Dead Head Fred

"All in the head"

Easily one of the best and the most original titles to be released on the PSP this year so far is Dead Head Fred, an action adventure game developed by Vicious Cycle. The game is the PSP exclusive.

In the game you play the role of Fred Neuman, a private investigator in the city of Hope Falls. On his current mission while investigating a no-good tycoon named Ulysses Pitt, Fred crosses the line and goes too far and finds himself dead and headless. Lucky for Fred, a scientist finds his body, patches him up and grants Fred the ability to switch between heads with the first head having his own brain and eyes only.

Finding out that Pitt possesses his original head; Fred embarks on a journey to kill Pitt and more importantly to get his original head back.

The game is unique because a player can use eight different heads, each coming with different abilities, and used for specific enemy. For example, the jarhead allows the player to turn invisible, jump higher and combat with Boneheads (skeleton enemies). The corpse head gives the ability to suck in fluids like water and gasoline, fill oneself with air to float around and also inflict a plague upon the enemies etc, which makes the game more fun and interesting. Apart from this, there are also certain puzzles which can only be solved if the gamer has a particular head equipped to make the game all the more engaging.

The game features a freak that owns the Head Shop and consigns you with head hunting missions, in which you have to collect five heads of a certain kind and give them to the shop owner. In return you get the same head with its freaky abilities to venture further. For instance, if you need a bonehead's head you need to bring five bonehead's heads to the Head Shop.

Unfortunately, the combat in the game is not as varied or as fun as you would like it to be because each head type only has two kinds of attacks; light and heavy, and you are forced to make a choice between them. Besides, you will find enemies too easy to deal with even if they are in huge number.

The Head Shop also allows various activities, like upgrading your heads with new abilities and make them stronger, sell junk items that are dropped by the enemies when they are killed, and get money out of them. This money can be used in buying worms, worm juices, worm baits, fishing weapons and so on.

The game features juices, not the juices you are accustomed to drink but those which possess abilities and powers for you, they are worm juices of five colours; red, green, white, blue and purple. Red juice replenishes your health, green works as an antidote if you are infected with poison, white raises defense, blue increases the amount of damage you do and purple is a combination of all the four different juices.

Furthermore, fishing is one of the many side activities in which fish can be sold or taken to a sushi vendor to get fish juices which have the same effect as the worm juices. Besides catching fish you can also play pool, pinball, participate in cockfights and embark upon side missions.

Graphically, Dead Head Fred looks great. The city of Hope Falls is divided into different areas each with a distinct look. There is a Zombie town that is, of course, infested with zombies. Its streets and buildings give a look shabby enough to impress a horror movie fan. Then there is an uptown where roads are proper, cars are parked on the streets and people are seen as roaming around. The enemy design in the game, though varied, is not anything original or inspiring.

Zombies and Boneheads look just like they usually do in action/horror games. Similarly, the Executioner enemy is huge in size, wears a mask and carries a large axe with him which is also something you might have seen in other games. People that you will come across on the roads also have limited face designs so they come repeatedly. However, the characters with whom you will talk to look much better than the others. By far the best looking character in the game is Fred with the jarhead resting on his shoulders. The eyes in the jar portray Fred's emotions perfectly and you will also see the green liquid that fills this jar move around as Fred jumps, fights and runs.

One area where Dead Head Fred really shines is the audio, particularly, in the voice acting department. Actor John C McGinley from the hit TV show Scrubs provides the voice for Fred and does an excellent job. He does the voice-over in a style which pretty much resembles the way he speaks in Scrubs making this character all the more familiar. The dialogue is also filled with dark humour which may not appeal to everyone's taste but it suits the setting of the game perfectly. There is also a lot of swearing in the game which at times feels forced, excessive and useless.

Music in the game is nothing remarkable, but at least it is varied and you will hear different tunes in different areas of Hope Falls. The music shifts into a faster gear when you are fighting your enemies and mellows down when you are just exploring.

Despite its flaws, Dead Head Fred is like a breath of fresh air in a genre where developers are reluctant to take risks with new ideas and are happy with sequels or basing their games on tried and tested formulas. If you are looking for something unique and/or are tired of playing sequels, then Dead Head Fred is just what the doctor ordered.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/08

Game Release: Dead Head Fred (AU, 11/02/07)