Well, it's that time once again! It's finally time for another Deadly Premonition post! Huzzah! Shamefully, I have to admit that after the last part's game over, I was a little demotivated to start again from the last save. The quick time event that killed me in the last episode sent me all the way back to the last save point (because I chose to quit to the title instead of continuing). Continuing over my progress from the last episode seemed like it would be tough... even though it really wasn't. Oh well! All that matters now is that it's time for Deadly Premonition again! So, hit the jump below to read more adventures of the awesome Francis York Morgan!
Since most of the events that happen in between the last place where I saved my game and the quick time event that gave me a game over were the exact same as the last post, there's not too much to go over at this moment. For the most part, I just took my time navigating through the areas, killing enemies as I saw them. There is one thing which I believe I skipped talking about, and that's profiling sections of the game. Every once in a while as York advances in the story, a short quick time event will appear that allows York to analyze and profile the clues he's gathered thus far. When you activate the event, various photos appear on screen of characters and events that I don't recognize at this point in the game. Perhaps this is him referring back to previous FBI cases to solve this mystery? Maybe he can see the future. That's a possibility.
Also, the other thing that I've noticed is the money system in this game. Even though York has a job with the FBI, I haven't noticed him actually getting a paycheck. It kinda sucks for him, that he has to work without pay. However, York has the amazing ability to get money for finding $10 in his wallet every single time he defeats an enemy. He also gets an extra $10 bonus if he defeats the enemy with primarily headshots. If I could get $10-$20 for killing a single zombie... then I think I'd have to pick up a new part-time job! Seriously, though... I'm not sure how York ends up getting money after killing an enemy. Maybe he finds it on them, maybe he remembers that he has an extra $10 in his bank account, or perhaps there's another explanation. Either way, that's one way of making money. The other way that I know of is to pick up collectables. The three types that I've noticed are trading cards, blue medallions, and red medallions. Trading cards are accessible only during certain points of the game and give $200. There seems to be one card per character in the game, and each card can only be found once. The medallions that York can find represent his "agent honor". Blue medallions can be found randomly in boxes, barrels, and other containers that must be broken to be opened. They give York a $10 bonus as well. Red medallions are found in certain, non-respawning locations and provide a $30 bonus if picked up. I can only assume that they represent York getting more honor as an FBI agent by completing difficult tasks, and thus the FBI would give him that as a pay bonus. That's my guess, at least.
Anyway, back to the meat of this post. After getting back to the location of the quick time event, the Red Raincoat man (who I will now be nicknaming him Suruga Monkey, for future referene) makes his appearance again. He quickly dashes up to me as an X button command appears. The sad thing is, I failed that command again, causing him to grab a hold of York and throw him to the ground. Next, the dreaded event appeared where Suruga Monkey's about to strike his axe down on York. I try with all my might to avoid it, but the axe hit its mark. There it is. Game over #2, and it's at the same place as last time!
I so felt like ragequitting at the moment, but with guts (and the power of Gutsman), I persisted! Thankfully, unlike last time when I quit to the main menu, I clicked the "continue" button on the game over screen. That brought me to the last checkpoint, which happened to be the beginning of the same area in which I died in. Well, fancy that! That wasn't so bad. Since I didn't want to waste any more time redoing this part of the game, I simply ran through the area with no problems whatsoever. The enemies are slow and lumbering. Running past them is easy for now. As I got back to Suruga Monkey, I got prepared to dodge his initial strike. With intense focus on the screen, I placed my thumb on all four of the main Xbox 360 buttons. As Suruga Monkey ran towards York, the B button icon appeared and with swift movements of swiftness, I mashed that button. With utmost grace, York promptly did a barrel roll out of the Monkey's way. TAKE THAT MONKEY!
Anyways, apparently that's the only event needed to progress, because once York rolled out of the way, Suruga Monkey waved his index finger side to side and ran away, dragging his axe. Well then! That was... interesting. I guess that's the murderer/main villain? I'd presume so, anyways. Progressing further (finally), York comes across a gate with red vines growing all over it. Upon inspection, he notices that the vines will grow over the fence over time, rendering the fence useless when that happens. I guess that means that we won't be able to go back to that area after going through the gate. Oh well! Time to go in with guts!
Upon going through the gate, York's suspicion about the red vines' growth rendering the gate unusable was correct! Giant, thick, glowing red vines grew in front of the gates (rather spontaneously, actually), closing them off. And with that, York finds his third and final clue for this chapter. In case I didn't mention it, the three clues are the enemies, an axe through the broken gate controls, and the red vines. Talking to Zach (which, did I mention is a voice in York's head... perhaps it's meant to represent the player), York notes how there's "definitely something in this town". Considering that there's instantly growing vines, zombies, and a murdering Suruga Monkey, I wouldn't say he's too far off. He also mentions a sort of recurring theme in this game from what I've noticed right after that. He says how when he pored the milk into his coffee the day before, the milk spelled "Tomorrow you'll arrive in a place that will change your fate". We'll see more about that later.
Now that the previous area is inaccessible, the only way to go is forward. Sprawled in front of York after that gate is a wide, empty highway cutting though a dense forest of pine trees. It looks amazing! Perhaps I think this because it's much more bright and relaxing than the previous area of dank and dark creepiness. Running down along that 500 yard road felt great, since as York ran down it, the rain that was poring down upon him gradually turned into a morning sunrise. Everything began to feel more like a normal town in the North, instead of the crazy survival-horror aesthetics. A long ways down the road, there is a bridge over a wide river, and there is a car parked on it. Approaching the bridge triggers a cutscene.
Apparently inside that car is a blonde deputy sheriff who was waiting to meet York and escort him to Greenvale, where he needs to investigate the murder. Her name is Emily Wyatt, and as York notes to Zach inside his head, she's "easy on the eyes." He also says aloud how he shouldn't mention anything before the red vines to her aloud to Zach. I think that's hilarious, because he also notes how he doesn't want to look like a psycho. Yeah. Cause talking to yourself really helps your case in that respect, York.
Strangely enough... out of nowhere, another man approaches the two. His name is George Woodman, and he's the sheriff of Greenvale. Before I start about him, I also noticed how York always introduces himself as "FBI Special Agent. Francis York Morgan. Please, just call me York. That's what everyone calls me." He said that to both Emily and George, so I think that's his catchphrase. I'm liking York more and more already! Anyways, when George introduces himself to York, some ominous music plays. George is a total asshole, you see, since he insisted on calling York "Agent Morgan". WHAT A JERK! Although I'd imagine that maybe the writers were trying to make him seem like a suspect for the murderer... I doubt that he is now. He's just too obvious. I mean, he was introduced coming from the direction of the woods where York came from, he has a bad guy-esque theme, and was introduced in the prologue. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I doubt the antagonist would be introduced so early in a murder-mystery. He also mentions how his assistant Thomas will pick up the things that York had to leave behind in his broken car. Thomas is now the most likely person in my eyes to be the murderer.
Anyways, the three of them get in the car and drive off into Greenvale, ending the prologue. I've got to say. The prologue was very awesome. It did a good job setting up the major characters and the premise. I also felt like the tutorials were well hidden and integrated within the gameplay and story, so it all felt natural.
At the very start of Chapter One, there was a quick time event, that, when triggered, shows a lot of important lines of the prologue. This serves to recap what happened in the prologue, so it's sort of like the "In the last episode" segments of TV shows. It's ok... but considering that I've only spent an hour on this game so far, it's not really necessary.
Like with the beginning of the prologue, Chapter One starts off by putting York in the same abstract world as last time. This world sort of reminds me of Silent Hill's other world, only less creepy and more colorful. Thinking about that further, this game sort of seems like Silent Hill meets Pheonix Wright in my opinion. Whatever. Even though it's the same area with red leaves on the ground and random pieces of furniture placed around, the area is a bit... off from last time. Some of the furniture is toppled over, and while there were two twins dressed as angels last time, now York is the only one there. The only place York can go is through one of two doors. This door leads to a long pathway lined by trees. The red leaves of the area are scattered all around. When walking down towards another door at the end of the path, a cutscene triggers.
Appearing behind York, a small boy in space-themed pajamas calls out to him. Right when York turns around to face him, yet another being appears behind York. This time, it's one of the zombie enemies that appeared in the prologue. To help York get by it, the boy tells him to hold his breath. They hold hands and slowly creep by the monstrosity. Of course, as one would expect from this kind of scene, they stop right in front (or rather, behind) the enemy as it cranes its back backwards. It stares at them, probably trying to decide if it can smell York's breath. This lasts for a while... maybe even too long in my opinion. After all, you know that York is going to get by the monster, so I guess it's more meant to introduce the concept of holding York's breath instead of creating tension. To each his own, I guess. As the boy and York get towards the door at the end of the path, York asks the boy what his who he is right before the boy opens said door. Of course, the boy doesn't answer as the screen fades to white; York's face suddenly brights up.
My initial thought about the boy is that he's Zach's actual form inside York's head. It would definitely explain York talking to himself. However, perhaps the boy is also the repressed memories from York's childhood. He could possibly be York's friend, brother, cousin, or perhaps even a young version of York. Whether or not those memories are of the boy dying or going away... it's also possible that the boy's name is Zach and that can be Zach's backstory for this game. My other, minor thoughts include that the boy is the spirit of regret of whatever is murdering people, or perhaps that the boy is the spirit of the murdered woman's unborn child. Either way... I know he's important.
The next scene begins with York in bed, sleeping. Apparently that world that we've been visiting is the world of York's dreams. As he wakes in his hotel room, he analyzes the dream, saying how the red forest, the angels, and especially that boy intrigues him. If I had such abstract dreams, I'd be SO interested... although they've got nothin' on Yume Nikki. Right before allowing me to explore his room, he notes how he needs some coffee, which is seems to be a huge feature about his character. So, with the new objective of getting coffee, I get set loose to see the contents of the hotel!
Inside York's room, there are a few interactable objects that are of interest. First off, York has a phone in his room which allows him to save. It's always appreciated! Next, he has a bed... for sleeping of course. I should also mention that York has a few stats that the player needs to keep up for him. The main ones are sleep and hunger. If York is sleepy, then his hunger bar drains faster. If York is hungry, then his health bar will automatically start draining. The other stats he has are only for York's visual appearance. York can shave in the bathroom of his room, but if he doesn't shave, then he will end up growing a beard in all gameplay and cutscenes. He also has several outfits that he can change into (by default there are three), so he can dress in different costumes. These clothes need to be cleaned to keep a neat appearance, however. So, I changed clothes into a nice red suit-jacket. Hrm... actually, this game is starting to head towards a Resident Evil meets The Sims sort of game in my opinion.
But now is the time of glory. It's the time I've been waiting for since I got this game. The next cutscene that appears is the most amazing thing to appear in a game since Mario in Assassin's Creed II. In fact, this is something you need to hear and see yourself. Here is the fantastic cutscene:
That... was... AMAZING!!! Words can't describe how godly of a cutscene this is! It's so awkward seeing York interact with Polly! Also, I've just got to wonder what sort of fortune "FK" is meant to provide York. I think this is a good time to mention that York tells his fortune by looking at the shapes the milk makes in his coffee. Either way, it's great! After seeing such a wonderful cutscene, there was no way I could go on. It's the perfect place to leave off... so York's adventures will have to be continued in the next exciting part of I've Played Deadly Premonition!
For today's video, here's the amazing whistle theme!
...oh yeah. Before I forget, you also get a 50G achievement for completing the prologue. I didn't notice it until later because I turn off notifications on my 360 so they don't go off during LP's.
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