Posted December 28, 2013
My PC is utter crap and it will be a long time until I have the money to get a better one. This tin can of a computer doesn't even run Costume Quest, struggles to run The Cat Lady and even Valdis Story is utterly unplayable (!), so there's no chance in hell it'll run Deadly Premonition. But you know what? I don't want my money back, I'll eagerly await for a more financially stable period in my life, one when I can afford a better computer, in order to play it and some other titles I have here on GOG on indefinite hold. Owning this game and knowing I'll eventually be able to play it is good enough for me.
While I love Alan Wake (another game I have in my GOG library and can't run, even though I played that one on a friend's computer) for mostly the same reasons, Deadly Premonition has me more excited. Don't get me wrong, Alan Wake is amazing, it's probably way better, gameplay-wise, and Sam Lake is an awesome creative writer (and poet!), and his writing for Alan Wake is, I'm guessing, way above whatever SWERY wrote for Deadly Premonition. But what I really -- *really* -- like the most about both games is that they're both inspired by the greatest TV show *ever*: Twin Peaks (Breaking Bad doesn't hold a candle to Twin Peaks, by the way). And in this respect, Deadly Premonition takes the cake over Alan Wake, mostly because Alan Wake is "merely" inspired by Twin Peaks -- the same way it's inspired by Stephen King, that overly overrated author I can't stand --, while Deadly Premonition tries to be a downright homage to the show, sometimes bordering on plagiarism.
I'm aware the game crashes, the controls are sub-par, the story is awkward and doesn't always make sense, I've seen videos of the game and I know of the issues it has, but I still think it's probably the best last game of its kind. Freaky, nonsensical at times, disconcerting, funny, outrageous, experimental, but above all immersive. All of which the video game industry is severely lacking, with all its acute sequelitis, unfinished experiences that rely on the patch/DLC excuse, online-dependency and play-it-safe boring-cinematic, cheap, easy and unremarkable titles. People may argue that the Japanese video game development is dying, but if this is what they're still capable of coming up with, I still have more faith in them than in the dull FPS/cover-based TPS-riddled Western studios.
So, my dear fellow Deadly Premonition fans out there, go play this amazing game, since -- some of -- you actually *can*, and be sure to do a playthrough or two for me and all of us inexplicably die-hard fans that are yet unable to enjoy it. And thank you so much, Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro, for creating this superb experience of a game.
While I love Alan Wake (another game I have in my GOG library and can't run, even though I played that one on a friend's computer) for mostly the same reasons, Deadly Premonition has me more excited. Don't get me wrong, Alan Wake is amazing, it's probably way better, gameplay-wise, and Sam Lake is an awesome creative writer (and poet!), and his writing for Alan Wake is, I'm guessing, way above whatever SWERY wrote for Deadly Premonition. But what I really -- *really* -- like the most about both games is that they're both inspired by the greatest TV show *ever*: Twin Peaks (Breaking Bad doesn't hold a candle to Twin Peaks, by the way). And in this respect, Deadly Premonition takes the cake over Alan Wake, mostly because Alan Wake is "merely" inspired by Twin Peaks -- the same way it's inspired by Stephen King, that overly overrated author I can't stand --, while Deadly Premonition tries to be a downright homage to the show, sometimes bordering on plagiarism.
I'm aware the game crashes, the controls are sub-par, the story is awkward and doesn't always make sense, I've seen videos of the game and I know of the issues it has, but I still think it's probably the best last game of its kind. Freaky, nonsensical at times, disconcerting, funny, outrageous, experimental, but above all immersive. All of which the video game industry is severely lacking, with all its acute sequelitis, unfinished experiences that rely on the patch/DLC excuse, online-dependency and play-it-safe boring-cinematic, cheap, easy and unremarkable titles. People may argue that the Japanese video game development is dying, but if this is what they're still capable of coming up with, I still have more faith in them than in the dull FPS/cover-based TPS-riddled Western studios.
So, my dear fellow Deadly Premonition fans out there, go play this amazing game, since -- some of -- you actually *can*, and be sure to do a playthrough or two for me and all of us inexplicably die-hard fans that are yet unable to enjoy it. And thank you so much, Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro, for creating this superb experience of a game.