Ahh, all you people out there playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. I hope you’re having a good time. I seriously doubt you’re having as good a time as me. Because I’m playing DEADLY PREMONITION, a game so remarkable it insists on its title being in capitals whenever it announced you’re playing it on Xbox LIVE.

Here in Europe, we’re late to the DEADLY PREMONITION party, of course, but at least the game finally made it over here. And at a knock-down price of £24.99, too. This is very much a Good Thing, though I’m concerned that within a few weeks the game will have disappeared without trace, never to be seen again. As such, I decided that I should probably pick up a copy before that happened. I did the same with 3D Dot Game Heroes a while back, and still haven’t got around to finishing that. One day.

DEADLY PREMONITION, though, I decided to make a start on tonight after Fallout: New Vegas decided to throw a wobbly earlier on. So here, then, are my first impressions of a game I knew pretty much nothing about prior to tonight, save the fact that it’s supposedly “so bad it’s good” territory.

The first thing that will strike you upon firing up Deadly… I mean DEADLY PREMONITION is that it looks like ass. Coming off a game with sparkly hi-definition graphics like Fallout: New Vegas, or Vanquish (which I reviewed this week for The Big Pixels… go check it out) it’s a jarring change to see muddy textures and that weird “sparkly texture” effect that we used to see all the time on previous-gen consoles. But after a few short moments it ceases to matter. And if anything, so far I am feeling that the shoddy graphics are, in fact, part of this game’s charm.

The second thing which is striking about the game is that it is genuinely atmospheric. Some good use of creepy sounds, reminiscent of Silent Hill, coupled with some ugly, horrifying enemies that remind me somewhat of Fatal Frame (aka Project Zero) make for a nerve-wracking walk into town. I haven’t got very far yet, so I couldn’t say for certain if this atmosphere continues throughout. But I’m certainly impressed with the feeling of dread which the game is producing so far.

Controls are initially clunky but you soon adjust to them when you remember that this isn’t supposed to be a fast-action shooter. Yes, being rooted to the spot while aiming a gun is a pain. But it forces you to think a little bit more carefully about getting into a suitable position to fire rather than spraying bullet fire around randomly. I’m certainly fine with it, though it would be understandable for some people to hate it.

In fact, that last statement pretty much sums up what I’m expecting from DEADLY PREMONITION as a whole: something which I’m going to enjoy a huge amount, which other people will probably hate, loathe and despise for various reasons. Some may be immediately turned off by the graphics (whores that you are). Some may be put off by the control scheme (which is easier for me to sympathise with). And others simply would probably rather play something like Call of Duty. Which, as I said yesterday, is absolutely fine by me.

Me? I’ll be exploring Greenvale and trying not to get chopped up by the “Raincort Killer” [sic], as the European box would have it. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.