Resident Evil: Dead Aim Review

As my rapid Resident Evil reviews reach its climax with Resident Evil 5, we come to the last of the Gun Survivor series of light gun games. This is technically the fourth game in the series, but as the 3rd entry is actually a sidestory from Dino Crisis, it doesn't count. Dead Aim, known as Gun Survivor 4:Heroes Never Die in Japan, was released in Summer 2003. I've been told that this game was part of an effort to make PS2 RE fans not feel left out, given the main series' exclusivity to the Gamecube. A lot of the more clunky aspects of the Gun Survivor series were changed for Dead Aim, but is it a total improvement?

I'll tell you right off, Dead Aim does not succeed in improving the storyline. Survivor 2 was wise to have no such thing, but Dead Aim tries to come up with something to tie it into the main series, mostly through a former Umbrella executive named Morpheus D. Duvall. He has been reprimanded by the company and officially blamed for the Spencer Mansion incident as a matter of public record, even though RE fans all know it was the work of James Marcus and his children...

Anyway, Duvall, having been betrayed by Umbrella, breaks into a Paris branch of Umbrella, steals samples of the T and G viruses, and hijacks a cruise ship and spreads the T-virus around. Why he does this is unclear, especially as his ultimate scheme is blackmail of the US government. There is more about missiles, the Chinese, and Morpheus' sexual misidentity. Perhaps the less I say the better...

In addition to this convoluted storyline, you may have a tough time figuring out the dialogue in the cutscenes, as the subtitles do not match what comes out of the characters' mouths. Don't ask me why, as this is one of the oddest things I've seen in an otherwise well made game.

Besides all this unnecessary exposition, you play as Bruce McGivern, a US special agent who has been sent to deal with Morpheus' threat. Shortly after boarding the cruise ship, one of those nonsensical cutscenes happens and the game begins.

Dead Aim's graphics are quite good, with new graphics for the classic zombies, hunters, and other new creatures. There are also some pretty unique looking bosses, one is downright hilarious to watch, but make sure he doesn't kill you while you are smiling...

Bruce is a well-designed character, and to be honest, he looks like an early model for Leon S. Kennedy from the final version of RE4, right down to the outfit with ammo clips on his belt. The Southern type accent and personality doesn't help but can be ignored.

The same can't be said for Dead Aim's music. I can't think of a single standout piece. Actually I can: The Final Battle and not because it is good. Most people will have to do that scene over so many times you can't help but remember the music. It is a tense enough piece, but you'll be tense from frustration more than fear.

Gameplay in Dead Aim takes what the past Survivor games have used and wisely changes them. The first person view is only used for combat, a very wise decision. Navigation is done in the traditional RE universe with the old movement controls. Now that I think about it, this game is actually more similar to RE4's gameplay system, as there is also a free aiming system and no fixed camera angles.

Another very neat thing about Dead Aim is the dodge ability. With careful timing, all attacks, even bosses', can be dodged or sidestepped. You really get a sense of Bruce's special ops training and you also wonder why the hell Leon does not have the same ability in RE4 (or at least the ability to unlock it). You definitely get a sense of Leon's training in the cutscenes but it is oddly missing from the gameplay outside of boss battles.

It can be said that this game is a bridge between the two evolutions of the series, and good evidence to all the haters that not really that much changed between RE3 and RE4 control-wise, it is all just a matter of weapon aiming, controls are fundamentally the same.

Dead Aim definitely moves action to the forefront, as puzzles are few and far between, and usually consist of little more than bring item A to place B. The lack of puzzle based gameplay actually fits more into the context of this game, given its length. It doesn't feel like the game is trying to dumb down any gameplay elements, which is the feeling at times in Resident Evil 4.

Challenge is pretty inconsistent in Dead Aim, the basic zombie can be tough to get a bead on and are surprising fast. Hunters are actually easier to deal with, hard as that is to believe. Also, some of the boss encounters require manual dexterity to achieve success. If you can't figure out the dodge timing, they are much more difficult to beat. And the final boss, let's just say it is a challenge, and even knowing what to do doesn't necessarily help you.

Replay value is high in Dead Aim. There is a bunch of stuff to unlock, which requires beating the game quickly and on the highest difficulty. I'll just say the rewards are definitely worth the effort.

In summation, Resident Evil Dead Aim takes the bad of the Survivor series and completely does away with it to create a new and fulfilling experience. Given that the gameplay was pretty unfulfilling in the competently made precursors to this game, it is definitely a big improvement. Check this game out, especially fans of Resident Evil 4. You'll get similar action and you may find yourself liking some of the unique elements quite a bit.

- Ugly Bob

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