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Fred may be dead but is the game full of life?
September 10, 2007 | 11:51 PM PSTby: Matt Furtado
AMN's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Taking place during the 1940's, Dead Head Fred offers up a bizarre look at the America of old. In a town corrupted by violence, toxic waste, mutants, and organized crime run by a man named Pitt, lives Fred Neuman. Fred was a private eye who is murdered but is resurrected in a science experiment by the mad Doctor Steinman. Upon reawaking, Fred is told that he is dead and that instead of having a head he is fitted with a jar that contains his brains and eyeballs.
Players will take the role of Fred and try to solve the mystery of his own murder. Players will be able to solve puzzles by using several heads that they collect throughout the game and with the new heads you can solve puzzles and battle with new abilities.
What's Hot
Dead Head Fred is a new unique title for the PSP and offers some interesting gameplay elements with use of heads. Up to nine different heads are available in the title and each one will have its own unique attacks and uses. At the opening of the game you'll start off with the brains and eyeballs head that will allow Fred to use basic punch attacks and a special attack. During the first phase of the game you'll also acquire a Corpse head that will allow you to spit toxic fumes or suck in liquids and then spray them on enemies. The game has many other unique heads like a Small head that will shrink him or a Stone head that will give Fred extra strength.
Outside of combatant uses the heads are also used for puzzles throughout the game. The puzzles are based on the head abilities. So in many cases the game’s puzzles are simple to figure out and won't require much in terms of thinking them through. In one case the game had a passageway blocked by fire. In this type of situation the Corpse head would be used because it can suck away fire and clear the path so you can progress throughout the level.
The game has large open environments that you'll be able to choose to explore freely. The locations range from areas like Uptown, Downtown, the Boonies, Zombietown, and Creepy Hallow. Creepy Hallow is a spin on the world of Sleepy Hallow and even comes fully equipped with a headless horseman. Each level doesn't exist only for you to walk around to kill enemies and then the boss. You'll discover that each level is full of mini-games such as pool or cockfighting. The game offers a variety of gameplay elements with the use of the heads to solve puzzles, humor, and mini-games within the levels themselves.
Dead Head Fred is a beautiful game to look at. The character models are incredibly sharp and highly detailed. Fred is great looking despite being a horrible looking creature with his brains and eyeballs in a jar. The level environments are nicely done but at times are reused and the textures aren't always as sharp as they could be. Because of the textures the game can appear to be dull at times and this is a disappointment because outside of those minor gripes the game is a marvel to look at.
The game also has an all-star lineup of voice actors such as John C. McGinley, who is best known as Doctor Cox on Scrubs, voicing Fred. McGinley offers a lot of personality into Fred and the way he drops insults within the title is truly outstanding. The musical score within the title is also solid with some solid musical tracks that you'll want to turn the PSP up to full volume to listen to.
What's Not
Sadly, the game’s puzzles are overly simple and don’t require much thinking. This dampens things a bit because it doesn't offer much in terms of a challenge. Even though the game is an action game the puzzles are more nuisances than necessities to make the gameplay more varied.
Also the battles are incredibly dull. Although the heads offer a new unique form of acquiring new abilities the battles aren't incredibly exciting. The enemy AI is predictable and all you need to do to win is punch or use a special ability. This doesn't mean the battles aren't fun but the battles don't stay fresh very long and quickly tire out.
The title’s camera system also has some flaws within it that can become quite bothersome as the game goes on. The camera will often cut off some action. This of course runs into problems during battles when in the heat of combat.
Final Word
Dead Head Fred offers a unique fresh idea but fails to keep the game enjoyable for the entire time. With the game’s overall simple puzzles, battle system, and shoddy camera, the game misses out on being a great PSP title. However, the game does have a solid graphics engine and shows off the power of the PSP even with the dull textures on the environments. Dead Head Fred is a solid rental title for PSP owners.
What the Game's About
Taking place during the 1940's, Dead Head Fred offers up a bizarre look at the America of old. In a town corrupted by violence, toxic waste, mutants, and organized crime run by a man named Pitt, lives Fred Neuman. Fred was a private eye who is murdered but is resurrected in a science experiment by the mad Doctor Steinman. Upon reawaking, Fred is told that he is dead and that instead of having a head he is fitted with a jar that contains his brains and eyeballs.
Players will take the role of Fred and try to solve the mystery of his own murder. Players will be able to solve puzzles by using several heads that they collect throughout the game and with the new heads you can solve puzzles and battle with new abilities.
What's Hot
Dead Head Fred is a new unique title for the PSP and offers some interesting gameplay elements with use of heads. Up to nine different heads are available in the title and each one will have its own unique attacks and uses. At the opening of the game you'll start off with the brains and eyeballs head that will allow Fred to use basic punch attacks and a special attack. During the first phase of the game you'll also acquire a Corpse head that will allow you to spit toxic fumes or suck in liquids and then spray them on enemies. The game has many other unique heads like a Small head that will shrink him or a Stone head that will give Fred extra strength.
Outside of combatant uses the heads are also used for puzzles throughout the game. The puzzles are based on the head abilities. So in many cases the game’s puzzles are simple to figure out and won't require much in terms of thinking them through. In one case the game had a passageway blocked by fire. In this type of situation the Corpse head would be used because it can suck away fire and clear the path so you can progress throughout the level.
The game has large open environments that you'll be able to choose to explore freely. The locations range from areas like Uptown, Downtown, the Boonies, Zombietown, and Creepy Hallow. Creepy Hallow is a spin on the world of Sleepy Hallow and even comes fully equipped with a headless horseman. Each level doesn't exist only for you to walk around to kill enemies and then the boss. You'll discover that each level is full of mini-games such as pool or cockfighting. The game offers a variety of gameplay elements with the use of the heads to solve puzzles, humor, and mini-games within the levels themselves.
Dead Head Fred is a beautiful game to look at. The character models are incredibly sharp and highly detailed. Fred is great looking despite being a horrible looking creature with his brains and eyeballs in a jar. The level environments are nicely done but at times are reused and the textures aren't always as sharp as they could be. Because of the textures the game can appear to be dull at times and this is a disappointment because outside of those minor gripes the game is a marvel to look at.
The game also has an all-star lineup of voice actors such as John C. McGinley, who is best known as Doctor Cox on Scrubs, voicing Fred. McGinley offers a lot of personality into Fred and the way he drops insults within the title is truly outstanding. The musical score within the title is also solid with some solid musical tracks that you'll want to turn the PSP up to full volume to listen to.
What's Not
Sadly, the game’s puzzles are overly simple and don’t require much thinking. This dampens things a bit because it doesn't offer much in terms of a challenge. Even though the game is an action game the puzzles are more nuisances than necessities to make the gameplay more varied.
Also the battles are incredibly dull. Although the heads offer a new unique form of acquiring new abilities the battles aren't incredibly exciting. The enemy AI is predictable and all you need to do to win is punch or use a special ability. This doesn't mean the battles aren't fun but the battles don't stay fresh very long and quickly tire out.
The title’s camera system also has some flaws within it that can become quite bothersome as the game goes on. The camera will often cut off some action. This of course runs into problems during battles when in the heat of combat.
Final Word
Dead Head Fred offers a unique fresh idea but fails to keep the game enjoyable for the entire time. With the game’s overall simple puzzles, battle system, and shoddy camera, the game misses out on being a great PSP title. However, the game does have a solid graphics engine and shows off the power of the PSP even with the dull textures on the environments. Dead Head Fred is a solid rental title for PSP owners.
February 8, 2010
