As I’ve stated before, I am not really what one calls a gamer. However, several of my good friends are, and so sometimes I am exposed to games that would have otherwise never crossed my path. This usually gives me a chance to dabble in certain titles every now and then, allowing me to get a sense of them without having to endure the time-suck of having to actually play an entire game through. It’s a relationship I’ve come to enjoy with gaming, as it allows me the luxury of only investing my time in the kinds of games I feel contribute to the enrichment of my own life, while still getting to see what else is out there.

While this is indeed my general modus operandi, every once in a while I allow myself to get pulled into this world a little deeper than I usually would. I was recently provided with one of those rare occasions when, during an overnight marathon session spanning seventeen hours, I watched friend, writer, and videogame journalist Brian Rubinow play the Xbox 360 game Deadly Premonition. The event was organized under the title “Where the Squirrels Sound Like Monkeys,” which is absolutely an accurate descriptor, and should give you at least a decent indication of its Ed Wood style low budget nature.

Make no mistake, low production values are exactly why this game was being played, especially in this manner. Employing a Mystery Science Theater 3000 approach, Brian figured having an audience of (fellow) sarcastic commentators would make the grueling experience a more bearable one.

This was a smart move, as there is much to hate about the game, especially judging it by normal gaming standards. The sound effects are terrible, the small collection of music is usually completely inappropriate given the events unfolding, and the action (survival horror) portions of the game were so repetitive as to become some small portion of hell, if Andre Linoge’s description of such is to be believed. There is no way around the fact that, as a contender for what traditionally defines a great (or even good) game, Deadly Premonition is pretty much a complete and total failure.

Yet, I cannot dismiss it so quickly as not having been worth my time. As an interactive story, there lies amongst the failed mechanics and shoddy craftsmanship something that has gotten under my skin and into my heart. I constantly wanted to know more about the townsfolk, to take additional side quests to understand their strange stories better. Indeed, after the initial shock of just how strange this game was, I became consistently curious to discover what lurked about its corners.

Granted, these opinions (and all that will follow) come from someone who never once touched the controller during the game’s run, let alone spent the entire period being solely responsible for each and every action, so take my thoughts for what you will. I, for one, know that Brian has found no redeeming values in Deadly Premonition. I certainly thought likewise early on, and even in writing this review I have had moments where my brain has piped up to state that I know this game is terrible. And yet my heart still draws forth these words to tell you that there is something to be admired.

My best argument for this, aside from my compulsion to delve deeper into the game’s bizarre world, comes in the form of a particularly (and relatively) well-designed level, in which you play as the original Raincoat Killer. Much of the game had been spent driving across town to get from mission to mission. This level came at one of those junctions. Of course, I expected to jump once more into a car in order to drive to the community center, which I had honestly forgotten was also the location of the town’s clock tower.

Instead, we are suddenly back in time, unexpectedly playing as a character we’d really only heard about in earlier dialogues. At first, our goal is unclear and the change of setting is rather startling, leaving us to wonder what to do. A strange but beautiful version of “Amazing Grace” begins to play and the clock tower’s bell chimes in the distance. In the center of the screen comes the subtitle “(1…).” We keep trying to figure out where to go. Another chime and the screen flashes “(2…).” It isn’t until the third chime that we realized that they are counting up to an aforementioned ominous thirteen, and that the clock tower is our goal.

All of those points that had before been merely backstory came rushing into the foreground, made important by our having been dropped into a past that beautifully connects with the present. And so we head toward the clock tower, sparking axe dragging behind, as “Amazing Grace” plays and the chimes count up and we move closer to an honestly intriguing future.

It was at this moment that I understood the game. You cannot approach Deadly Premonition with your mind; this game is all about heart. Even as my brain shouts that there is nothing worthwhile in this junk heap of a title, my heart sees its vision. The people behind the game certainly tried to cram more genres into a single game than I’ve ever before seen attempted, but they clearly loved them dearly. Sure, their execution was off, but everything they did, they did out of love. This was not some blatant attempt to rip off the public of some small fortune of cash.

And though it is undeniably clunky and flawed, I firmly believe that the bones that make up the core of the game and its story could (and indeed should) be redecorated and reworked, creating an end product that would be a shining example of the very best that gaming has to offer as a storytelling medium. Think of it as a rough draft, an initial concept, on its way to becoming a polished screenplay. Much like Neill Blomkamp’s short Alive in Joburg was tweaked (and expanded) to become the hit film District 9, I feel that Deadly Premonition could be remade into a bona fide videogame classic. The vision is clearly there, it just needs the time, money, and additional talent to make it a reality.

So, while I cannot in good conscious recommend Deadly Premonition as a great gaming experience, I do honestly offer it up as a study in what great gaming can aspire to be: bold, daring, different.

Original.