Unlike anything I've ever played
I will not lie. At first, I thought Deadly Premonition made no sense. I thought it looked awful. The music was horribly repetitive. The controls were clunky. But still, with all those faults, it still managed to suck me in and only let me out when I finished it. My mother was sitting right next to me when I popped the disk in and all she could say was "That looks hideous. How can you play that?"
I have to confess, I wondered the same. But, as I went deeper and deeper into the story, I couldn't let go. Not because it was particularly well-written, but because it was unlike anything else. Murder-mystery stories, unless well-done, tend to be predictable; Deadly Premonition had me at the edge of my seat throughout its entire length. It had some of the best plot twists in video game history and, I kid you not, my jaw was on the floor during the final chapter. The story goes around and around so many times, it's amazing.
This isn't a game you play because it's polished or because it looks great. This is a game you play because the story is so phenomenally crafted and the characters are so interesting you can't help but to not put the controller down until you're through with it.
The gameplay is awful, the graphics are outdated, the voice acting borders on terrible and there isn't much soundtrack to talk about. However, Deadly Premonition is still a terrifically intriguing game with memorable characters that, unfortunately is being overlooked by many.
A low-budget game that delivers much more than what you pay for it. Even if you play it only once, it's still worth the bargain price they're asking for it.