Although cheesy and cliche, Resident Evil Dead Aim delivers, just like most RE games do.
However, there are some spin-off Resident Evil games that either try a different approach to the RE mythos (like the Survivor or the Outbreak games), or try something new. RE Dead Aim is a mixture of both. Using 1st person view for attacking your enemies, but denying both the ability to play a rail-shooter or a true FPS game, RE Dead Aim is a slightly different experience.
STORY:
Bruce McGiven (I THINK that's his name) is a U.S. police officer who tries to apprehend Morpheus Duval, a French terrorist who hijacked a cruise ship owned by Umbrella (and those who are familiar with the franchise know that where Umbrella is involved, zombies are bound to follow). Soon the entire ship is swarming with flesh-eating zombies and various biological monstrosities, and it's up to Bruce and a fellow Chinese Bureau Officer called Foh Ling to stop the plans of the evil Frenchman.
Story is poorly written and even more poorly executed, but it's not the main strength of a shooter, so it's forgivable to be forgettable. Characters aren't memorable either. Bruce is a poor substitute for Leon Kennedy, and Foh Ling should probably star in a Jackie Chan movie, rather than being an Ada Wong wanna-be. Morpheus does his best to look like Sephiroth, but fails in all aspects. Nonetheless, the three main characters do their job in keeping things moving, even though they lack character emphasis, they grow on you after a while.
GRAPHICS:
The backgrounds of the game may not be the best thing that the eye can see, but they're sharp, sparkly (when the light is upon them at least) and pretty well designed. There is a lot of detail in the rooms Bruce enters (broken glass, papers scattered all over the floor, rankled sheets, broken furniture, dead bodies, etc.) and the environments do their best to make you believe that you're inside a ghost ship. While I've never been on a cruise ship (and thus don't know if the cabins and corridors are supposed to resemble those of a mansion), the graphics are very pleasing.
The monsters are also well done. The zombies are dreamcast gen, resembling those of Code Veronica, which means that while satisfying, they're not the best in the business. Other monsters such as the Hunters, are beautifully animated and designed. The one thing that is horrible though, is the actual characters you control. There is no relation whatsoever to Clair or Chris Redfield in Code Veronica, let alone the character models in the Gamecube remakes. They look like very good PSX models. Their teeth are spooky. CGI movies are very nice though.
Did I mention that the voice acting sucks major baseballs? Foh Ling uses authentic Engrish as a language with simply hilarious results. For example: "Somewhe'e in Amewica thewe is a little kitten despewately needing youw help ... oh well, thanks for the pwesent!" Bruce is not small fry himself, forgetting his Texas accent every now and then, making you question whether he's a true Texas boy or he's just faking it. The subtitles are the real prize however, having no relation whatsoever with the speech that you hear. A+ stuff in horror flick tradition. Rock on Capcom. Rock on. You're no Sega per se, but you're RIGHT up there!
MUSIC:
Music? Where? Is there music and I didn't hear it? (turns around) Oh, I see. You're having me on, aren't you? (laughs)
Sound effects are nice and pleasing. The zombie moans, the machine gun's rattling, the ship's engine, everything sounds very very well-done. It's just a shame that there is no background music whatsoever like in all previous Resident Evil games. Other people however, find the lack of music a welcome addition to the horror element, so it's all about taste.
GAMEPLAY:
The game plays out pretty simple. Walk (or run) around the ship, kill (or avoid) the monsters you encounter, find (basically pick up) various keys and cards in order to advance to restricted areas, and fight (or sometimes run away from) a few bosses. The same formula that every other RE game possesses is here as well, only this time there seem to be no puzzles whatsoever (few seem to care).Also note that many zombies drop ammo and healing items, so the "avoid anything by running away" tactic that many gamers use on other RE games may not be the smartest thing to do here.
The control scheme is a bit testy. When in 1st person view, you cannot walk unless holding down the X button. If you don't hold the X button, you run by pushing the analog stick forward, and immediately break-off 1st person view. It is certain that in situations where you're not very focused (due to the increased enemy presence for example), you're bound to make a lot of mistakes by pushing the wrong buttons. Nothing that a little practice can't fix though.
OVERALL:
Dead Aim is my favourite Resident Evil non-canon title. It has plenty of stylish action, pleasing visuals, so-bad-it's-good voice acting and a Titanic full of biological terror to last until next Sunday. All these elements can quickly make you forgive the musical absence, the quirky controls and the forgettable characters. Who cares about Planes with Snakes, here you have Ships with Zombies!