Deadly Premonition

Deadly Premonition, known as Red Seeds Profile in Japan, is a survival horror video game developed by Access Games and published by Ignition Entertainment for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America on February 23, 2010 and in Japan on March 11, 2010. The PlayStation 3 version was released only in Japan. The game has yet to be released in the UK and Australia but is set to be released on the 17th September.

Plot
The game gives the player control of a FBI agent named Francis York Morgan who is investigating the murder of a young woman, Anna Graham, near the fictional American town of Greenvale (its containing state is never identified, but it appears to be somewhere in the Pacific Northwest). Upon arriving in the town York is greeted by town sheriff George Woodman and his deputy Emily Wyatt, who brief him on the murder and lead him to the crime scene. York generates considerable friction with his dismissive attitude toward the locals, bizarre demeanor, and tendency to interrupt conversations to deliver asides to "Zach", an alternate personality congruent with the player. Over the course of his investigation, York has opportunities to touch the lives of many of the town's colorful personalities and intervene in their personal crises, often brought on by the sudden and brutal murder in their midst, to earn rewards and further his understanding of the case. As he unearths more and more mysteries and the killer continues to roam, the town's dark past slowly comes to light.

Deadly Premonition's plot and setting are strongly influenced by the American television show Twin Peaks, and numerous allusions and thematic links can be found within the game.

Gameplay
Deadly Premonition is an open-world survival horror game which gives the player the freedom to explore the town of Greenvale and choose events and activities to participate in, alongside mandatory sequences which advance the game's overall story. York is controlled from an over-the-shoulder perspective similar to that found in Resident Evil 4; similarly, he must stop moving in order to aim and fire his laser-sighted weapons. York may explore the environs on foot, or use one of a variety of cars to travel long distances at speed. These cars must be maintained, as they consume fuel, which York must purchase, and accumulate damage which will render them useless unless York pays for their repair. York himself must also be maintained, as he requires food and sleep at regular intervals. He must also shave and change his clothes periodically or his hygiene-related scores will suffer.

The game has a day-night cycle which operates in 1/3 real time; one game day takes 8 real-world hours to elapse during free exploration. Time frequently skips ahead in response to story events, and York can accelerate its passage by smoking cigarettes. Places of business and entertainment venues in Greenvale have specific hours of operation and must be visited at the proper time to enter them and make use of their services. The inhabitants also have their own schedules, and will travel around town as they go about their business. They are labeled with onscreen indicators so that they may be tailed in vehicles, and York can peep through the windows of many buildings to observe their activities. If York engages them at the right place and time of day, they can offer him sidequests to perform for additional rewards. There is also a dynamic weather system, in which adverse weather occurs at random and will change conditions in the town, necessitating the use of headlights or windshield wipers when driving. In addition to sidequests, scattered throughout the town are a set of trading cards which can be collected while exploring.

The game also contains numerous survival horror combat sequences, in which York must defeat otherwordly enemies while trapped in certain locations. Enemies can approach by walking or by a quick teleportation maneuver, and will engage York with hand-to-hand attacks if they reach him. Some enemies are armed with melee weapons, guns, or other types of weapon. During these sequences, York's primary objective is to investigate crimes which took place there in the recent past; collecting photos of pieces of evidence will allow him to "profile" the scene and reconstruct the events that took place with his deductive skills.