I was a bit late to enter into Resident Evil territory. My first experience with the series came about in 2000 or so, with the release of the Resident Evil 2 port for the Nintendo 64; I never finished that title. Next, I played the GameCube version of Resident Evil in 2001; and I didn't finish that one either. They are good games, as far as I can tell, and I can see where the charm within them lies. But I have few gripes (albeit rather minor ones): 1) the clunkiness of the control system, which would undoubtedly become commonplace in the survival horror genre (it's prevalent in Silent Hill as well - a series I'm actually more familiar with); 2) the save system (i.e. relying on "ribbons," which happen to take up inventory space and are sometimes hard to come by); and 3) the inventory system itself. Now, I realize that these elements are what make up the charm behind the Resident Evil series and are part of a set of gameplay mechanics, but, in all honesty, they're something which could be improved upon.
Resident Evil 4 (RE4) improves upon the aforementioned gripes and implements a new gameplay style for the series. Gone are the clunky controls and find-a-ribbon saves. The inventory remains, but we are given the opportunity to upgrade its size and, eventually, item storage becomes exceedingly easy. Many would see this as a negative, a dumbing down. But I don't care about those things - once you get into the game, it's very easy to find that it is quite fast paced and all about scintillating action. We're given a new over-the-shoulder camera view, action prompts and an impressive story arc.
Perhaps the first thing anyone would notice about Resident Evil 4 (especially with the GameCube version) is that it features, probably, the best graphics of any current generation title. The rendering is perfect for the atmosphere in which the game is set and the developers went to great lengths on the character models and in-game real time cinematic sequences. There are also nice, little touches throughout the game (such as when you somehow manage to look up Ashley's skirt - "Hey, you pervert!") that reveal the level of detail taken on this project. The sound is also very good, featuring Dolby ProLogic support. The voice acting is top notch and, while I don't think a majority of the game's score would work too well on its own, it's still quite good and there are a few tracks I'd love to be able to listen to at my leisure from time to time (namely the "Final Battle" piece).
The replay value of this game is also astounding. Having completed the game once, you may enter a Round 2 setting with "special costumes" and gain access to new weapons. There is another, spin-off story mode featuring one of the main characters, Ada, that is also well worth completing. I am personally not big on the mini game featured, "Mercenaries," for some reason, but completing these missions in a specific way will also enable to unlock a weapon in the main game. Also upon completion, you may choose to play through the game on "Professional" mode, which (as I understand it) is simply more difficult.
I wasn't sure I would buy into the hype of RE4 and, really, I hadn't for some time. The game was presented to me as a birthday present and I was happy enough to receive it. I was even happier to find that this is, without a doubt, one of the best games I've ever played. It's not too difficult and I actually found it a bit short, but there's just something in the way that it's presented which makes it entirely irresistible. It's obvious that not everyone will fall under the spell of Resident Evil 4. But for a couple of months, while playing this wonderful game, I was in a state of euphoria.
Create an Account
Member Login
