Resident Evil 4, a game I have spent time on different versions but only managed to beat it this summer, on the PC of all things. The first thing I'll say about this is the the style has drastically changed, we saw how it was in
Resident Evil: Code Veronica [バイオハザード コード:ベロニカ] but we could have never guessed that we'd have a game like this in the series. While this game felt very fun and fresh, the direction this game led to was a awful decision,
Resident Evil 5 [バイオハザード5] and
Resident Evil 6 don't hold a candle to even
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis [バイオハザード3 ラストエスケープ]. While not as scary as the early titles, the environments do tend to be intimidating, albeit being mostly outdoors. There is a section in the game where you spend most of your time in a big ass castle so it makes for a lot of creepy moments. The music also sets a very good mood especially while roaming around inside.
There are plenty of moments where you legitimately say "OH SHIT!", whether it's an powerful enemy about to fuck you up or a situation where you feel overwhelmed by an assload of enemies. The hordes of enemies that drop tons of treasure and ammo may seem way insane compared to the earlier games but it happens to work here, probably because of the various types of enemies you get to battle. I really like the castle section because of it taking the idea of dealing with ritualistic die hard cultists and executing it quite well. These hooded fucks come in all sorts of robes with various types of weapons and some even opting for solid gold helmets. The imagery all around in this game is just quite great, managing to never letting you feel safe, even for a second.
The boss fights are all VERY well thought out and also very intimidating, every single one of these are both nerve-racking and exciting. After each one begins after the accompanying cut scene, you already want to just run the fuck away. The mini-bosses are great, too. I would also consider scenarios where there are multiples of a very powerful enemy to be considered a "mini-boss" section as well. Another thing I could never leave out is the inclusion of Ashley, the annoying cunt who always seems to get herself in trouble. Whether it's by crouching and whimpering right in front of a big ass enemy, or simply just being fucking stupid and getting in the way of your gunshots. While she may be the reason you fail a lot of the times, she does definitely add to the difficulty and basically becomes your primary objective. There are plenty of times where you have to protect her from afar and you even get to play as her for a brief time.
I guess the last thing we'll get to is the replayability. Upgrading your guns, getting cool ass features, and unlocking awesome costumes are the reasons to play this over and over again. Watch the gold stack up and enjoy the options that the game treats you with. This game is both very exciting and even terrifying at some points, and while having consistent quality, I couldn't give it a 10/10. The reason for this is basically just the stain it left on the franchise. Sure, it sold a fuck ton and got great ratings from pretty much every reviewing website. Did it deserve it? For the most part, I'll say yes. The thing we must understand about this is that while it made
Resident Evil [バイオハザード] even more popular, it was for all the wrong reasons. Resident Evil had clearly lost it's identity by this point, but yet this is the game that set the tone for the gaming industry to come. Lifeless over the shoulder 3rd person shooters that everyone and their mom ended up playing. So, I guess the final verdict is "Fuck Resident Evil 4, but it's really good tho". Get yourself this game whether it be on the PS2, GC or on Steam and play through it, I'm sure you'll be begging for more by the time it ends.