Resident Evil 4 provides an unforgettable gaming experience
Written: Aug 01 '05 (Updated Aug 03 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Extraordinary graphics, gameplay, enemies, bosses, voice acting--nearly perfect in every respect; unmatched replay value
Cons: A tiny bit thin on the plot, but still surprisingly good
The Bottom Line: Resident Evil 4 is a true classic that deserves its place among the best games in this console generation--or any generation, for that matter.
buckeyes1186's Full Review: Resident Evil 4 for GameCube
Warning: Contains Mild Spoilers
Few video game titles can boast the fact that they can make fans out of individuals who have never given their franchise a second glance. Resident Evil 4 has the honor of being one such unique game.
Before this game's release, I had never considered buying a Resident Evil game for any system. The fact that I read numerous horrible reviews for the two film versions did not exactly encourage me, either--I assumed the games were equally bad. Also, I've never been much of a fan of horror games. Yes, I love the occasional scare in an adventure game or RPG, but I like the comforting feeling of that beautiful light at the end of the tunnel. There is no light in this game, literally, and that's a good thing.
RE4 is highly unsettling from the outset. An eerie fog completely covers the area as Leon S. Kennedy is driven to a remote locale by two Spanish police officers. His mission--to save Ashley Graham, the President's twenty year-old daughter, from a malevolent cult with the moniker "Los Illuminados." The sinister Osmund Saddler, leader of Los Illuminados, has taken control of the entire playable area of the game, thanks to Village Chief Bitores Mendez and wealthy castellan Ramon Salazar--Saddler's unswerving servants. The most frequent enemies one faces in RE4 are not the slow zombies that have become a staple of the series, but the "Ganados," scheming, intelligent, and surprisingly quick humans who have been brainwashed by internal parasites. The story in itself is surprisingly good. It's not Shakespeare, but it is still a haunting tale helped considerably by excellent voice acting.
One of the finest accomplishments in RE4 is the A.I. of your enemies--never before has your opposition been able to scheme in such an impressive fashion. They shout orders at each other in Spanish (those who understand the language might be given a miniscule advantage as a result) and react accordingly. They'll regroup, sneak behind you and ambush from behind, and throw numerous deadly devices at you with commendable aim. More than once, you'll be forced to retreat to a wall in order to avoid being stabbed with a pitchfork from behind. Speaking of retreating, one of the great features of the game is an instant turnaround tool--if you run away from your foes in the opposite direction and need to turn around quickly to fight them, just press B and tilt the Analog Stick downward simultaneously. Nifty indeed.
Luckily, you'll never find yourself poorly equipped. RE4 offers an impressive array of weaponry with which you may face the enemy. You do not find weapons as with the previous installments (although I did find a simple shotgun in one house), but you find treasure and pesetas (money) that provide you with ample funds to purchase handguns, shotguns, rifles, magnums, rocket launchers, and such. Sales and purchases are handled by merchants that appear frequently throughout the game--if you see blue flames, a merchant is nearby. Also, these merchants offer you the opportunitiy to upgrade the firepower, reload speed, firing speed, and capacity of your weapons, as long as you have ample funds to do so.
The combat in RE4 is a bloody good treat, I assure you. You equip a weapon by selecting it on the menu screen and press down on the right shoulder button to aim it, either with a laser aim or a scope, given the type of weapon. You then press A while aiming to fire--simple as that. Leon's aim is not perfect, so don't count on having dead-on precision without ample practice.
Saving your progress in RE4 is relatively easy as well. Scattered throughout the game are typewriters where you can save your progress. Fortunately, there is no shortage of them. You'll encounter them frequently and you can save an unlimited number of times, so there is no reason not to save at every typewriter. It is also important to note that merchants and typewriters are often found together, but not always. When you see one, look for the other, because there is a good likelihood that they're in close proximity to each other.
Death is inevitable in RE4; you must embrace this fact. If you're the type of gamer that insists on completing an entire game without ever dying, good luck. Luckily, whenever you die, you'll be taken back to an automatic checkpoint that is not too far back, rather than being forced to reload the game at the last typewriter you saved at. During the portions of the game when you are accompanied by another character (I won't say who, but I'm sure you can guess), you must also watch out for her. A successful abduction or murder of your companion is the equivalent of your own death, so watch her back at all times.
Moving right along, RE4 offers some of the most superb graphics in this console generation. It is an absolutely stunning game in every aspect. The game maintains a high framerate for the duration of the game and there are very few visual glitches to be found. The settings are simultaneously disturbing and gorgeous and the character models are top notch. Extra touches add to the realism the game offers; if it starts raining, you can clearly see tiny rain drops splash on Leon's shoulders.
The cinematics are fantastic, made even more impressive by the fact that they are all done in real time--you won't find any Final Fantasy-esque FMVs in this game. The cutscenes provide some of the most tense moments in the game, for good reason. Frequently, you are forced to press button combos (A and B, Left and Right shoulder buttons) to perform certain necessary actions during the scenes. If you put down your controller and fail to perform the actions, you're toast. If you think you've memorized the button combos for a given situation, you're still toast, because they are randomized. It may sound slightly annoying, but you'll appreciate the developers' desire to keep you on your toes, so to speak, at all times.
Of course, a review of RE4 would not be complete without mentioning the obligatory boss battles. Rather than a chore, recalling these masterpieces of gaming is a particular treat. They are absolutely, positively, incredible. More often than not, these horrid freaks of nature (and I mean that in the most flattering way possible) are about five times your size and immensely powerful. Fortunately, you can often avoid instant death attacks by pressing prompted button combos in a similar manner to the cutscenes. If you're anything like me, you'll leave each and every boss fight saying to yourself, "That was the best boss I've ever faced in any game." Each boss in RE4 could easily be the final boss for almost any other game. They're that good.
In terms of replay value, RE4 is practically unmatched. Once you've beaten your roughly twenty hour quest, you will be given access to a plethora of new options. You'll have access to a Mercenary Mode and a miniquest that I will not name because of a potential spoiler. I guarantee that they are both extremely fun. You'll also be treated to a new background for the main menu screen and the option of restarting the game with your current weapons in tact, new weapons available for purchase, and even a new costume for Leon. With all the extra stuff to do, you can accumulate well over 100 hours of gameplay and never get bored.
Resident Evil 4, simply put, is a fantastic game. If you have a GameCube, you must purchase this game. Your collection is not truly complete without this monumental achievement in video gaming.
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