, you can have York walk towards the camera while looking behind him.

L1 draws your weapon, up down digital pad picks it. Really nicely done. Firing a gun is still stationary and a bit clusmy.

While in a vehicle, you can choose an exterior view, or an interior dashboard view of the car. Get in and out as you please.

GAMEPLAY:

Navigate freely in a expansive open world forest town on foot by foot or in vehicle, your choice. There is weather, and a day/night cycle.

York's weaker Hand gun offers unlimited ammo. Weapons break, use them wisely. Some enemies take more than one hit to eliminate.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-Fuel your vehicle. Windshield wipers, lights on/off.

-Shave, clean your clothes or change attire, eat and sleep, etc.

-Investigate at your own pace.

-Lots to see, do, collect and discover.

SOUND: A Twin Peaks like soundtrack, and creepy sounds from the zombie like demon humans that you encounter, with many classic sound FX that remind one of PS1, PS2's Resident Evil series.

If you enjoyed Resident Evil 1 and 2, the Silent Hill games, definitely consider this one of a kind, quirky horror exploration game and add it to your collection.

Now all we need is Swery (writer director) to be funded to create Deadly Premonition 2 for current and next gen consoles, using a modern game engine to create it.

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Deadly Premonition can be a hard game to swallow for the uninitiated. The original released in 2010 and injected the Xbox 360's decidedly westernized library with the spirit of obscure budget horror. Since the controls are somewhat archaic, it often gets misrepresented as "so bad it's good."

The enjoyment found in this game is nothing like the feeling you may get while ironically watching a bad movie, should you be into that. No, this game's story is actually very good, and one that wears its huge Twin Peaks influence on its sleeve. And on top of that it features one of the greatest main characters in any game, ever.

In many ways The Director's Cut is the superior version, despite some framerate issues that I'm happy to report don't hurt the game too much (the only really bad sections occur early on). Thanks to the refined controls and difficulty, combat is far less tedious than before, which makes progressing through the game a lot more satisfying. The enhanced mini-map also gives extra incentive to explore the town and complete sidequests in between missions.

Though Deadly Premonition still contains a fair amount of jank, it only adds to the wealth of charm within. The end result is a ridiculously original masterpiece that hearkens back to an era where the gaming landscape had more room for wildly imaginative budget games, a far cry from the abundance of focus tested blockbusters that are prevalent today.

Buy Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut Now

Jim Sterling of Destructoid fame once described "Deadly Premonition" as "watching two clowns eating each other," in the sense that such a thing is perverse and wrong, yet hilarious and able to grasp your attention in a choke-hold. While some critics missed the entire point of the experience (IGN, for example), SWERY's sick yet beautiful game managed to carve out an audience in today's gaming landscape, an impressive feat for a $20 budget game.

Fast-forward three years, and the video game industry is in turmoil. Corporate corruption, homogenized sequels, and AAA titles that simply attempt to outdo each other as opposed to being genuinely good games... everything is messed-up, and it seems developers have forgotten what it means to make interactive entertainment. Not Access Games, though, because their massive facelift of their modern cult classic reminds us that there are still developers that give a darn. Somehow managing to improve an already perfect game, "Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut" is what we, the gaming community, need. And I can't think of finer praise to heap on a something.

Before delving into this version specifically, it's important to introduce new players to the events of the game. FBI Agent Francis York Morgan (call him York, though, everybody else does) is sent to the sleepy town of Greenvale to investigate the bizarre murder of a local girl. The method in which she was killed is similar to other cases he's investigated, so he quickly takes over the case. However, things get weirder from there. From "mysterious capitalists" that wear gas masks to futures being read in a morning cup of coffee, and from a killer decked out in a red raincoat to people being turned into freaking tress, this game pulls out all the stops in its attempt to confuse players.

What's most beautiful about the narrative, however, is how many genres it encompasses. It works as a metaphysical drama, as a serial killer murder mystery, as a black comedy, as a romance, as... well, it works on just about any level. It will make you laugh as many times as it shocks you, and oftentimes, it will do both at the same time. Not only that, but the characters are truly memorable. York, the perky blond officer Emily, workout nut George and others will stick with you for years to come, and make you wonder why today's gaming landscape is still filled with such cookie-cutter characters, when such original ones are housed in a game that costs a small fraction of what AAA titles run. While growing attached to these protagonists, you'll laugh, cry and most importantly, be entertained.

One thing that still impresses is the ability to essentially stalk every single character in the game through their daily routine. In an ambitious AI system (where most of the game's budget was admirably sunk), every person in the cast, and even people who aren't part of the narrative, have their own schedules. There are no random pedestrians, no repeated character models; you can follow everybody for in-game weeks, and see their schedules shift over time. It's an amazing system, and one that can give you serious insight into even the most minor of characters.

As far as new story content goes, we have a new intro, outro, and segments that intersperse the main narrative. It adds new framework to the game, and puts everything in a much different context than before: a story being told to a little girl by her grandfather (who is obviously a certain character from the game.) This little twist makes everything a bit more terse, in my opinion, and was a bold direction for Swery to take. Fans are sure to enjoy these characters' interactions, and newcomers are in for a slightly more fulfilling story.

Now, the differences in this Director's Cut are subtle, but they make all the difference in the world. Combat still functions "Resident Evil 4"-style, making players stand in place as they shoot from an over-the-shoulder perspective. However, it works more fluidly here, and the controls are much more responsive. But the largest area of improvement in the combat department can definitely be seen in the melee area; using pipes, knives and even laser swords (yes, they're unlockable)feels like a viable alternative and not a crippled mechanic. Furthermore, the addition of a more pronounced weapon durability meter is a godsend. Overall, the combat feels more fluid and enjoyable, and it's a lot easier to respond when the horrific eyeless zombie-things pop out of nowhere.

On the exploration side, we have some definite improvements. The biggest of these, in my opinion, is definitely the minimap. No longer are you forced to go into a screen in order to navigate the sprawling environment; you can keep up a map to help you figure out where you need to be at all times. Furthermore, York's main control scheme has improved, as has the camera. The quirky agent can finally move freely in any direction, and the camera doesn't annoying snap back to the center anymore. Control-wise, this is definitive version of "Deadly Premonition."

The other big change is apparent as soon as you start playing: the graphics. While it still doesn't look like a big-budget retail title, the visual aesthetics of this game are a definite improvement over the past version. High-definition adds a new level of depth to the game, most noticeably on the new character models. Veins bulge, mouths are lined with teeth, and you can see strands of hair in more detail (especially on York.) Furthermore, the environments are much more detailed; signs that used to clash with their locations now blend smoothly, and building interiors are rendered with the utmost attention to the smallest of things. That being said, I do wish more attention had been paid to the outdoors. Water looks jarringly plain, and some of the grass textures are rather blurry and ugly. Overall, it's a definite improvement, but some issues I wish had been addresses were left alone.

My biggest complaint about the HD transfer, really, is the framerate. Namely, it kind of sucks in some areas. This only really affects cutscenes and exploring areas with a lot things on the screen (expect a lot of pop-in textures), but it's still a noticeable problem. While this is something that could probably be patched out, it's something I take some issue with.

The sound department is a mixed bag. True, we do still have the wonderful, eclectic score and the offbeat, lovable voice acting. That's all still there. But unfortunately, the audio is poorly mastered, and jarringly so. Sound effects are too loud, voices too quiet, and the music not as enjoyable due to the fact that you're trying to listen to the characters. Everything players loved about the game is still there, but handled in an incredibly inept fashion. Thankfully, you can tamper with the three audio tracks to reach the right level, but seeing how this was never an issue in the original, I consider it a flaw of this version.

How does one review "The Director's Cut", then? As a game, it's still everything I fell in love with, topped with some additional narrative bits, and some really stellar gameplay improvements. But as a definitive cut, it falls a bit flat due to the framerate issues and sound complaints. Overall, "Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut" is very much worth buying if you haven't played the original, or if you were a rabid fan of it. The gameplay is better than it's ever been, and the graphics are as good as they're going to get. All others, however, may find that the A/V issues dissuade them from completing their journey into Greenvale's twisted web of intrigue.

"Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut" is like a shot of espresso; there's a definite audience for it, and newcomers should try it if they haven't already, but for others, it might be a bit too dirty and strong to handle.

Game: 10

Director's Cut: 8.5

Overall: 9.25

Read Best Reviews of Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut Here

It's like a love child of Resident Evil 4, Clock Tower, GTA, and Twin Peaks all rolled into a sweet, sexy little package on the PS3. You'll do yourself a huge favor by picking this up. Just be patient when the game starts, it gets good.

Want Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut Discount?

Unquestionably worth buying, even if you have the 360 version as I do. And be advised: the one star review is a gross miscalculation no doubt the rash, misguided opinion of some Call Of Duty obsessed teenage graphics-fiend with the IQ of a rusty soup spoon. To fault this game for poor graphics is to fault Playboy for poor grammar dude, you're kinda missing the point. More games like this need to be made. Long live Swery65!