Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Review

Deadly Premonition is known for its wildly mixed reception with some companies reviewing it highly and others not so high. Deadly Premonition was developed by Access Games and originally released in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment for Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. When released in North America and Europe there was no PS3 release, meaning Playstation fans did not get the chance to play the game. With the release of Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut PS3 players finally get the chance to get their hands on a updated version of Deadly Premonition with a few added cut scenes compared to that of the original.

So, what is Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut? Well that may be what you’re asking, no matter I am going to tell you anyway! Deadly Premonition is a third person survival horror action game where you play as FBI agent Francis York Morgan (known as York in game). The game starts as York arrives in the town of Greenvale as he is investigating the murder of Anna Graham. York is interested in the murder of Anna Graham due to the strange murder of the woman, where red seeds have been found near the body… similar to that of a series of murders which have taken place around the country. As the game progresses you will find out who the murderer was, though if you want to find out further detail into the story you’re going to have to play through it or give it a Google… I cannot spoil such a brilliantly written and interesting story for you.

With Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut being a remake of the original Deadly Premonition game you would expect a few new features or upgrades to the game. The game gives you around five to ten minutes of extra cut scenes spread over the cases you carry out. Whilst they don’t add that much extra to the game they add to the games brilliant atmosphere, and the atmosphere is one of the strongest points with this game.

Several updates were made to the game to make it more appealing to a newer audience; with a big one being the games graphics. The game ditches its green/muddy filter and has been updated to look better in 720p, I have to be honest if you have played the original this can be a big difference – the removal of the green/muddy filter which was slightly present in the old games added to the dark atmosphere within game.

Combat has also been improved feeling a lot smoother. Players of the original will know that the combat felt a bit clunky and awkward at times and whilst it hasn’t been improved as well as it could have, it is a lot smoother and feels a lot easier now than it did in the past.

Many of you may feel like the next feature isn’t that big but heck it added a fair bit to the game from me. Deadly Premonition originally had fairly zoomed in camera but in Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut the camera is pulled back slightly allowing the player to see the environments around them as they play through the game. This was a nice feature as you were able to see more of the environments around you which, as many of the features seem to do in this game, adds heavily to the atmosphere.

As mentioned Graphically Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut feels outdated now which is a shame to such an interesting and engaging game but no matter it still looks great with its higher resolution now on a HD television. On top of the slightly outdated graphics, controls once again feel clunky when performing quick time events and feel like they have not been made to work effectively – often meaning that a quick time event was not performed correctly. Though this is all easily forgotten with the solid storyline and interesting (and I mean INTERESTING) characters. The game is always keeping you within the story and even the side quests which you can carry out feel rewarding and feel as if you are not wasting time whilst solving the case.

So let’s take a look at the Positives and Negatives!

Positives:

+ Solid and well written storyline

+ Great and interesting characters

+ Side quests feel rewarding and don’t feel as if they are dragging you away from the main story

+ PS3 players outside of Japan can finally get their hands on it!

Negatives:

– Quick time events are poorly done

– The game is sadly starting to show some aging

– Extra content doesn’t seem worth re-purchasing if played before

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut is a well written and enjoyable game which will hook you in from the start. With it’s interesting characters and great atmosphere you will want to keep playing until you finally find out what’s actually going on. Fans of Deadly Premonition will know what to expect from The Director’s Cut though I don’t think there is enough content to actually make it worth purchasing again if you’ve played it. If you are new to Deadly Premonition then be sure to pick up the Director’s Cut version as the updates will make the game feel more up to date with the current games on market. Still on the edge if you should buy this game or not? If you’re a fan of survival horror action games and are looking for a interesting and brilliantly written story look no further because even the small problems will be overseen.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.