Resident Evil: Dead Aim

"The best Survivor game YET!!!"

The Survivor offshoots of the RE (Resident Evil) and DC (Dino Crisis) series haven’t always been the best games. Survivor (PSX) was a good first effort but in the end, it still reeked. When Survivor 2: Code Veronica came out in the arcades and PS2, it was an improvement but still…it sucked. Dino Stalker (Survivor 3) was an improvement over its two predecessors but it too sucked. Still with the improvements made in each subsequent sequel, you know that Capcom’s gonna get it right some day…Well, get out your GUNCONs kiddies, they finally did.

Gameplay: The Survivor games are one of the strangest combinations of genres EVER! It’s part FPS, part Light Gun game and part Survival Horror. You play the game like that of a survival horror title (although that part is being lessened in this installment what with the tons of ammo and all). You gather keys, solve puzzles and well, survive the horror. But combat takes a turn for the freaky (and good) in the Survivor series. When you find that you need to cap a zombie, press a button and the view will change into that of a FPS (meaning you look from the character’s eyes). IF you have a GUNCON, you can use it to fire at the baddies (hence the Light Gun genre) or if not, use a reticule and blast baddies away. Like FPSs, you can strafe and circle strafe but you cannot jump, move quickly sideways or look up and down (one of the major bummers).

Now that you’ve the gist of it, what can I say about the game? It’s extremely fun! Players used to bitch about how headshots in previous titles didn’t do jack. They can’t complain now! Capping zombies in the head and watching them FLY backwards is an incredibly fun and rewarding experience (you save bullets and kill in one hit!).

Ok, while the game does have survival horror dressings (limited health, zombies) it’s not a FULL survival horror game. For starters, there aren’t really puzzles to solve nor a lot of item management issues (hell, you get infinite handgun bullets!). The survival horror element if mainly just dressing to tie it in with the RE mythos and add zombies into the mix.

The game is VERY straightforward. You’ll NEVER need to go into inventory screens to select keys (you’ll only go into the inventory screen to change weapons or use herbs) or whatnot that you want to use on a particular object. If you have it in your possession, it will automatically be used. If this was a survival horror title, it would’ve really sucked but here, in the frantic gameplay pace the game has, it works. You don’t need to keep track of all the stuff you picked up you just need to focus on one thing- SHOOT! One thing I like extremely well is how they automatically reload your gun after you’ve disengaged the First-Person view. In this reviewer’s opinion, new incarnations of Survival Horror titles should ALL have this feature implemented!

Still the game does have it faults (sadly). For starters it (like its brethren) is WAY to short and easy! No kidding! I played it on the Normal difficulty and finished without dying or saving! No, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed every minute of it, I just wished there was more depth to the game in the first place…at least it doesn’t end when you expected it to. And for those expecting depth to their action, you won’t find it here. It’s just a blastathon with very little storyline to tie in the action together. Taken in that context it may seem dull but if you take it for what it truly is (a free roaming Light Gun game), it is one of the most fun things you can play on the PS2 or any console for that matter.

Gameplay: 8/10

Graphics: Resident Evil Remake on the GC may be good looking but it was all prerendered. While this game doesn’t blow REmake’s graphics out of the water, I think in some aspects its BETTER! For one, everything is done in 3D…Yep, no more prerendered graphics in RE games. Sure, you say its been done in the previous Survivor games. True but they never got it as good looking as this! Everything runs at a silky smooth frame rate (there is a bit of slowdown in the latter portions but they just last a teeny bit each time).

But the thing that has to be commended most in the game is its collision detection! Capcom finally got it right! No longer will zombie appendages magically pass through walls! Bodies (and limbs) now will react accordingly! Shoot a zombie in the head and it’ll fly backwards. If it connects with a wall, it may (depending on the angle, the strength of the weapon you’re using and the range) either hit the wall and slide down it and slump there OR it may bounce off the wall and tumble off! It may not sound much but after YEARS of watching the same animations over and over again, this is a true gift from the heavens! Add to the lovely collision detection the awesome lighting effects (flaming zombies all have their own light sources! WOO!) and gory particle effects (capping a zombie too close to a wall with a headshot will make blood fly out of the head and stain the walls) and this game turns into one hell of a looker!

It may sound strange but the main problem I have graphically with the game is with the main character models. They just don’t look real enough…they don’t have that believability to them. You can see warping at their hands especially. Strangely, they seem to be somewhat dyslexic too judging from their scrawny bodies…

And speaking of character models, there aren’t enough varieties of enemies to keep things varied. The majority (think 95 %) of your time in the game will be spent dealing with zombies. Most of the RE series’ lovable mutations (Cerberus, Lickers, Crows…) are nowhere to be seen in the game. Add to that the fact that the new monsters are pretty pathetic. You have one that looks like a flaming frog for goodness’ sake! Still, a few of the bosses are rather cool though…

Ironic as it seems, while I complain about the detail in the main characters, I absolutely love the enemies (as little in variety as they are). They’re detailed quite nicely with moving jaws and (gasp!) fingers! It’s so freaky at times that I sometimes panic for no particular reason (I think it looked at zombies too long) and start shooting frantically at zombies…While the condition of my mental health now is obviously very dubious, I say it’s a good thing that the zombies are so lifelike! And the bosses…I’ve never seen things so disturbing (mentally scarring if I may go that far…). I shudder to think about Morpheus…he’s/she’s/it’s just WRONG! WRONG I TELL YOU! WRONG!

Graphics: 8/10

Sound: Good lord…the zombies in the game sound GOOD! If you want to enjoy this game, I suggest you get some quality speakers. They sure as hell will help you in this game since zombies tend to sneak up on you from behind when you’re engrossed with the horde that’s advancing on you from the front. However, in some cases, the sound or rather the abuse of moans suck. Take the Kitchen Freezer on the boat for example. The number of moans and the sheer volume of them at the same time made my speakers blare something unintelligible…no, they pretty good quality speakers and even when I used normal TV speakers, the sound is still there. The sound probably overloaded the sound capabilities of the speakers or something…

One thing that REALLY bothers me is how the characters voices are so hard to make out. I mean they’re talking in English but what they hell are they saying? They speak too softly compared with the ambient noises. Capcom should’ve raised the volume or lowered the volume of the background. I can dig the barely audible voices but what the hell’s up with the unintelligible voices of the computers? You’ll see what I mean in the last few areas of the game…let’s just say you’ll be cursing when you don’t know if the voice says to go right OR left. Yep, its that bad…

Still, in spite of the lousy voice quality (and acting…but then again, this IS Capcom we’re talking about so that’s probably not a biggie anymore) the sound effects for the guns are really top notch. The shotgun and machine-gun sounds damn nice! Can you say bring the house down? Hehe…I can feel the rumblings of the sound even on the walls as I play the game. NOW THAT’S POWER! The Magnum (Deagle) sounds underpowered though but since you rarely use it anyway, it’s not big a deal…

What would’ve made more impact is if the game had a riveting score to go with the gameplay…Sadly, the music in the game is rather scarce. Only boss fights, dramatic event and some rooms have music. The majority of the game is spent in silence. Sure, it creates atmosphere but it does get tiring when you’re wandering and the only thing you hear are the footsteps the hero/heroine creates…

Sound: 7/10

Controls: The aiming reticule needs work! That sums the majority of the control problems in my opinion. The aiming reticule (if you’re not using the GUNCON) moves too fast for its own good and makes pinpoint shooting (a MUST when you wanna do headshots on zombies, you can’t just shoot any part of their heads, you need to shoot at their brains for it to register as a headshot.) a pain in the unmentionables. As such, I found myself regularly moving backwards or sideways instead of moving the cursor. I find it much more effective…

Another problem in the strafe, or rather, how strafing is handled in the game. To strafe, or even to stay in First Person mode while moving, you need to hold the L2 button. It’s not a major deal at all once you get used to the strangeness of it but it shouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. Capcom should have made strafing (and moving in First Person) available as soon as you switch into the First Person mode. They shouldn’t have made it so you need to hold a button to stay (and strafe in First Person). Rather they could, no SHOULD, have used a toggle (tap a button to go into First Person, tap it again to exit).

One more problem I have with the control scheme in the slow speed you strafe in…I mean, old ladies move faster than THAT! How the hell are you supposed to dodge lighting quick Hunters (yup, they’re in here although in limited quantities) and electrical blasts (from a boss) when you’re sidestepping at a snails pace!

Controls: 6/10

Replay: Not much here that can be said without spoilers. You do get better weapons if you earn a good rank on your initial and subsequent playthroughs but they do nothing except give you weapons at the beginning. Sure, you can play as an alternate character, but that too is nothing more then a palette swap with very little change in the storyline. Add to that the game’s relatively short length and you have a very light package…

Replay: 6/10

Summary: GunSurvivor is the best in the series. If Capcom does create a fifth installment (here’s one fan hoping that they do) to the series, at the rate they’re going, it’s gonna be a killer game! While Survivor 4 is better in every way than all of its predecessors, it still has a few kinks that need to be ironed out, namely its controls and its short length. WHEN (not IF) Capcom gets those two right, the series will be one of the best gaming experiences bar none! Still, if you can’t wait for the next one, grab a copy of Survivor 4. It’s better than most games out there now anyways. It’s a short ride to be sure but it’s a damn great ride while it lasts.

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/01/03, Updated 03/01/03