Resident Evil: Dead Aim

If there’s one area where this Resident Evil shooter is right on target, it’s atmosphere. The undead shamble into the dim glow of your flashlight (a creepy effect stolen from Silent Hill), heads bobbing with eerily realistic animation. Shoot them just right and you’ll blast zombies clean off their feet, blood splattering and smearing all over the walls. You can see why, despite its lack of storage boxes and (unfortunately) any real puzzles, Dead Aim nails that spooky Resident Evil vibe; it’s too bad that, as a light-gun shooter, it’s so far off the mark. The new stealth aspect-enemies don’t attack until they see or hear you-is an interesting idea, but in practice it adds little technique. Actually, along with the fact that your mutated opponents can’t open doors or handle stairs, it further encourages simply running past the bad guys-the most effective and least enjoyable way of playing the game. Other disappointments include noninteractive backgrounds (windows don’t even shatter), precious few moments in which aiming or timing is necessary, and little reason for replay (despite a playtime of under three hours).

With ail the advances in game-play and technology that we’ve seen over the years, you’d think Capcom would be able to come up with a light-gun game that involved more than just shooting the same three or four enemies through the same dull, repetitive environment for three hours. Dead Aim brings absolutely nothing new to the genre. Destructible environments? Nope. The ability to blow off zombies’ limbs? Not here. Some puzzles, or a two-player mode at least? Bzzzt. The result? A game you really don’t need to play.

Snore.. .snore.. .huh... whazzat? It’s my turn to chime in? Sorry, but the near total lack of horror in this survival-horror gun game bored me plumb to sleep. I’m not sure what zombie Love Boat Mark was on, because Dead Aim's cruise ship and water-treatment plant locales are just so.. .dead. Most of the bland corridors and rooms look alike, turning much of the game into an aimless trot through a maze full of zombies you can easily troop right past. Of course, you’ll get maximum enjoyment if you play with a light gun, but the bosses and story are strictly low caliber. OK, back to bed.