"Deadly Premonition" Video Game Review

Let me get the easy bits out of the way first. Yes, you play as an FBI Agent with an invisible friend, yes, the gameplay is mostly awful due to stiff controls, and yes the music doesn't match the on going event. Oh, and the graphics are pretty bad for this generation of gaming. With all of that said and done, "Deadly Premonition" should be a title that you seek out with every bit of excitement that you would have for, say, "Gears of War 3."

"Deadly Premonition" is one of those games that only come out once every five to ten years that either people hate because it's hard to play, or love because it's "cheesy" or "so bad that it's good." While this is true in the beginning, the quirkiness of the characters sets in, and before you know it, your interested in what's going on. You play as Agent Francis York Morgan, who works with the "imaginary" Zack, as he tries to solve the murder of Anna Graham. This murder, and the ones that soon follow, are linked to "The Red Seeds Murders," and York instantly takes control of the investigation.

His investigation, though, relies on going to the "other" world, and fighting Death Shadows, people that will literally bend over backwards to kill you (and I'm serious, too. They will bend over backwards), and profiling. As the investigation grows more intense, and more people die, the threads holding the city together begin to snap, and soon, York is left alone to figure out the mystery of the Red Seeds.

What starts as a simple murder mystery turns into a bizarre TV show like game, and then into something more. While it never takes itself too seriously, "Deadly Premonition" does the drama and horror as well as it does the bizarre and funny parts of the story. This is good, because both are done extremely well. Most will tell you that by the games end, it seems to get a little insane, but its supposed to. You shouldn't need to make sense of why a guy has turned from a kindly man to a giant blue toad monster that shoots purple fire at you. You also shouldn't wonder why "Amazing Grace" is playing as you're playing the bad guy killing everyone with an axe (which was deeply disturbing).

The best aspect by far are the characters. The sheriff isn't kind, but he obeys you. The deputy, Emily, is sweet, yet still authoratative, and you do end up caring about what happens to her by the end of the game. Most importantly, York and Zach are surprisingly interesting characters, and by the end of the game, you like one of them for what they did for the other in their time of need. Saying anymore would spoil this, and I don't want to do that at all.

"Deadly Premonition" is the best buy for your money ($20 new). For a budget game, its deep, and surprisingly fun to play. Don't stare at this blankly, and play the thing all ready.