Resident Evil 4

Year: 2005
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Console Played: Playstation 2

Being a massive fan of the first 3 Resident Evil games and having grown up with them, I was super excited about all the hype Resi 4 was getting, especially after the incredible leap to PS2 that was Code Veronica. Now I heard it was going to be different, which would make a change from all of those "SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE" endings and such, but little did I know I was about to be absolutely BETRAYED!!! I'm all for things trying to be fresh and change genre and such, but A) This game isn't remotely scary or intense, B) The storyline is dreadful (and story wasn't the Resi Evil strong point to begin with) and C) It's not even a survival horror game. It's something I just couldn't get passed. It's a shame because there were some great elements in the actual gameplay. The over the shoulder cam, the careful picking off of your enemies, the puzzles and locations were intruiging, and the visuals were spectacular for the time. However the story mode is repetitive and gimmicky, there is no Resi Evil atmosphere. I couldn't buy into any of the characters, especially Leon's sudden transformation from inept rookie cop to super acrobatic ass kicking gun toting badass. Ashley is one of the most annoying in game co stars, and the monsters feel more like something out of Lord of the Rings. And the Ganados?! Fuck, infinitely less cool than zombies, lickers and hunters.

At the time of the release and the rave reviews, I just felt everyone was like "ZOMG, they changed genres, therefore it's a masterpiece". But I would have actually preferred it if the developers had stuck to their roots and, you know... ACTUALLY MADE A RESIDENT EVIL GAME!!! This is so removed from Resi Evil that it should have been called something else altogether... Oh wait Capcom already did that with Devil May Cry, Onimusha and Dino Crisis, which you can tell blatently started off as Resi Evil games and just kind of drifted off course... As horrible as the story, characters and atmosphere of this game are, I DO think in terms of gameplay, and strictly gameplay only, this is a pretty good puzzle/platform/3rd person shooter game. Whilst it does get tediously repetitive at times, the game had a good difficulty curve at least. Some of the boss battles were hard as fuck and it does have its frantic "backed into a corner" moments, which is one thing that does carry over from the original games. The whole interactive cutscene thing was a popular fad at the time and it felt needlessly tacked on just for the sake of it. The most depressing thing is that I've only completed the main story mode once in my life. Ever since I have found the bonus mini game, Mercenaries much more playable, as it basically delivers just the platforming and frantic shooting parts that I actually liked, and cuts out all of the horrific story line and tediousness. I really don't even want to play the story mode again. When I think of Resident Evil, I dont think of creepy castles, Lord of the Rings style monsters, pseudo gothic fantasy bullshit, and Leon jumping off buildings and doing acrobatics and shit. How could they fuck up Resident Evil so bad?! All of the previous main games that involve zombies and actual survival horror are practically masterpieces that I still love revisiting even now. I seriously hope Resident Evil go back to their roots and rediscover zombies, otherwise my connection with the series will most likely become cut off.

Resident Evil 4 completly reinvented the series for better or worst. In my opinion, the tank controls had already been explored to their full potential, and were it not for RE4 i feel that the series would no longer be relevant today. Which is not to say that RE5, 6 and Revelations are all great games, because they arent. But this is about RE4, which is truely believe to be one of the most accomplished action adventure games out there. It doesnt quite work as horror game but i will get to that later.

You play as Leon, and its your job to be travel to a remote village in Spain and save the president's daughter. Being a resident evil game, of course that the villagers have been infected and turned into zombie like creatures. Extravagant villains and cheesy voice acting is also aplenty in this title. Leon is the ultimate corny witty line dispenser. Almost everysingle of his interactions with the antagonists or Ashley is memorable, just because of how corny it is. Its definitly one of those cases in which campyness makes the game better. The plot may not be very original, but the dialogue is completly bonkers and makes the game much more entertaining.

The gameplay is what really places RE4 on a class of its own. It features a take on third person shooter that hasnt really been seen in any other series. Instead of focusing on cover, Leon is limited on his movement when he is aiming. This makes the combat really intense because of the fastness of the enemies. The hit detection is brilliant, to the point of being able to shoot individual body parts or weapons the enemies are wieldings to get different effects. There is a huge amount of depth to this combat system, which really comes into its own in the higher difficulty settings and the mercenaries extra mode. Amazing core gameplay mechanics. The adaptable hidden difficulty is just the cherry on top of the cake.

The level design is damn brilliant, taking you in a joyride and offering one of the best pacing in a campaign i have ever played. The game is constantly introducing new enemies, bosses, weapons and challenges at the player. Just when you are getting used to the background, it shifts into a whole new area for the next level. There are a lot of secret items amidst these levels, besides the upgrade system and inventory management. Even the merchant is iconic in his appearances. Its one of those games that is hard to put down after you started because it nails the pacing of combat encounters and exploration so well. There are literally too many memorable moments to mention, but i have to name the intense fight with the regenerators and the invisible enemies.

The game does have some flaws though. The escort missions with Ashley tend to be rather annoying because she is an imbecile human being with no sense of auto preservation. You really have to treat her like a dumb cow. Some levels are definitly not as enjoyable as others, but again thankfully the game keeps changing the setting. Finally there is also the issue that the game doesnt really work as a horror game. Sure there is a lot of tension in the gameplay and scarcity of resources, but the same could also be said about a Devil May Cry game. The regenerators were truely the only enemy to frighten me, but it feels overal that the game treats itself way too jokingly to ever get the atmosphere of a great horror game.

There is a reason why this game is in greatest of all time series. Taken as a action game, things dont really get much better than this. It has a huge amount of challenge, an obscene amount of puns and dad jokes and one of the most polished third person combat system. It has aged excellently, only feeling a bit behind graphically due to the browns and greys textures. Dont play it expecting a horror game and you will have a blast.

The controls are fine, you just have to get used to them. I aim better in this game than I do in any other, but of course I was speedrunning it back when I was in grade school. My absolute favorite game of all time. It's all so tight, the gameplay is action-ey but also tactical with the pause menu allowing you to stop and take time to make split seconds decisions. The narrative and story are hilarious, absorbing and endearing to no end, and the whole experience is like a thrilling rollercoaster ride.

no way, leon!
way~!

While I'm a big fan of the Resident evil franchise, I have to admit that this is the only game from the franchise that I have little to no issues with as it manages to achieve that balance of action and horror the franchise was always going for but never quite accomplished in any other game.

While the story itself can feel cheesy at times, the gameplay does an excellent job with creating tension that one can expect with the premise of the game, that is having the player stress if they have all the resources to keep both Leon and Ashley alive throughout the campaign. Speaking of Ashley, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't find her annoying at all (OK maybe I do if I'm struggling with large swarm of enemies but not as a character) she's reasonably well written given her position and the predicament she's in as well as being very responsive to your commands during gameplay. I also enjoy Ada's campaign as it adds to the story in a way a modern dlc would.

It's the perfect Resident evil game for a reason, the combat is solid while providing much needed tension to the environment, there's plenty to do throughout the campaign and it has a ton of replay value due to the different ways you can solve different puzzles. Check it out if you haven't already.

a super good game loved it, but I still have to play the remake I'm happy I finally completed it.

This port doe is pretty bad, as a little tip play the game on 30fps from the start, it will save you a lot of headaches, because the game just crashes too often with 60fps, idk why it does it but it does, I used 30fps after the el Gigante fight and it was still good, so yeah.

I also have to say I'm quite surprised that this game had like only 30% of it Ashley with you, I thought I would have her the whole game long, but it was quite nice as I hate escort missions. Doe, her AI is sometimes bugged and she just ducks and Gets killed even doe im trying to run Away, I do hate Iron Maiden Enemies as they had a parasite in their back and made it impossible to shoot it. I hope they fixed them in the remake I mean they're only 3 Of them in the Whole game but still lol.

the game was super easy even doe I played on normal (which is normally not like that in RE). It gives you way too much Ammo and Heals LOL never had problems. (I think the remake fixed that) I had like 10 Magnum shots and killed Salazar instantly. I also had like 100+ Shotgun bullets.

I also really loved the gameplay the Shoot kick Mechanic is super Smooth and I love that, weapons are also super cool.

The game is Great, the Story is great, bosses are great.