Deadly Premonition

Perhaps that's because some of these sections are genuinely scary, thanks to the recurring appearance of an axe-wielding maniac in a red raincoat. He'll periodically pop up in this foggy netherworld, sparking the odd Quick-Time Event sequence, or a nerve-shredding section where York has to hide under tables or in cupboards to avoid being chopped into pieces. A couple of extended chase sequences are simultaneously inventive and awkward, with York running out of the screen as you waggle the left stick while a cutaway shows the killer in hot pursuit, readying his axe as you jab buttons to duck and dodge.

Though these sections are over-long and frequently clumsy, they're essential to the story. Each one reveals clues to the crime, launching a 'profiling' sequence in which York sees brief, juddering flashes of the incident interspersed with static. These are among the game's most disturbing moments, relatively restrained in what they show, but suggestive of something pretty horrific. York's blasé approach to the game's brutality also helps create a sense of unease, particularly during one ghoulish autopsy sequence where he starts discussing An American Werewolf in London ("John Landis, 1981") before fishing a red seed from the corpse's mouth, complete with exaggeratedly squelchy sound effects.

It's not knowing quite what's coming next that will compel most players to ignore Deadly Premonition's awkwardness and its moments of odd or bad design as the twisting, twisted plot heads into the realms of the truly bizarre. It also helps you forgive the terrible graphics. Deadly Premonition was originally due for release three years ago, apparently developed with PS2 in mind, and it shows. Yet it's not all bad news: there's an impressive attention to detail in the characters and their mannerisms that compensates for the awful animation and bad lip-syncing.

The soundtrack, meanwhile, is all over the place, often obtrusively loud and cutting in and out seemingly at random. At times the music's volume almost obscures the dialogue before it abruptly departs and leaves an unnerving silence. On other occasions, such as that autopsy sequence, it's inappropriately jaunty or jazzy. Because of the often jarring mismatch between the music and on-screen events, even the happier numbers seem somehow threatening; the town's main theme features whistling and a kazoo and still feels creepy.

There's one moment that sums up Deadly Premonition better than any other, and perhaps tells you more than the score below possibly can. It's a line that comes at the end of a lengthy ghost story, relayed by a store owner in hushed tones under a dim, green light: "Cope's Tunnel...some people call it Corpse Tunnel now." It's played absolutely straight, and it's impossible to tell whether you're supposed to laugh or take it seriously.