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Deadly Premonition |OT| first real survival-horror for X360

TheCardPlayer

Likes to have "friends" around to "play cards" with
riceandbeans said:
Desctructoid and reviewers made this game out to be shit. Is this one of those games that is so bad it's good or is it just generally good but with a few flaws? If I can find it on the cheap, might give it a try.

It kind of starts off, as a So Bad It's Good game, but it ends on some very high notes. It's actually an actual great game.

It's just extremely bizarre. But it's fucking amazing.
 
this game is bizarre. i didnt have any knowledges of this game before playing it, at the beginning of the game i thought it was just another crappy horror survival game. but then after exploring the town for abit i started to find the game bizarrely hilarious. it's a "detective" game. i realized that the person the main character constantly talks to (zach) was actually me, the controller. i was playing with my sister, my sis fell in love with it (she's not a gamer). this game caused me to buy it (i was renting it), to support the ppl who made this game, and to increase the chance of it having a sequel.
 

IrishNinja

Member
halfway through chapter 3, and ive unlocked a few of the infinite ammo weapons! you'd think that would make things easier...

seriously though, im really enjoying the character bits & where the plot's going, but the only thing worse than driving (i found the flower, but i cant seem to get george's side-mission to open..) are the spawn-points. holy shit, are they just cheap/mean as you go on.
 

Porridge

Member
I'm hoping for a PS3 version, but looking at some of the game in videos, I'm actually shocked at how blatantly stuff is ripped from Twin Peaks. I'd heard it had some inspirations, but whole concepts seem to be lifted. So, I'm wondering how much of that is being mistaken for "genius." I'd love to play it either way. I'm a big fan of Snatcher, which is notorious for borrowing from Blade Runner.
 
IrishNinja said:
halfway through chapter 3, and ive unlocked a few of the infinite ammo weapons! you'd think that would make things easier...

seriously though, im really enjoying the character bits & where the plot's going, but the only thing worse than driving (i found the flower, but i cant seem to get george's side-mission to open..) are the spawn-points. holy shit, are they just cheap/mean as you go on.

It should open up during the night I believe during one of the specified chapters.
 
I enjoyed this game more than I expected. I came in expecting something good due to being horrible, but came out surprised that the actual game istelf plays pretty damn well, even if chunky in some spots.
 

Kevtones

Member
Porridge said:
I'm hoping for a PS3 version, but looking at some of the game in videos, I'm actually shocked at how blatantly stuff is ripped from Twin Peaks. I'd heard it had some inspirations, but whole concepts seem to be lifted. So, I'm wondering how much of that is being mistaken for "genius." I'd love to play it either way. I'm a big fan of Snatcher, which is notorious for borrowing from Blade Runner.


Most of Peakisms revolve around setting, music, and character similarities. Otherwise, its pretty damn original.
 
Deadly Premonition fans! You should check out the latest episode of the Game Informer Show podcast - particularly the last segment, where Jeff Cork and I interviewed Shane Bettenhausen (previously of 1UP, now with Ignition), the man largely responsible for getting Deadly Premonition released in North America:

http://gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2010/04/01/the-game-informer-show-episode-22.aspx

There's a lot of good talk about what we found so awesome about the game, but there's also some surprising tidbits about the game's development, including info on Swery (the mind behind the game), why the voice acting is so weirdly awesome (hint: it wasn't done here), and whether or not Ignition wants the game on PS3 (hint: they do).

On that note, I'm planning to spend my weekend digging much deeper into Deadly Premonition. About six hours in now - to the lumber mill - and really loving it, but I need to unlock some infinite ammo and get the radio.
 
I don't even tend to like the "it's so bad it's good" type of media, nor am I a survival horror junkie, but this game is absolutely terrific. It really is like a David Lynch videogame mixed with Silent Hill. There have been so moments so funny that I had a hard time catching my breath and it is very rare for me to laugh out loud at anything.

I would even say that it is "so bad it's good" because it is clearly intentionally bizzarre and funny. The music clearly established the emotional tone of the scenes and much of it is filled with frivolity. The game is just so goddamn charming. It's like someone rediscovered a lost Dreamcast made by Lynch.

While it is not the primary reason I'm playing it, so far I'm even enjoying the combat (once I stopped using the useless L trigger auto aim and went for manual headshots). It has a very Silent Hill feel. And it never becomes anywhere close to difficult to the point of frustration (as long as you don't try to kill everything you come across), so it seems balanced in favor of "enjoyment" over hardcore challenge, which is exactly what this type of game needs.

For the type of game they were aiming for, I'd say they absolutely nailed it. It would be interesting to know if the project began with the idea of being this oddball comedy horror game or if that developed later in the process, but regardless it is clearly intentional.

"Women are like delicate, thin glasses of wine. If you don't handle them carefully, they will cut your face."
 
Hey Phil,

Any chance of GI doing a review? This game needs press coverage. The fact that it is not getting any just because it doesn't have a huge budget for production or marketing makes me sad.
 
vocab said:
I hope they bring it to the PS3.

Probably depends on the 360 sales. That is one question I wish they had asked Shane. I really hope it does well. It is really cool that that released it so cheap. Given the length and the humor value, it is one of the best deals on the system.

I am seriously enjoying this everybit as much as Heavy Rain but I also recognize they are totally different games.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
I have really been enjoying DP. The number of nods to Twin Peaks is crazy. I would like to read a detailed interview with Swery.

I was happy to discover in the game that you can get faster cars, which makes getting around Greenvale much better. I wish there was a nice pdf map available.
 

Archurro

Member
I still need to pick this up, but I've been busy with other releases. Is this game available and Best Buy and Gamestop?
 

MiniDitka

Member
Archurro said:
I still need to pick this up, but I've been busy with other releases. Is this game available and Best Buy and Gamestop?
Don't know about Best Buy but Gamestop is where I got my copy.
 
Gamestop definitely has it. Best Buys and Walmarts were supposed to be getting them soon if they haven't already. It is kind of a "slow roll out" since it is a budget release that isn't going to be FedEXed overnight or have any of the aburdities of modern gaming like a $100 pair of sniper binoculars, or a code to unlock the mythical crowbar epic set.

This game is too good, too unique, and too anti-target demography to be soiled with a bunch of marketing bullshit. It blows raspberries at that shit and does its own thing.
 
LocoMrPollock said:
This game is a hidden gem.

Any reviewer that trashes this game is no true gamer and is a turd sandwich.

I don't believe in the concept of a "true" gamer. But I really dont' understand how a reviewer doesn't have the forsight to realize that the humor is on purpose. Maybe it isn't your style of humor. Not everybody likes non-sequitur stuff and David Lynch's quirky sensibilities. But they should at least be able to acknowledge that it is intentional rather than pretending like the game is merely incompetent.
 

Ridley327

Member
Aren't most reviewers dogging it largely because a lot of the game really is amateurish? The controls and shooting mechanics are considerably worse than RE4, which came out 5 years ago.

I can appreciate what the game was trying to do, but I traded it away because I couldn't deal with how bad everything else was.
 

sdornan

Member
EternalGamer said:
I don't believe in the concept of a "true" gamer. But I really dont' understand how a reviewer doesn't have the forsight to realize that the humor is on purpose. Maybe it isn't your style of humor. Not everybody likes non-sequitur stuff and David Lynch's quirky sensibilities. But they should at least be able to acknowledge that it is intentional rather than pretending like the game is merely incompetent.

The humor is on purpose, yes. But the shitty driving mechanics, stupid food/sleep mechanics, etc. are not.
 

Zoso

It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time.
Well honestly there's a lot of horrible stuff in the game. I can totally understand people hating it. But then there's also so much awesome that it totally makes up for it.

I will say I liked it more than any other survival horror games I've played. I even liked it more than Silent Hill 2 :lol
 
sdornan said:
The humor is on purpose, yes. But the shitty driving mechanics, stupid food/sleep mechanics, etc. are not.

But all of those things have a pretty easy answer. The driving mechanics are not spectacular, but, as far as I am in the game, I never really need to do any high speed chases or anything, so it was fine. You also can get the radio and teleport around the town without driving and the dialog while driving often makes it worth while all by itself.

The food and sleep mechanics, I don't have any problem with at all. If you don't want to do it, you can easily just drink coffee and eat junkfood and there is plenty of it immediately available.

Just because something doesn't have a unique and important purpose in a game doesn't make it bad to include it. If you only included things that hat unique purposes or were directly related to your objectives, then the game would be a lot more utilitarian and more boring. All of the extra stuff, while frivolious, is totally part of the charm. I love fishing up turkey sandwiches out of the lake or going to lunch at the police station or diner every day. I look forward to "breakfast with Polly."

It's not like the game is overly frustrating or broken. It just doesn't look anything like a AAA game nor does it feel anything remotely like one. And it doesn't even seem like it is trying to hide that fact. But intentional or not, I geniunely think most of this roughness adds to the charm. And I'm not generally someone from the "so bad it's good" camp.
 

TheCardPlayer

Likes to have "friends" around to "play cards" with
sdornan said:
The humor is on purpose, yes. But the shitty driving mechanics, stupid food/sleep mechanics, etc. are not.

But nothing about these is shitty. Driving is perfectly adequate and sleeping and eating don't disturb the game flow at all?
 

NewLib

Banned
TheCardPlayer said:
But nothing about these is shitty. Driving is perfectly adequate and sleeping and eating don't disturb the game flow at all?

This is the problem with the modern review system. I mean there are some bad mechanics in this game, but the game seems to overcome them all to still put out an enjoyable experience. The problem is when IGN/Gamespot/whatever plugs that in their formula, it isnt going to come out well. I mean think about. This game has dated graphics, bad sound quality, and some poor gameplay mechanics. Its never going to score high when gaming is still being criticized like a tech toy rather than an actual artistic medium.

I think any game reviewer who uses more than 4/5 point scale is ridiculous. Why do you need more than great/good/okay/bad/awful? Especially when you have things like GTA4 and Jade Empire garnering ridiculous high ratings that just make the entire system a joke. There is no need for more than 4/5 star system as anything greater is just fanboy padding and the five star scale allows reviewers flexible to tell the readers what they truly believe the experience is worth.

Personally, I would go no ratings but I know thats simply not feasible (even the movie industry hasnt been able to move to no ratings).
 
But I would even argue against the idea that most of these mechanics are "bad." The only problem I had so far was that, when I died during a side mission, I was put back at the hospital. Other times I died, I was started right back a short distance from where I was.

The games' mechanics are idiosyncratic, yes. It has no cover system. You can't circle strafe. It doesn't play or feel anything like "pick your template" modern action game. But I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.
 

Aaron

Member
sdornan said:
The humor is on purpose, yes. But the shitty driving mechanics, stupid food/sleep mechanics, etc. are not.
What? These are definitely on purpose, and by shitty you mean awesome. The driving is great because it makes it more of a game and less of just getting from point A to B. What's your rush when time passes so slowly? They even give you an out with the radio quest. All the weird food items and no shortage of places to sleep also seem strange to complain about.

My sole annoyance is being unable to zoom out far enough on the map.
 
Aaron said:
My sole annoyance is being unable to zoom out far enough on the map.


Yeah, the map can be a hassle. I also wish they gave you the option to set wavepoints, but it does force you to learn the town better and pay attention to streets, which makes it the world feel more intimate.
 

Domstercool

Member
Ahh I wanna play it! I've been looking around for USA 360s but VGP stop doing arcade models, so dunno where to get one to import to the UK


Edit: :O VGP got them back in.........how strange :D
 

AleeN634

Member
Baloonatic said:
So how much english does the Asian PS3 version contain exactly? I can't really seem to find a proper answer.

All the audio is in English, everything else (including all the menu, sub-quest, etc. text) is in Japanese.
 
Ummm......I can't find any walkthroughs for this game anywhere. How and where do you buy guns and med-kits? I've looked all over the map and can't see any kind of gun store or medical dispensery. After getting through the hospital area, I only have a sliver of health left and no way to heal myself. I'm stumbling through town barely able to walk and theres nothing I can do about it. I also have a bunch of submachine gun and shotgun ammo, but no submachine or shotgun to use it with! What am I doing wrong?
 

Kevtones

Member
Toolbox has an option to buy guns but I'm not sure when that pops up?


Also, the receptionist at the hospital sells medicine.
 
Trent Strong said:
Ummm......I can't find any walkthroughs for this game anywhere. How and where do you buy guns and med-kits? I've looked all over the map and can't see any kind of gun store or medical dispensery. After getting through the hospital area, I only have a sliver of health left and no way to heal myself. I'm stumbling through town barely able to walk and theres nothing I can do about it. I also have a bunch of submachine gun and shotgun ammo, but no submachine or shotgun to use it with! What am I doing wrong?
Whenever you can, do the Milk Barn side missions as they provide you lower-clip capacity versions of weapons that have unlimited ammo supply. It's normal to have ammo for stuff you don't yet have the guns to use them with. You'll get them as you progress through the main campaign missions.
 

quickwhips

Member
I really enjoyed this game. I'm going to play through it a few more times to get 1000/1000. Was alot of fun and my wife seemed to walk by once in a while and sit down and take interested in some of it. We just finished watching twin peaks last year and so I thought it remind me a bit of it. Also the movie references were great.
 
Played for about an hour and made it through the prologue. There are so many Twin Peaks references, which is great as I love that series. When I was first able to drive I was blown away at how awful the world looks (and the car interiors), but if the story continues to be as quirky as it has been for the first hour I think I can look past the graphics. I got a kick out of the dinner scene at the hotel. What in the fuck is up with that table?
 
Just did the checkpoint race by the hospital and the music for it sounds like American Idiot, wtf.

Also last night finally encountered
GIANT DEMON DOGS :lol
 

Intentor

Neo Member
For sure this thread helped me too much on buying the game. There are so many mixed reviews and opinions out there that almost made me just forget about Deadly Premonition (even being curious about its ins and outs).

I'm think that it's (and will be when I play) a nice game, mainly because to me games are not made just by graphics and gameplay (although gameplay is "the king"): it's a combination of many aspects that makes a game amazing or an ugly piece of messy binary codes. And, as far as I have seen about Deadly Premonition, it's problems are far outweighed by its strengths.
 
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