Sometimes a great game seems to come out of nowhere, slipping under everyone's radar. That seems to be the case with D3 Publishing's upcoming PSP release Dead Head Fred. Designed from the ground up to take advantage of the PSP features, this quirky horror/comedy title could very well end up being the sleeper hit of the year.

The game stars Fred, a formerly living P.I. who's got a new lease on life, courtesy of a bell jar containing his reanimated brain. Oh, and after that, things start to get weird. Fred ends up finding himself embroiled in battles against a host of zombies, skeletons, and other unusual creatures. To help him in his adventures, Fred has the ability to steal the heads of some enemies and use them to gain unusual abilities. The game features nine different head in all, with some giving particular advantages over others.

Voiced by Scrubs star John C. McGinley, Fred is one of the most interesting characters to ever hit the PSP. His acerbic attitude immediate brings to mind his Dr. Cox character from Scrubs, though with a much darker outlook and a whole lot of those four letter words that you won't be seeing on primetime NBC. The game also has some of the best ending credits in the history of gaming. Just trust me, you'll be laughing yourself into tears.

Playing through the opening of Dead Head Fred, it's easy to see that a lot of work has gone into optimizing the game for the PSP. The controls are smooth. Combat is simple, but with lots of fun nuances to learn. And the game looks simply phenomenal on the PSP screen. This is even more evident thanks to the game's vanishing HUD, only fades back into few when needed before fading out to keep from interfering with the experience.

The only bad thing about Dead Head Fred's E3 showing is simply that it might have been lost in the shuffle. With everyone going on and on about games like Killzone 2, Call of Duty 4, and Halo 3, something as unique as Dead Head Fred simply slip through the cracks. Still, if you're looking for something to pop into that newly redesigned PSP coming out this year, or you want justification for owning the PSP you have now, you should definitely give Dead Head Fred a look when it comes out later this year.