If you are at all familiar with the Resident Evil series, then you know exactly how Carrier works. All the obligatory features are present- creepy setting, moody soundtrack, zombies, laughable voice acting, firearms, etc. Just replace the mansion with a futuristic aircraft carrier dubbed the "Heimdal", and swap Chris, Jill and company with Jack, Jessifer and the carrier crew, and the rest is pretty standard fare.

In Carrier, you play as Jack Ingles, member of an elite investigation team sent to the Heimdal to determine why the ship fell silent to any and all radio communications. You quickly realize the ship is stocked with a load of ballistic missiles, as well as a quickly spreading virus introduced into the ship's population by a recently discovered ancient organism. It is of course your job to get to the bottom of the mystery. Overall, the story feels like a mix of Resident Evil and Aliens, with a touch of Blue Stinger thrown in for good measure. Not a bad combination if you ask me.

Carrier, while not on the same visual level as the spectacular Biohazard: Code Veronica, is still more than competent. The characters are well modeled and textured, and the polygonal environments are suitably creepy and near pre-rendered quality. Jaleco has the game running at 60fps, and has added some nice visual enhancements such as colored dynamic lighting and fog. The creature designs are well done, and are pretty similar to those in Blue Stinger.

Survival horror veterans will feel right at home with Carrier's control scheme. The game can be played with either the digital or the analog pad and both seem to work fine. The right shoulder button draws/aims your weapon, while the left allows you to cycle through weapons on the fly. Button 'A' fires the drawn weapon, and functions as the action button; Button 'B' allows you to use the scope; Button 'X' allows you to run; And Button 'Y' brings up the map. You can even perform a Dino Crisis style 180 degree spin by holding down on the control pad and pressing 'A'.

An interesting feature that Jaleco has added to Carrier is the scanning scope. Since the Heimdal's population has been infected with the virus, there had to be a method of determining who was safe, and who was a carrier. By utilizing the scope, you can scan each life form within the first person viewing area to determine whether or not the individual is dangerous. If the virus is detected, you are best off drawing a weapon and unloading on that mutated crew member. The scope can also be used to see through certain organic objects, and locate items that may be located in a drawer, locker or crate. You very quickly come to depend on the scanner when moving into a new area.

One area in which Carrier differ from RE, is the way that forward progress occurs. There are not many true puzzles to be found. Usually, locating the correct crew member or piece of information will open up more areas to explore, and spawn even more zombies. There is some switch flipping and such, but not enough to become annoying. Progress feels pretty natural, though anyone looking for some mind bending puzzles may be disappointed. The game never really reaches an insane level of difficulty, but the challenge feels about right.

There really isn't much bad to be found in the game. My only complaint is that it lacks the sense of style that games such as RE and Dino Crisis contain. The design is a bit on the generic side in my opinion. Graphically, there is some occasional slowdown when certain effects occur, though nothing that has become a gameplay issue.