Carrier
 |
Audio It seems to be a trend for 'survival horror' games to have awful voice acting. If you thought Blue Stinger was bad, then you are just going to love what Jaleco has done with Carrier. The lips of the characters come nowhere near to matching what they are saying. The lips have been designed with the Japanese voice over in mind and not the English ones. It is very noticeable. Add in silly dialogue and it is unforgiving. On the other hand the soundtrack is one of the better soundtracks I have heard in the genre. The game itself is quite dark and when you mix in very eerie and atmospheric music then you get an experience that keeps you on your toes and wondering what is around the corner. Well done here plain and simple. Playability The control of the game is quite similar to that found in the Resident Evil series. Jaleco however has made the control actually a little more friendly. With RE I hated having to press a button to have the character run. In Carrier, you utilize the analog stick to move the character. Push it all the way and the character runs. Push it a little and the character slowly walks in the given direction. When using weapons you can aim at different parts of the body which is a nice option. Aim at the torso and it will take you a few shots to put an enemy down. Take aim at the head and voila, after two shots the head comes clearly off into pieces. You begin the game as Jack Ingles and as you begin your investigation of the ship, you will learn what it is you must do. As the game progresses hints are given as to where you should go next. The puzzles and objectives are not difficult to solve or obtain. The game progresses along at a normal pace but at times feels like something more could have been added. One innovation in the game is the use of the BEM-T3 scope. The scope is used to scan objects and people in order to determine if a crew member has been infected or not. The scope will also reveal hidden objects and hidden doors behind dense foliage. While this innovation is cool, it is not used enough in the game. There are only a few instances where I was not sure if a crew member was safe as most of the time they come up and talk to you, not killing you. The weaponry in the game is pretty basic and limited. You start off with a 9mm automatic pistol and a Welder, which is best described as a shock device. As the game progresses you will find a submachine gun, rocket launcher and a couple of varieties of bombs. Longevity Once you have played through with Jack Ingles, you will be able to play the female character Jessifer Manning in a much shorter sub-mission. The entire game will take the average gamer 10-12 hours to play through. After that you will find some alternate costumes. There are no hidden extra play modes like those found in the RE series Final Word 
While Carrier is not in the same league as the upcoming Code Veronica, it does have its success and pitfalls. The premise of the game is quite ingenious, however Jaleco did not realize its full potential. I found myself time and time again saying "they could have done...".
Review By: Micheal Weatherup |