Deadly Premonition / Red Seeds Profile (previously "Rainy Woods")

[MrKirov]

I have such mixed feelings about this, it seems so arduous at times, but yet at others I'm grinning from ear to ear. For every time there's a crap combat section or fetch quest, there's an amusing conversation or event.

The story so far seems to be the best thing about the game, and I'm genuinely intrigued by it, hopefully it keeps this up as it's really the reason I'm playing.

I've on episode 2 part 1 currently, and have just or the radio, infinite magnum, infinite flamethrower and infinate sub machine gun, this should relieve some of the crap combat issues, but that map and it's ****ing rotation didnt half make it far too difficult in places!

I'm still playing though, and that says something I suppose

[Sketcz]

I actually enjoyed the combat at first. It only got annoying when enemies stood around for like half a minute eating up my entire clip of of infinite machinegun ammo. They seemed to degenerate into a series of "stand around and wait" points.

[charlesr]

Most of the enemies you can just run straight past. Unless hemmed in, or the room only "unlocks" when they are dead, there's no real need to waste time on many of them. I did most of the game without the infinite powerups and found the combat to be quite scary at times because of it.

[Neon Ignition]

Now knocking the 35hr marker and going off the trophy list and the way the game is progressing it seems I'm approaching the end which is giving me mixed feelings. Despite how long I've been playing it I'm still not bored with it and can sink hours without even noticing, on the flip side the recent chapters have become much shorter and very linear which has removed the need to mingle in town which takes away one of the games biggest strengths. Hopefully I'll get to harrass the townsfolk again

[Neon Ignition]

Finished this last night and despite the 42hrs on the clock I felt sorry to leave Greenvale for the last time. Platinum'd it and I'd be there for a sequel though can see why some would be reluctant as it's an experience in itself.

The story amazes by actually coming together in a cohesive whole by the end and though it becomes more linear towards the end it maintains it's feel. The end bit for

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Emily actually had me willing it not to happen.

Surprise of the year and loved every minute.

[abigsmurf]

Just started it, it's incredibly amusing.

Spend the whole time wondering if they're taking the piss or if they genuinely wrote the dialogue thinking it was atmospheric and serious.

It's far too enjoyable for a game that, for all intents and purposes should be unplayably bad.

[JazzFunk]

Started playing this last night, thought it might be an interesting counterpoint to Alan Wake (which I finished a couple of nights back) seeing as both games have similar environments and heavy David Lynch stylings.

Last night, I played it up right up to the bit where you first get the

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cop car

, went to bed, back on it now, just basically been exploring (love York's highly amusing autistic film geek babble, was pretty chuffed to hear him waxing lyrical about

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The Deadly Spawn

, how cool a moment was that??! ) Despite the fact it looks like a very uneven PS2 game graphically, with added 'super-shiny plastic' textures added to certain characters/objects to make it seem at least a *tad* 'HD', this really feels kind of like the game I think Alan Wake could've been, its set in this massive, appealingly strange world but this game lets you actually explore it, whereas Alan Wake tries to make its world seem much less linear and episodic than it actually is. Yeah, there's no doubt that Alan Wake's graphics - at least tech-wise - entirely piss over this game's, but the (mainly) crappy but serviceable graphics of Deadly Premonition have such a naive charm and, coupled with the excellent, soft jazz music, truly add a warmth and entirely refreshing spin onto a title that semi-purports to be a survival horror type game.

I'm not particularly far into it but am loving it so far, it is just so, SO right, the dialogue and music alone would be enough but then you've also got the Resi 4-inspired combat, which is a bit wonky but still works well enough. I've witnessed so much mysterious oddness in a mere two hours of play and I know I've barely touched the surface, it truly propels this along, it really is a great feeling!

Just found a '

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human arm bone

' in a field, btw.

One question, though: I'm on the first day 'proper', kicking off at 9pm. I've got to get to the Sheriff's place by 5pm, so I've got 8 ingame 'hours' (which are quite long) to mess about with, explore, meet characters, 'suspects', and whatnot. Is it the type of game where once you've finished a chapter and haven't explored enough, you miss something, or is the whole non-action side of game a more organic thing that can be pursued at your own leisure??? Like, if I miss a 'suspect' now, if I complete the stage will I never get to question that suspect again, or are 'suspects' integral to getting through to the next stage????

Sorry, I get stressed a lot now when first starting games that instantly connect me to them , I get a kind of OCD if I find myself playing through these games quite fast, like I'm gonna miss something vital and not savour the experience, so I often edge through stuff to maximise the experience!!!

[Mayhem]

The story only progresses when you perform the necessary actions to move it along. Mostly the missions marked as such on the map. A lot of the side quests spring up and can only be done at certain times or conditions (such as if it's raining), but you can replay any chapter you've completed already anyhow. So it's very hard to miss something if you know you're supposed to do X, Y or Z during a certain chapter or chapters and the game does give you hints in the status screen when each side quest might be done. However

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if you're going to replay chapters a fair bit to get everything in the game, I recommend obtaining the radio, and you might need to look that up to find out how

.

For example

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if you get all the bones (seven in total), there are a couple of things you can do with them to gain rewards, although you can only perform one of them if you haven't done the other first

. Also the times aren't day specific; you can actually go off and do a shedload of stuff on that first day, sleep, do some more and then go to the sheriff's office on the second day. Apparently they don't mind one bit heh.

Sadly the difficulties aren't stackable, so to get 1000G you'd need to replay the game in full three times. For most people, going through on easy and maybe getting all the trading cards will be enough...

[Neon Ignition]

It still impresses me that despite the quirky odd nature of the games dialogue and events whilst playing it, on completion they actually make it all into a coherent whole

[Sketcz]

What Mayhem said. Don't worry about getting to the Sheriff's office, just roam around exploring and taking on side-missions as you come across them. If you get tired, then continue the story.

If you miss a side-mission which can only be done in a certain chapter (I'm sure there's a mission list accessed via the map which states which chapters they can be done in), you can redo that chapter from the main menu - but be warned, you can't save during the chapter, you need to complete it for the rewards to stack into your main save.

I'm not going to spoiler this since I think everyone should do it:
check the map and notice the bones placed around it. Spend time driving around and collecting each of them. It'll give you a feel for the town and it'll come in handy much later on. Best get it done now, trust me.

[Mayhem]

Yeah, the in-game map is great, just the zoom is abysmal! You can't pan out far enough for it to be really useful. So learning where all the various facets of the town will help when driving.

[Sketcz]

I like how you can't zoom out! It adds to the immense sense of scale, like I'm unfolding a real road map, and having to fold the edges down as I move across it.

It's worth highlighting just how realistic the scale of the town is - most sandbox claims stick you in what feels like a toy town.

Also, for those just starting:
You can go to people's houses and spy on them through their windows!

[JazzFunk]

^Thankyou all, I really, really appreciate all your comments on this.

I think I'm starting to get my head around the wonkiness of this madness, haven't even bothered going to the Sheriff's to further the game's plot, just have continued exploring, or at least attempting to explore (the map is great, but is VERY close up, even when zoomed out to the max, plus it rotates dependent on which way you are currently 'looking'!!!)

Bad thing is, I've done it on a rainy day, a lot of places are shut because of this, and the whole game has this 'greyness' which feels relentlessly depressing, vaguely tedious, yet also funny, it's trying to simulate the ****ness of how life muchly is.

Found three more

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human bones

in the space of 45 mins, plus another behind the bars of what looks like some nature park that has a massive fishing opportunity on its left-hand side, I'm guessing/hoping this will open when the weather changes?

Found a couple of side missions in the rain, the

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petrol station

and

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darts bar

, been trying to advance the

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petrol station

one, get a sense it needs to develop via plot progression, plus the

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darts bar

one *seems* like it needs some level of plot progression to unlock the darts minigame.

Initially thought I was restricted in seeking the main mission on my map, complete it by 17.00 pm, but I'm not, seems you can keep on exploring once you burst the time limit and keep going 'til the next day.

[Sketcz]

Some missions are rainy day specific, so now is a great time to do them! I had to wait ages for the clear weather to clear, of all things!

Only minor spoilers regarding these missions:

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* Visit Emily when she's finished work on rainy days - she stays at home and you two end up having some fun.

* Visit George at home on rainy days.

* Keep an eye on the map for a specific type of item which only appears after or during rains

* Visit the convenience store and make a mental note of what they sell - will come in handy later when needing groceries

Also! After you've finished this early main mission, of visiting the station, go back to the station every day in the morning to have breakfast with Thomas. Each day will give you a unique cut-scene (some are brilliant), plus you'll get a free meal for your hunger meter. It shouldn't inconvenience the other missions, and it's worth making the trip.

Man, love this game so much. It's one of those where I wish I could redo it all over again for the first time.

EDIT:
Always keep a pack of smokes handy for when you're waiting for time to fly.

[charlesr]

Never thought about that scale thing before! It really is massive isn't it? Unlike Crackdown which has 3 cities and you can drive across all 3 in 5 minutes, this is like driving around a real place in real time.