There’s been a great deal of excitement in Greenvale this week, as it’s gone out on the grapevine that there’s going to be a LOT of new visitors starting next week. Actually, some people are there already from what I’ve been seeing around town, which is both good and bad. The good is business is absolutely BOOMING at both the A&G Diner and Swery 65 Bar, the tips are generous and there are lots of new friends being made all over town. The not so good? Well, try and get a good cup of coffee or a beer in a timely manner at either place and yep, it’s suddenly a pain seeing all those new faces. FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan (just call him York!) isn’t happy with all these new people getting in his way while he’s trying to wrap up his Red Seeds Killer case file, but he’s about to get a little more unhappy as this overly thrilled employee of the Greenvale police force runs into him and knocks him down, as he’s just heard that there’s now a game shop in the town and there’s this new title he’s been hearing about that he’s just DYING to play…

And of course, that game just so happens to be Rising Star Games’ Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Those updated HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, new DLC, Trophies and more are all getting a few citizens of Greenvale quite hot and bothered. Of course, that means more PS3 sales and less people out and about once they get their hot little hands on the game, so perhaps York is going to get some relief after all. Well, once he gets up off the carpet and has the footprints cleaned from his suit, that is… ouch.

Did you know that Game Director Swery 65 is STILL celebrating the game’s release? I asked him about this after his sixth one and was told that he’s simply taking care of all his partying at one time because of the different release dates in a few territories. He said he plans to stop and rest for a bit once the North American version comes out, but I just realized he really doesn’t need to. Why? Well, dear reader… In Greenvale, the beer can’t get you drunk at all (it’s digitally created!), so you can drink as much as you want and never feel a thing. Of course, if you play around on the options screen, you can reverse that effect and pretty much pickle your liver in about three sips… but who the hell wants to do that? Enjoy responsibly, people!

In case you’re new to Greenvale or just dropping by here for the first time, let’s talk about Sheriff George Woodman again just so you’re up to speed on the man and his antics. FBI Special Agent Francis York (just call him York!)Morgan and he don’t get along well at all for a few reasons, but as you’re new, I’ll not go into all of them today. One thing that really ticks off York is George’s penchant for awful practical jokes at his expense. It’s bad enough to get a KICK KILL ME sign taped to your back that you don’t discover for the better part of the day (and only after the gal you’ve been eying, chatting with and potentially getting closer to sees it and starts laughing at you), but lately, it seems he’d going too far…

At the A&G Diner this morning, I overheard York talking to himself (…or someone who wasn’t there named “Zach” or something) about wondering what that axe and smelly costume was doing in George’s police car’s trunk and why that jerk was pulling such a stupid stunt when that Red Seeds Killer case wasn’t even solved Man, that George… What a total loser, huh? All I’ll say is if that killer gets wind of him and his stinky replica costume, the sheriff will be the one behind bars because he’ll need to sleep in the damn jail just to be on the safe side… what a creep…

Hey, speaking of creeps, prepare to get a whole caseload of them in a week’s time when Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut lands in stores on April 30, 2013 exclusively for the PlayStation 3 from Rising Star Games. The updated HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, Trophies, all-new DLC and over 100 improvements over the original version should all have you halfway to hell or under the couch or both as you try to solve the mystery of the Red Seeds Killer before he strikes again. Personally, If I were York, I’d knock George on the head with a shovel and toss him in the trunk with his getup just so he won’t get in the way like it’s an episode of Scooby-Doo and there’s no fake killer to get “exposed” while the real one runs free. “Meddling kids!” indeed…

Hey, look! No, not here – up at that cool “launch” trailer above. Game Director Swery 65 is away today resting (so he says, but I was him in disguise at the Swery 65 Bar earlier because of the autograph seekers), so instead of a “candid” pic, you get that trailer to ogle. As for who he’s dressed as, well… I can’t tell you or he’d get upset. That said, he did leave a really tantalizing clue only a small amount of his TRUE fans can decipher. Something about a “Spy Fiction” or what have you… Hmmm…

And you thought YOU hated Mondays? Well, imagine being some poor underemployed Shadow who can’t even have the satisfaction of having a job to get to on a Monday morning just to hang out at the water cooler and whine about how last weekend was too short and it’s back to the daily grind and blah, blah, blah. Of course, that shadow just so happens to be a resident of Greenvale, where there’s actually decent work for her type when a certain game director brings his development team into town and needs to put together an updated version of his last project. I think she’s bent over backward here because that work has come to a close and there’s nothing to do now but moan and creep around the woods scaring small to medium sized animals and the occasional tourist that strolls off the beaten path.

Naturally, Greenvale’s actual residents aren’t really to scared of these shadows, as they’re quite used to all sorts of weird happenings in their town. If you’re headed there for vacation and want to give one or more of them a nice ego boost, pretend to be totally freaked out when you see them and run around in a circle for about thirty seconds screaming like a squeezed duck. That should make someone smile and tell their Shadow friends that they “got another one!” when they’re having that beer party on Friday behind the Swery 65 Bar…

By now, you know that you should be thrilled that there’s only a week until Rising Star Games gets Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut for the PlayStation 3 into stores. This PS3 exclusive features updated HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, Trophies, all-new DLC and over 100 improvements over the original version. Your next Monday won’t be spent griping and groaning at all unless you’re somehow facing the wrong way when you start playing and complaining that you can’t see anything. Just don’t do that with someone else in the room of they’ll call you crazy and have the men in white coats come to take you for a ride. Then you’ll REALLY have something to whine about when you end up not being able to play the game at all until you get released…

One person who’s very probably having an ABSOLUTELY fine Monday is Game Director Swery 65. I’d bet he’s pretty much sitting around in a bar or coffee shop somewhere checking his email, having a(nother) tasty burger and beverage combo while updating his Facebook page with a quick post or Instagram photo (or both) and just hanging out enjoying himself while he waits patiently for the first reviews to roll in. I’d say he’s got nothing to fear in terms of too many gamers and editor-types NOT liking the game, as it’s already gone through that wringer once and is now seen as a genre classic by many who fell under its strange spell…

One more cool thing about Greenvale is its terrific road system made up of plenty of nicely paved streets and is fairly light in terms of traffic. It’s a good thing this little town’s roads aren’t as busy as some bigger metropolitan areas around the country, as it would be much harder for FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan to get around and gather clues in his attempt to shut the book on that Red Seeds Killer case file. Of course, it’s also REALLY easy to be distracted by Greenvale’s other sights such as the A&G Diner’s excellent espresso, The Swery 65 Bar and its quality selection of beers and spirits and of course, a certain pretty girl who also happens to be in law enforcement. If this weren’t a murder case, it would be some sort of spring fling fueled by caffeine, pie and alcohol with a few smooches and hugs for good measure. But that sort of idyllic daydreaming can be troublesome with a ritualistic killer on the loose who’s got no compunctions about dispatching anyone he sees fit to if they get in his way…

(Cue dramatic music) To be continued…

The good thing about dropping into the formerly sleepy until those bizarre killings took place town called Greenvale is you don’t even need to have a REAL driver’s license, folks. That and the nicely improved driving controls are just ONE of over 100 great improvements to Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 from Rising Star Games on April 30, 2013. Featuring updated HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, game-expanding DLC and MORE, you’ll want to spend hours driving around exploring every street in your hunt for clues to stop that mad killer or helping out any citizens who need a bit of assistance.

Hmmm… I was wondering earlier today if Game Director Swery 65 actually drives a car in Japan or is he a public transportation sort of guy? Not that it matters, mind you – it’s just that the driving mechanics in the first version of the game were notoriously wonky to some critics and gamers. Granted, once you got used to them, they weren’t that bad. I actually kind of think this was part of the plan, as the game plays with its players on a few core levels from its visual style to smashing expectations of what a lead character in a game can be. York’s certainly a memorable main character loads of new players won’t soon forget. Of course, this just means more well-dressed cosplayers at the next big convention all York-ing it up and making Swery smile even more so than usual…

Welcome! It’s another Saturday night in Greenvale and yep, that pic above shows it’s slow once more at the Swery 65 Bar. Generally, the joint is jumpin’ as the Fats Waller song goes, but the recent Red Seeds Killer case has made the place turn into a tomb after a certain hour. While it’s bad for business from a tourist perspective, it’s great for the small town’s core drinkers who end up spending more money on slow nights getting their drink on and welcoming anyone who strolls in with a free beer or shot. If it weren’t for the bodies piling up, you’d almost want o show up at the bar every night, like on that old TV show with the catchy theme song that went something like this:

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.

(“Cheers” lyric: © Gary Portnoy/Judy Hart Angelo)

Of course, I’d imagine that any sitcom set in Greenvale would have a grimmer opening theme or even odder, something particularly amusing in tone, as despite the axe-wielding killer stalking the woods, the sleepy town has a cool style all its own that keeps it going…

You’ll get to check this out for yourself soon enough when Rising Star Games’ Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut hits retail on April 30, 2013. Featuring over 100 improvements from the original version, updated HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, DLC and more, once you step inside this strange new world, you won’t ever want to leave. Well, except to get some real food, a beer or two and maybe use your own bathroom. The Swery 65 makes a good enough stop for a virtual drink and maybe some darts and pool, but those digital nachos aren’t the freshest thing on that limited menu…

I’d say those cheesy nachos are the sole thing wrong with the bar, as owner (and Game Director) Swery 65 runs a tight ship. The last time around, he didn’t expect so much traffic, so ther were a few bugs and other issues that had the user ratings all over the map as some people didn’t appreciate the quirky atmosphere and dated decor. Taking all that into account, he’s cleaned up the joint quite a bit and while it looks a lot better with all that extra polish, he made sure to keep just enough of the old flavor that fans of that nostalgia will be coming back and really liking that they see and taste.