Access Games' Deadly Premonition is a brilliantly-written game with the potential to mind**** an entire mental hospital.
Deadly Premonition's plot is simple. An FBI investigator - York - has been sent to uncover the truth behind a complex murder in the boondocks of Washington. A well-liked local girl, Anna Graham, has been murdered in perverse fashion and it is up to York and his unseen companion Zach to work out what's really going on in the remote little town of Greenvale. York faces opposition from mysterious forces known as 'Shadows' (read: zombies) and a town which seems reluctant to reveal its secrets. What then follows is a hunt for a killer which opens up further avenues of investigation and some unexpected twists.
York is perhaps one of the most memorable characters of the last decade. Despite being in employment by the FBI, his sanity is questionable. York keeps his best friend in his mind, often stopping mid-conversation to consult his opinion on matters. He appears to live almost entirely on coffee, and believes the substance has a prophetic quality. It is unclear whether or not the Shadows are a figment of York's imagination, and his frequent conversations with Zach concerning such irrelevant topics as Tom and Jerry and bad 80s B-movies gives the player the impression that, somewhere, there is a man with a very large butterfly net looking for York.
Despite his obvious insanity, York is, fortunately, a talented marksman and able foe with access to a variety of weapons, including his default weapon (an FBI-supplied 9mm pistol), a submachine gun, a powerful magnum, a 12-gauge shotgun and an assault rifle. York also has access to a variety of melee weapons, too, including a golf club, a variety of badass-looking swords and a Resident Evil-esque combat knife. Speaking of Resident Evil, Deadly Premonition borrows a few elements from the series. Its over-the-shoulder perspective is ripped straight from Resident Evil 4, and the familiar decision between running and shooting is a welcome element of DP's gameplay. One original feature Deadly Premonition boasts is York's ability to hold his breath. The Shadows are unable to detect York when he's doing this, and so he can use this to navigate around without having to waste ammunition or degrade the condition of a currently equipped melee weapon.
The Shadows first encountered in the game are generally weak, dying after an injection of few rounds of lead or a couple of well-timed headshots, but they can be a nuisance in large numbers or confined spaces. Later in the game, York encounters another variant of the Shadows: a naked, Grudge-like female which can turn invisible and crawl on walls. Irritatingly, these Shadows must be killed in order for the player to progress and they take an age to finally defeat. Grr.
The town of Greenvale is an odd one. Despite having a fairly sparse population, the town is surprisingly large, featuring shops, bars, and the homes of its residents. Surrounded by rising hills crowded by thick green trees, Greenvale is home to a number of eccentric personalities, ranging from 'Mysterious Capitalist' Harry Stewart, who speaks only through his aide and wears a gas mask, to 'Pot Lady' Sigourney, who anxiously complains that her ever-present pot is getting cold. What makes Deadly Premonition's eclectic characters even more hilarious is the contrast between them and the rest of Greenvale's population: bland clones dressed in rural gear with no other purpose than to stand around and contribute to Deadly Premonition's backdrop.
Graphically, Deadly Premonition is average - for the PS2 era. Truly, graphical quality is where Deadly Premonition lets itself down. While I didn't observe any glitches, clipping or framerate slowdown, there are a few muddy textures and, at some points, the game looks somewhat one-dimensional. Deadly Premonition isn't ugly, it just doesn't demonstrate the same graphical prowess as we've come to expect from modern releases. Its audio is a mixed bag: there are some standout soundtracks such as 'After the Rain', but occasionally dialogue is inaudible over any currently playing background music. Also, there are a few awkward soundtracking moments, too; you have to ask yourself why light, whimsical jazz music starts playing after you've just trawled through the Otherworld fighting the malevolent forces of the Shadows.
In conclusion, Deadly Premonition is one of my favourite games of all time. Despite being a little rough graphically, Deadly Premonition offers a quirky, well-written storyline set in a brilliantly nonsensical town. The characters are some of the most memorable I've ever encountered in a game, and York is just…York. If you're willing to look past Deadly Premonition's graphical flaws and focus on its many brilliant points mentioned above, DP is an immensely rewarding experience at a bargain bin price.