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rv, you are behind the times, it has already been pushed back at least one week.
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| publisher = {{vgrelease new|NA|[[Ignition Entertainment]] <small>(original)</small>|JP|[[Marvelous Entertainment]]|EU|[[Rising Star Games]]|NA|Rising Star Games <small>(''Director's Cut'')</small><ref name="siliconera">{{cite web |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/16/deadly-premonition-directors-cut-to-have-updated-controls-dlc-and-more/ |title=Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut To Have Updated Controls, DLC, And More [Update] |author=Ishaan |date=October 16, 2012 |work= |publisher=siliconera |accessdate=October 16, 2012}}</ref>}}
| publisher = {{vgrelease new|NA|[[Ignition Entertainment]] <small>(original)</small>|JP|[[Marvelous Entertainment]]|EU|[[Rising Star Games]]|NA|Rising Star Games <small>(''Director's Cut'')</small><ref name="siliconera">{{cite web |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/16/deadly-premonition-directors-cut-to-have-updated-controls-dlc-and-more/ |title=Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut To Have Updated Controls, DLC, And More [Update] |author=Ishaan |date=October 16, 2012 |work= |publisher=siliconera |accessdate=October 16, 2012}}</ref>}}
| designer = [[Hidetaka Suehiro|Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro]]
| designer = [[Hidetaka Suehiro|Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro]]
| released = '''Xbox 360'''<br />{{vgrelease new|NA|February 17, 2010|JP|March 11, 2010|EU|October 29, 2010}}'''PlayStation 3'''<br />{{vgrelease new|JP|March 11, 2010|NA|April 30, 2013 <small>(Director's cut)</small><ref name="New Release"/>|EU|April 19, 2013 <small>(Director's cut)</small><ref name="siliconera"/>}}
| released = '''Xbox 360'''<br />{{vgrelease new|NA|February 17, 2010|JP|March 11, 2010|EU|October 29, 2010}}'''PlayStation 3'''<br />{{vgrelease new|JP|March 11, 2010|NA|April 30, 2013 <small>(Director's cut)</small><ref name="New Release"/>|EU|Q1 2013 <small>(Director's cut)</small><ref name="siliconera"/>}}
| genre = [[Psychological horror]], [[open world]]
| genre = [[Psychological horror]], [[open world]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]

Revision as of 00:56, 7 February 2013

Deadly Premonition
Developer(s)Access Games
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro
Platform(s)Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
ReleaseXbox 360
  • NA: February 17, 2010
  • JP: March 11, 2010
  • EU: October 29, 2010
PlayStation 3
  • JP: March 11, 2010
  • NA: April 30, 2013 (Director's cut)[1]
  • EU: Q1 2013 (Director's cut)[2]
Genre(s)Psychological horror, open world
Mode(s)Single-player

Deadly Premonition, known as Red Seeds Profile (レッドシーズプロファイル) in Japan, is a psychological horror open world cult video game developed by Access Games for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and published by Ignition Entertainment in North America, Marvelous Entertainment in Japan and Rising Star Games in Europe.[3] It was released in North America on February 17, 2010, in Japan on March 11, 2010 and in Europe on October 29, 2010. The PlayStation 3 version was released only in Japan on the same date as the Xbox 360 version.[4] A director's cut release for the PlayStation 3 was announced in March 2012, along with news of other Deadly Premonition projects.[5]

The game is notable for introducing open world nonlinear gameplay and a comedy horror theme to the survival horror genre.[6] It is also notable for implementing a free-roaming storyline within an open game world where all the characters have their own schedules.[7] It is considered one of the most divisive games to be released in a long time,[8] and has become known for its "wildly mixed critical reception and headline-making strangeness."[9] It is seen as a primary example of "games as art"[10] and holds the Guinness World Record of "Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game."[11]

Gameplay

File:Deadly Premonition Screenshot.jpg
York talks to Emily in a police car during a cutscene.

Deadly Premonition is a psychological horror open world game which gives the player the freedom to explore the town of Greenvale and choose events and activities to participate in, alongside mandatory sequences which advance the game's overall story. The main character, Agent York, is controlled from an over-the-shoulder perspective, and can wander freely, talk to other characters, and collect and use inventory, including an array of melee and ranged weaponry and recovery items. He is awarded money for numerous actions - both for solving quests and for minor events like killing enemies; money can also be penalized for poor performance. York may explore the environments on foot, or use one of a variety of cars to travel long distances at speed. These cars must be maintained, as they consume fuel, which York must purchase, and accumulate damage which will render them useless unless York pays for their repair. York himself must also be maintained, as he requires food and sleep at regular intervals. He must also shave and change his clothes periodically or his hygiene-related scores will suffer.

The game has a day-night cycle which operates at one-third of real time; one game day takes eight hours to elapse during free exploration. Time frequently skips ahead in response to story events, and York can accelerate its passage by smoking cigarettes. Places of business and entertainment venues in Greenvale have specific hours of operation and must be visited at the proper time to enter them and make use of their services. The inhabitants also have their own schedules, and will travel around town as they go about their business. They are labeled with onscreen indicators so that they may be tailed in vehicles, and York can peep through the windows of many buildings to observe their activities. If York engages them at the right place and time of day, they can offer him sidequests to perform for additional rewards. There is also a dynamic weather system, in which adverse weather occurs at random and will change conditions in the town, necessitating the use of headlights or windshield wipers when driving. In addition to sidequests, scattered throughout the town are a set of trading cards which can be collected while exploring.

The game also contains numerous survival horror combat sequences, in which York must defeat otherwordly enemies while trapped in certain locations. Enemies can approach by walking or by a quick teleportation maneuver; most will engage York with hand-to-hand attacks if they reach him. York must stop moving to use his weapons, leaving him vulnerable to rush attacks. Enemies may be armed with melee weapons, guns, or other types of weapon; some enemies include a quick-time event to escape their attacks. During these sequences, York's primary objective is to investigate crimes which took place there in the recent past; collecting photos of pieces of evidence will allow him to "profile" the scene and reconstruct the events that took place with his deductive skills.

Plot

The game gives the player control ofFBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan (referred to as York), who arrives at the fictional town of Greenvale sent to investigate the murder of a young woman, Anna Graham. York takes on the case due to the manner of the killing; a seemingly ritualistic murder of a young woman where red seeds have been found on or near the body, as this is similar to a series of other murders across the country. Upon arriving in the town, York is greeted by town sheriff George Woodman and his deputy Emily Wyatt, who York quickly develops an attraction to. York generates considerable friction with his dismissive attitude toward the locals, bizarre demeanor, and tendency to interrupt conversations to deliver asides to an unseen person he refers to as "Zach".

As the investigation develops, several more women are murdered, the key links between them being the same red seeds and a symbol which York believes is a peace symbol upside-down, and York is regularly ambushed and attacked by a faceless axe-wielding figure wearing a raincoat, as well as a number of mysterious ghost-like shadows. It is also established that, as a child, York witnessed his father shooting his mother before turning the gun on himself. York also has a scar on his face which he refuses to explain. Throughout the game, York is seen entering dreamlike worlds featuring angelic versions of the key witnesses to the Anna Graham murder, twin children Isaach and Isaiah, as well as a series of other unexplained characters, and it is implied that this is an alternate reality rather than hallucination.

York eventually begins to visit an old, mysterious resident of the town, Harry Stewart, who tells him that the current 'raincoat killer' is not the original. In the 1950s, a U.S. military operation took place in the town in order to study the effects of biological warfare. A gas was sent out from the bell tower, causing the residents to temporarily go insane, during which time the original raincoat killer went on his spree. It is implied that the shadows York fights are the spirits of the original killer's victims. However, York is soon captured and kidnapped by another policeman, Thomas MacLaine, who is revealed to be a cultist who wears drag in his spare time. Thomas eventually commits suicide after losing his gun during a battle with Emily, and York reveals that he believes the copycat raincoat killer is George. This is later confirmed as George reveals that he has gained shapeshifting powers as the result of eating the red seeds. York is able to kill him, but ends up injured and in hospital.

York realises that, while George was the Greenvale killer, he could not have been responsible for the other similar murders nationwide and was likely just a pawn. He eventually discovers that Forrest Kaysen, a travelling tree salesman depicted as a comic relief character throughout the game, is in fact the primary antagonist and was one of the soldiers responsible for carrying out the original gas experiment, and that the upside-down peace symbol seen close to all of his victims was, in fact, a tree. York is led by Kaysen to the community centre, next to the bell tower, and finds that Emily has been kidnapped and a tree planted inside her stomach. York then realises that he is, in fact, Zach - Francis Zach Morgan witnessed his mother dying with a tree sprouting from her own body with Zach's father and Kaysen in the room. Zach's father was unable to shoot his wife out of mercy and instead took his own life, leading to a more agonising death for her. Kaysen then hit Zach across the head, causing the scar. Unable to cope with the grief, Zach psychologically switched places with his alter-ego, York. Upon recognising this, Zach permanently switches back with York and, although unable to save Emily, kills Kaysen and leaves the town with optimism for his future.

In the closing scene, York, Emily, Thomas and all of the Greenvale murder victims are seen happily existing in the alternate reality.

Development

Although the game was first announced as a multi-platform release under the name Rainy Woods during the Tokyo Game Show 2007, several gaming websites noted that the title shared strong similarities with the American television serial drama Twin Peaks.[12] The comparison eventually led the developers to change the artistic direction of the game to have less similarity to the television series, effectively pushing back its release sometime during "mid to late 2009, maybe even 2010" according to a representative during July 2008.[13] All of the voice acting used for Rainy Woods had to be rerecorded to accommodate the new elements and the revised protagonist.[14] Voice acting for the protagonist was provided by Jeff Kramer.[15]

Release

On November 10, 2009, Ignition Entertainment announced Deadly Premonition would be receiving a North American release in early 2010 as an Xbox 360 exclusive. It was further specified that the game would retail within the budget range, priced at $19.99 in the United States.[16] A European release for the Xbox 360 version was confirmed in August and Rising Star Games released it October 29.[17] The game was released with all subtitles translated to English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.[18] Deadly Premonition has not been refused classification in Australia, but Rising Star games have said they have no intent on releasing it there.[19]

Reception

Deadly Premonition has received mixed reviews from critics, with praise directed at its unusual storyline and open world while criticism was directed at its spotty production values and dated controls; it received an average score of 70% from GameRankings and 68/100 from Metacritic.[20][21] It is considered one of the most divisive games to be released in a long time,[8] with scores ranging from as low as 2 out of 10 from IGN US (later 7.5 out of 10 from IGN UK) to as high as 10 out of 10 from Destructoid.[32][36] Gamasutra released data that Deadly Premonition led sales of Xbox 360 games on Amazon.com for the week of April 9, 2010,[37] temporarily overtaking higher-profile releases such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2, and Left 4 Dead 2. This cult success was attributed to how the game's "wildly mixed critical reception and headline-making strangeness got people talking" by GamePro.[9]

Criticism was directed at the game's controls, sound effects, and visual quality. IGN's Erik Brudvig called Deadly Premonition, "Awful in nearly every way", and criticized every aspect of the game, especially its bad production values and lackluster controls.[26] Eurogamer's Chris Schilling noticed that the soundtrack seemed out of place during many scenes, with serious scenes often containing a light-hearted jazz track.[24] GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd noted that the visuals contained many low-resolution textures.[25]

Despite the criticisms, the game has received a significant cult following.[9][38] The story and characters were widely praised by critics, and many reviewers drew comparisons to the Twin Peaks television series.[24][25][22] Destructoid's Jim Sterling gave the game a perfect score, calling it a "beautiful trainwreck."[6] GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd stated that the story's unpredictability was the game's greatest strength.[25] Despite his criticism, Schilling of Eurogamer noted that the characters in the town were fascinating in their oddness.[24] 1UP.com's Frank Cifaldi praised the game as being an example of the kind of quality interactive storytelling that only a video game could provide.[22] Gamasutra also praised the game for its "living, bizarre game world, where people go about their daily business regardless of player interaction."[32] GameCentral described the game as "the strangest video game of the year" and a primary example of "games as art", praising it for its "emotional range, from traditional survival horror scares to farcical comedy".[10] X-Play gave it 4/5 stars,[29] and named it one of the "Top 10 Games of 2010... So Far" in June 2010.[39] Game Critics wrote an article about why it should be Game of the Year.[33] The game has received over a dozen other awards from various publications,[7] including "Best Cult Game" from Gamasutra,[32] "Most Surprisingly Good Game" from GameSpot,[34] and "Best Worst Game" from GamesRadar.[35] In the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, Deadly Premonition holds the record as the "Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game".[11]

Director's Cut

On March 8, 2012, Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut was announced for release in Europe and North America for the PlayStation 3 by Rising Star Games.[5] The release date has been tentatively set for April 30, 2013.[1] This edition will have updated controls, updated HD visuals, more than 100 improvements, PS Move support, some downloadable content, and additional scenarios.

References

  1. ^ a b Romano, Sal. "Deadly Premonition PS3 has "new branching ending," more". Gematsu. Gematsu.com. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b Ishaan (October 16, 2012). "Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut To Have Updated Controls, DLC, And More [Update]". siliconera. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  3. ^ Creepy, Uncle (2010-01-26). "Exclusive: Deadly Premonition: Character Profiles: Emily and George". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  4. ^ "Red Seeds Profile -レッド シーズ プロファイル". Mmv.co.jp. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  5. ^ a b "Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut coming to PS3". Destructoid.
  6. ^ a b c Sterling, Jim (2010-02-27). "Review: Deadly Premonition". Destructoid. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  7. ^ a b Sheffield, Brandon (2011-03-03). "GDC 2011: Deadly Premonition's 7 Steps To A Memorable Story". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  8. ^ a b Szczepaniak, John (2010-06-19). "Deadly Premonition: for Japanese players on PS3". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  9. ^ a b c Herring, Will (2010-05-13). "When You're Strange: The Story of Deadly Premonition". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  10. ^ a b c Jenkins, David (2010-11-02). "Games review: Deadly Premonition is one of a kind". GameCentral. Metro. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  11. ^ a b c Reeves, Ben (December 30, 2011). "Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer's Edition Preview". Game Informer. Retrieved 31 December 2011. (cf. Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition)
  12. ^ "TGS 2007; Twin Peaks, sorry, Rainy Woods trailer". PS3 Attitude. 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  13. ^ Anonymous (2008-07-25). "Rainy Woods delayed until 2009 at least due to Twin Peaks similarity". PS3 Attitude. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  14. ^ "morning radio » Blog Archive » WARNING! A Huge Podcast :: Stage 005". Radio.morningproject.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  15. ^ "Features - Thank You And Guys, I Love You!! - A SWERY Interview". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  16. ^ "Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360)". Games.teamxbox.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  17. ^ Matt Wales IGN UK (2010-09-16). "Deadly Premonition Gets Euro Date - Xbox 360 News at IGN". Uk.xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  18. ^ "Forum - talk about games, problems, artwork and ideas - View topic - Rainy Woods/Deadly Premonition". Rising Star Games. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  19. ^ Wildgoose, David (2010-08-13). "Deadly Premonition Not Banned, But Still No Aussie Release | Kotaku Australia". Kotaku.com.au. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  20. ^ a b "Deadly Premonition for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  21. ^ a b "Metacritic Deadly Premonition (xbox360) reviews at Metacritic.com". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  22. ^ a b c Cifaldi, Frank (2010-03-03). "Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360)". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Deadly Premonition Reviews and Articles for Xbox 360". GameRankings. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  24. ^ a b c d Schilling, Chris (2010-04-29). "Deadly Premonition Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  25. ^ a b c d VanOrd, Kevin (2010-04-19). "Deadly Premonition Review for Xbox 360". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  26. ^ a b Brudvig, Erik (2010-02-23). "Deadly Premonition Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  27. ^ Matt Wales IGN UK (2010-11-08). "Deadly Premonition UK Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN". Uk.xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  28. ^ Bev Chen19 Nov, 2010 (2010-11-19). "Deadly Premonition Review - Xbox 360 Video Game Review - PAL Gaming Network". Palgn.com.au. Retrieved 2011-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ a b Keil, Matt (2010-05-12). "Deadly Premonition Review for Xbox 360". G4tv. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  30. ^ Author: Jeff McAllister (2010-03-09). "Reviews | Deadly Premonition Review". GameShark. Retrieved 2011-10-25. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Deadly Premonition Xbox 360 Review @ Gaming Target". Gamingtarget.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  32. ^ a b c d Brandon Sheffield (December 22, 2010). "Gamasutra's Best Of 2010: Top 5 Cult Games". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  33. ^ a b "Deadly Premonition is the Game of the Year (Part 1) | GameCritics.com - Games. Culture. Criticism". GameCritics.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  34. ^ a b "Most Surprisingly Good Game - The Best Games of 2010 on GameSpot". Uk.gamespot.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  35. ^ a b "The Platinum Chalice Awards 2010, Gran Turismo 5 Xbox 360 Features". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  36. ^ "The lowdown on 'Deadly Premonition': a game so bad that it's good". The Independent. 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  37. ^ Cowan, Danny (2010-04-09). "Saling The World: Cabela's, Deadly Premonition Lead U.S. Charts". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  38. ^ "Ignition Entertainment Announces Deadly Premonition: Game of the Year Edition Now Available - Xbox 360 News at IGN". Xbox360.ign.com. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  39. ^ June 28, 2010 (2010-06-28). "X-Play's Top 10 Games of 2010 So Far: 10 - 8 in High Definition –". G4tv.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deadly_Premonition&oldid=536972600"