| Dead Head Fred | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Vicious Cycle Software |
| Publisher(s) | Namco Bandai Games (ported versions) D3 Publisher (PlayStation Portable) |
| Designer(s) | Adam Cogan |
| Composer(s) | Jason Graves |
| Engine | Vicious Engine |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable PlayStation Store |
| Release | PSPPS Store (PSP)
|
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dead Head Fred is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation Portable, developed by Vicious Cycle Software and published by D3 Publisher. It was released in North America on August 28, 2007, and is powered by Vicious Cycle's proprietary Vicious Engine. It features a premise that is a combination of 1940s-style noir and contemporary horror, dubbed "twisted noir" by the design team.
Dead Head Fred is a single-player game whose title character, Fred Neuman, is a private investigator with the ability to switch heads. Fred has been murdered and decapitated, and has few memories of the events leading to his death. The plot follows Fred as he pieces together the clues of his murder and tries to get revenge on the man who killed him. Fred has no conventional weapons—he relies solely on the powers available to him from the severed heads of fallen enemies.
The game received generally positive reviews, with reviewers mentioning its dark humor and noir-inspired motif as high points. It received criticism for its controls and lack of combat depth. In 2008, it won the Writers Guild of America's first-ever award for video game writing.
Dead Head Fred was made available on PlayStation Vita.[1]
- ^ PlayStation. "Dead Head Fred". PlayStation Store. Retrieved September 1, 2020.