Playstation 2 - Resident Evil: Dead Aim

Format
Playstation 2
Publisher
Capcom
Developer
Capcom
Country of origin
Japan
Genre
Lightgun game

Resident Evil : Dead Aim

By David Rasmussen
20th Mar 05

Recently I've been discovering the joys of GameCube ownership all over again... though not exactly for all the games Nintendo would want me to fall in love with.
When it comes right down to it there is very little new releases from the GameCube worth raving about, and forget about said game being a GameCube exclusive game which is all but impossible to find these days!
With the notable exception of Resident Evil 4 (which USED to be an exclusive until it was announced that it would be ported over to the PS2), that new card battle RPG game (forgot it's name), Metroid Prime 2 : Echoes (though I should play the original Metroid Prime before I become hyped over Echoes), the original Animal Crossing (it‘s sequel, Animal Crossing DS (originally Animal Crossing 2 which is NOT the same beast as the Japanese Animal Crossing 2... But I‘ll explain that when I review ACDS) a Nintendo DS exclusive release coming soon), Legend of Zelda : Windwaker (not the recently released "Four Swords" multiplayer) and Viewtiful Joe 2 (most likely to make the journey to PS2 like it's predecessor Viewtiful Joe) there doesn't seem to be much in the way of games to hype over.
Yeah. That may seem like a lot but in comparison to the amount of games I buy each year for the PS2 this list is downright small when you compare numbers.

So what is it that's gotten me hyped about the GameCube all over again? That'd be the whole series of Resident Evil games for the GCN... otherwise I'd still be ignoring the system and doing nothing but PS2 reviews. True, all true. So far I managed to get ahold of Resident Evil Zero and the original Resident Evil, with four more games to garner for the collection... and so far I've had lots of good things to say about these games (of which you'll hear more of in the weeks to come)!

But what about the last two Resident Evil games to release prior to the coming of Resident Evil 4 for the PS2? One being the rather awkward shooter Dead Aim, the other being the first online RE game Outbreak? How do I feel about those? Let's find out!

This review focuses on the rather awkward Resident Evil shooter called Dead Aim.
Before I go any further, however, I need to take a few minutes to discuss the "controller" which can be used instead of your usual controller to operate the game, I.e. the "Guncon 2" controller.

Guncon 2 and You
You may, or may not be, familiar with the Guncon 2. I, for one, haven't seen a Guncon 2 (or anything of this sort) in stores at all in the past few years, in fact I don't even know if they make these controller types anymore! Do they? Does anyone know if they make these, let alone make the games that use them?
The controller? As the name suggests, the Guncon 2 is a gun shaped controller which probably explains why they're not very abundant anymore. You know the type and the "controversy" around them, Guncon 2s and the like usually are the type of things you hear about being in some kids hand when he's shot down by a cop because they look too much like real guns. This is why, well, IF you do find a gun controller out there it's some loud fanciful color or design so that it's not mistaken for a real gun.
So then, with that said, if you still have an old Guncon 2 (or they are still putting these devices out) I'll be walking you through the control functions on the Guncon 2 in relation to this game. Pay attention now.

First off grab the gun firmly in your right hand, now slowly turn your hand palm up so the gun rests on the open palm of your hand. We'll start here.
From the "business" end of the gun trace your finger down it's side until you reach the halfway point of the gun, near the trigger and the button on the gun's side (one button on each side). The first button (nearest the end the "bullets" exit) is the Select button, followed by the Start button thereafter.
Start starts the game, and brings up the Status Screen. Select brings up the map screen (if you have a map on hand which you can examine that is).

Next trace your finger further along the gun to the button on the side (one of two on each side of the gun).
This button is the "A" button, the one of the opposite end is the "B" button.
This is used to help you move cautiously in the game, or to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid being attacked by zombies. Very important... ESPECIALLY since there's a little quirk about moving while shooting to take into consideration.

Now pull your finger down to the trigger. This does what you think it does. Simple.

Now trace your finger back to the back end of the gun, where the strange thumb button is.
This is called the "Thumbcon" and it handles movement (what normally would have been done using the controllers L3 controls) which kind of looks awkward considering where it appears on this guide.
I don't know about you but I have a little bit of a hard time even considering trying to aim this gun while using my thumb to perform the complex motions needed to flawlessly move the character about... I'd stick to the regular controller in that case, all things considered.

The last thing to speak of in this walkthrough is the "C" button, at the bottom end of the gungrip.
This handles reloading (though you could just as well point the gun away from the screen for a quick reload if that is more to your liking).

Now the gameplay... and the disappointments of the game.
The cutscenes are nice, and well done in some areas, but the gameplay...
First off let's take a look at some of the promises (broken promises) on the case itself... oh, WHY did I buy this? Just to fill space since Blockbusters had a Buy 2 Get 1 Game free thing and I was where I was... and I really really wanted to get ahold of Resident Evil Zero and Legend of Zelda : Windwaker (despite the fact the new "magic" of this game makes Link look like he learned his magic from Hogwarts... wave that wand, Harry -- I mean Link! Wave that wand --- maybe he should get a triforce shaped scar on his forehead...)

Promises Made By Game (and never kept)
Promise - "First Person, Seamless Navigation and Combat"
Truth - Not really. And it's not all first person either! A lot of the game is your standard Resident Evil third person views and controls, and only switches to first person when battling zombies... which is kind of messed up since one twitch of the controller governing movement (the L3 control) automatically knocks you out of first person shooter mode, which can get you killed if you're in the middle of a group of zombies and have to quickly blow them away. Also the so called "seamless" navigation and combat is anything but. In comparison to the way it was done in RE4 this is just an embarassment. WHY they decided to do it this way? Boggles my mind.
HOWEVER, and I'll bring this up later, this part of the game has a redeeming factor NOT in the present gameplay, but in how it might have been the first step in gameplay yet to come... more later.

Promise - "Sharp Graphics and Intuitive Gameplay"
Truth - The graphics are sharp, no arguments from me on this. However it's the so-called "gameplay" which is not such a good thing... unless "intuitive" is the same word for boring, because it gets old rather fast and isn't very innovative at all. The so-called "intuitive" gameplay could have been better. Much, much better.

Promise - "Weapon Upgrades As You Progress Through the Game"
Truth - Weapon Upgrades... Weapon Upgrades... that's the same as the upgrades you make on all your weapons in Resident Evil 4, right? Right...? Uh... wrong.
The game, which promises upgrades, does not deliver. All the so called "upgrades" in this game comes from finding new weapons, NOT modifying old ones (which is a downer in my opinion). And, well, I don't know about you but the idea of "upgrades" usually means taking a weapon you have and modifying it, not finding a bunch of better weapons that you have to cart around and sort through. That's not upgrading, that's just picking up new things to shoot. Nothing to that, is there? Didn't think so.

Promise - "An All New Resident Evil Story-Line"
Yeah, it's all new... now if they could have only promised an all new INTERESTING storyline!
The game is, yes, new, but it also drags you in for beaching via hook, line and sinker.
For a so-called "new" game it seems to have quite abit of things I've seen before, mostly in non Resident Evil games, and doesn't even fit into the overall feel and pace of the Resident Evil gaming franchaise!
Heck, the storyline of this game could even be considered an insult to the franchaise in comparison to better Resident Evil games I've both seen and played myself!

Here. Take a look at it for yourself! As the game opens you find yourself playing minor insignificant not very Resident Evil character Bruce McGavin, who has been sent James Bond style to hunt down another "ace" in the Umbrella terror deck of evil, mainly a guy named Morpheus who seems to have an unhealthy obsession with being a pretty boy... and how weird is that!
It seems Morpheus used to be part of Umbrella but not anymore. Anyway he's holding both the US and China hostage (for starters) with T-Virus laden missiles and only the combined effort of American anti-Umbrella agency member MacGavin, and his chinese associate Fongling, can overcome this... or it'll mean a very James Bond villain-esque disaster with the threat of a completely un-Resident Evil plot twist of having T-Virus laden missiles launched against the two major nations... eh? What's with that!!

Guess what! That is one of my major problems with this game! This so-called plot which doesn't even come close to being a Resident Evil worthy plot! Why!! This game stops being a Resident Evil slaughter fest when the game seems more like a Goldeneye/James Bond shooter with zombies, complete with over-the-top James Bond style villains made up "Resident Evil" style just to fit the game franchaise... and yet failing to fit at the same time.

Yes, in this game there's supposed to be "new creatures" in the game, and only a few are... well... new as far as I know. The giant frog like people creatures, for instances, I think they came from Resident Evil 2 if I remember correctly (I could be wrong). Anyway as for the new creaturees don't expect that to make much difference since the "new" creatures just don't pack any real punch to them, and are not something to be afraid of... probably irritated of but never afraid of.

The simple matter of fact is that this game stopped being a Survival Horror the moment it began and started to pile on the gameplay and story that seemed so out of place. That and the whole mood of the game just isn‘t scary at all, not even nerve wracking, which is such a major disappointment! More than anything this game is nothing more than a garden variety "shooter" as opposed to the designation of "survival horror" which this game has NOT earned!

"An Intense Blend of Action and Puzzle Solving"
First off the action is NOT intense... and it's even predictible!
After awhile you'll equate the act of picking of certain "key" objects, or achieving certain "key" goals, with attacks. In fact you can plan attacks on achieving certain things, which kind of takes the "fear factor" away from the game if all the "attacks" can be anticipated simply by following the simple rule of thumb above.

Second off I wouldn't call what you do in this game "puzzle solving", not by a long shot.
Apparently the creators of this game thought that having you run about willy-nilly locating key items, keys or something needed to open a passage to the next part of the game to explore equals "puzzle solving".
At no point in the game will you be faced with any decent puzzles, and that is such a disppointment!
Apparently nobody in this game played the better Resident Evil games, lest they know what real "puzzle solving" involves (which they obviously don't).

The weapons at your disposal are good, HOWEVER while you have to work some management skills on the ammo you carry, you don't need to work those same skills on items since it seems you can carry a ton of things! You can cart a ton of herbs (green only, sorry, no red or blue or yellow herbs), and other things, and any sense of inventory management you might have had to practice on previous Resident Evil games just doesn't seem to come into play in this game!
Unlike previous Resident Evils which required a lot of management of your items list, this game doesn't have the same need for such meticulous management skills!
Ditto with the need to store and keep ink ribbons, which is a first for this game!

Yes, Dead Aim might not be the best game but it does have the distinction of being the first pre-RE4 game which threw out the need to store ink ribbons for saving, which is something you'll most definitely see again in Resident Evil 4! And, yes, this is also the first generation step towards the revolutionary gameplay of Resident Evil 4 since this game's gameplay (camera behind character thing and the ability to look anywhere seen in RE4) is clearly not like any previous Resident Evil game before it, and probably can be seen as one of the precursors to the groundbreaking revitalized gameplay work on RE4!

So, yes, the game isn't that great, but it might be the first step in RE history... so to speak.
So, breakdown time, what did I think of it?

Resident Evil : Dead Aim Breakdown
What's Hot - Now I'm not going to try to sell you on the notion that, well, simply because it seems to possibly be the first steps towards the evolution of the series into what it is now in RE4 then that equals a good reason for you to buy it. HOWEVER, while I don't completely like the gameplay I'm not completely down on it either. It was okay, and while I wouldn't spend a great deal of money to buy this game I would (and did) buy it on sale, and while it's not my favorite RE game it's not too terrible either.

What's Not? - Sadly, however, the game is not very scary despite the fact it's an RE game. In fact, and shame on the game for making me say this, I'm afraid X-Files : Resist or Serve is more in the Resident Evil "spirit" than this game... which is kind of sad, really, since X-Files : Resist or Serve is a blatant Resident Evil ripoff game from word one.

And if a ripoff copycat clone game like Resist or Serve cane deliver a more fitting Resident Evil style "mood" and setting than a so-called licensed Resident Evil game then there's just something plain wrong about said game! Really! And what's with the story?!? Sounds more like a James Bond yarn than a Resident Evil storyline!! What gives!!

Moments to Remember? - You'd think a game featuring a cute asian character would be more memorable, even for the wrong reasons... but guess what! She doesn't stand out at all as a character, and even when it looks like the game has a Resident Evil 2 twist the game still falls short!
Eh? Well, you see, when you finish the game the first time you'll be able to play again as the asian character the second time out... problem is that if you're expecting a RE2 twist in where the story changes to fit the character change? Tough luck! The story is the exact same as before, with you simply playing opposite characters which isn't exactly very inventive if you ask me! I mean, really, the same story with different characters playing the game... even if it doesn't make much sense...? That's just plain stupid.

What to Ignore? - Speaking of things being ripped off... I'd like to know how a prettyboy James Bond villain type like Morpheus ends up (after taking a shot of the virus "poison" being peddled in this game) becoming such a pretty GIRL... in fact Morpheus becomes a ripoff of the alien design from the movie "Species"... which explains the sudden sex change, and not even halfway through the game no less!
It's not as bad as the whole naked Raiden thing from Metal Gear Solid 2 : Sons of Liberty, but it's also bad in it's own right. Really. What were they thinking.

Overall? - While I'd like to have as much positive things to say about this game, I'd have to admit that positive things to say about Dead Aim are few and far between!

The game just doesn't do much for me, and seems to play more like a James Bond game with zombies infesting every corner of said game!
If the game was more original, and fit the Resident Evil trilogy bettter, then I'd have no complaints.
Yes, the game's not that bad... not that good, but not that bad either.
I'd have to say that the game is okay to get if (IF) you can grab fast, and for a good low price.
I did buy this, but not for a major pricetag which was a selling point for me on this game.
Still if I could wish for it, I'd have wished this game was more fun. It's not bad, but it's not all that perfect either so mixed bag.

-- David Rasmussen 20th Mar 05

Playstation 2 Resident Evil: Dead Aim Images