Deadly Premonition is a PlayStation 3 release that has made its way to the Windows PC platform. To the dismay of gamers, this port had a very rocky launch on Steam. Gamers went to the official Steam forums to complain about in-game glitches that affected gameplay. Some of these glitches include unexplainable crashes and poor performance on high-end gaming rigs.
Rising Star Games listened to their customers and released a handful of patches that quickly rectified the unexplainable crashing and poor performance issues that gamers were experiencing. Thanks to these updates, Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut works as intended without any further issues.
The game places you in the role of FBI special agent Francis Morgan York as he tries to solve a recent string of unexplainable murders. Agent York is not your average FBI agent either; he possesses a psychic ability that allows him to see things that others cannot. Sometimes he needs to drink a good cup of coffee to trigger his ‘special’ abilities (more on this in a moment). As odd as this may sound, it usually leads to some compelling scenarios for the player to explore.
Even though the game’s main premise is to solve a string of murders, you can explore Deadly Premonition’s non-linear sandbox world to interrogate witnesses, explore the town of Greenvale, and even play mini games at the local bar for fun. And since Deadly Premonition is not your typical chapter-based adventure game, you can explore the game world freely without being pushed along by the story. The game also contains a large number of side quests in addition to the main story.
Agent York not only needs to eat, but find time to sleep as well. When you’re exploring, you can purchase coffee and food items from vending machines to keep York awake. Sleeping is another option and it helps further the story along (especially if you have a mission that cannot be completed until the following day). York’s ‘special’ ability happens to be a precognitive insight that allows him to see certain events. And while you never see him, an invisible entity named ‘Zach’ is referred to often by our physic protagonist as he tries to decipher his visions.
This process helps our hero build a profile of the suspect responsible for committing the murders. Sometimes the evidence Agent York gathers comes in the form of puzzles that must be completed by the player, which are similar to games such as Silent Hill.
Even the combat system feels like it was lifted from survival horror classics such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Agent York enters an altered state of consciousness where he is confronted by horrifying demonic creatures. To defend himself, York can use a variety of weapons that include pipes, knives and even firearms (the best being the shotgun), to name just a few. But like Silent Hill, the best way to survive is to either run or use a blunt object if you get caught in a corner.
Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut includes bonus features such as additional vehicles, weapons, and clothing that the Standard Edition on Playstation 3 never offered. This helps the PC version stand out above the console release.
While a bit dated in appearance, Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut is an incredible game that is worth owning, even if you played it previously on PS3. And thanks to the additional content, it gives console gamers a good excuse to relive this survival horror classic, while unlocking all the new goodies this release offers.
James ‘ Daripp3’ Pittaro
Platform: PC
System Requirements
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 / Vista (32/64 bit)
Processor: Intel Dual Core 2.0Ghz or equivalent
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: Direct X compatible sound card
Developer: Rising Star Games
Publisher: Rising Star Games
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: $24.99
Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The remastered HD graphics are an improvement over the original. | |
| Sound | |
| Brilliant voice acting and a compelling soundtrack set the stage for this survival horror adventure. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut includes the perfect blend of action and adventure. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| An entertaining survival horror game with a compelling story. | |
