Introduction:

Enter a striking world of horror and intrigue in Capcom's Resident Evil 4. Hailed by many as the saviour of the RE franchise, (and by just about as many as the definitive game of the year for 2005) it sports excellent visuals, truly haunting audio, a superbly refined RE control scheme, a dynamic set of firearms, surprisingly relentless enemies, and extreme amounts of visceral gameplay. It is a truly striking piece of work that manages to successfully infuse a strong sense of visceral tension into every enemy encounter and suspense into every other moment.

Story:

The basic backstory for this latest instalment in the RE series has been pretty well publicized by this point, so I'll try to touch on it in as few words as necessary.

The game takes place years after Raccoon City's T-virus zombie incident and its subsequent destruction. The Umbrella Corporation responsible for the virus's creation has since gone under, and it would seem that Evil would be Resident no more. (Or would it?)

RE4 takes place six years after the events of the previous RE games. The President of the United States's daughter, Ashley Graham, has been kidnapped by a small unknown European cult and it's fallen upon RE2's Leon S. Kennedy to rescue her. During his quest, he will do battle with literal mobs of said murderous cultists (who seem to share a trait or two with the ol' zombies of yore), hideous monstrosities, and a mysterious new malady.

I don't want to divulge too much more than that since going beyond the basic backstory would spoil too much for first time gamers. Suffice it to say, the story of Resident Evil 4 is surprisingly strong and well-thought out, and almost enough to make the T-virus incident seem like a footnote for this new episode. Like most story-intensive games, it is best played with as little foreknowledge of the story as possible.

Gameplay:

Resident Evil 4's gameplay is visceral and action packed. Gone is the old RE necessity of conserving ammo. In this game, you will be shooting. Alot. Also enemies drop ammo constantly. Just to give you an idea of this game's concept of combat, just about every single enemy encounter will be on par with the action-packed climax of a big-time Hollywood blockbuster. Thus, the sheer number of memorable and enjoyable game moments in this title is simply staggering.

The only reason that the gameplay does not get a perfect 10 is due to the fact that the control scheme isn't perfectly intuitive and will give first timers with this game a bit of a headache. Despite RE4's controls having been noticeably revamped and tightened over that of previous RE instalments, as well as the more intuitive camera angle that accompanies them, the controls scheme are still essentially the same as older RE's.

The analog stick or d-pad is used to move the character backward and forward, as well as turn left and right. Holding down B while moving lets you run and pressing A lets you examine objects, pick up items, or perform on-screen actions. Holding down R readies your currently equipped gun (or L for the knife) and A is then used to attack with it. Y brings up the inventory, X is used to issue commands to Ashley once she joins you such as "Follow Me", "Wait", or "Hide", and the Z trigger brings up the map.

Since this is pretty much the standard RE setup with a few bells and whistles added (timed button press sequences anyone?), some old criticisms of the controls still hold sway. For instance, there is still no way to shoot and move at the same time. This can be easily worked around in a quick run-shoot-run-shoot fashion, since the transition between normal and "caution mode" is fairly quick. Also, using the C-stick to aim the camera and then pressing R brings up the weapon in the direction of the camera, regardless of where Leon is facing. Careful orchestration of these actions can be used to simulate a sort of strafing motion, but takes a bit of practice to pull off. However if you demand off the bat that these steps be part of a single continuous motion with zero pauses, this may not be the game for you, since just about every action you take with these controls will be deliberate.

The one thing that has definitely changed for the better over previous RE's is the inventory. The old 6,8, or 10 item limit is replaced with a grid-based item management system that is similar to that of Diablo II. You have an attached case with a finite amount of space measured in square units and different items fill up varying amounts of this grid (event-based items don't take up any of your precious space. Hooray!). A shotgun obviously takes up more space than a health spray, and this obvious fact is reflected in the scale of the size of items. As you progress in the game you can attain bigger cases to fit more weapons and items, which is good since you will need everything you can muster to fight some of the difficult later enemies.

And that's where the new shopkeeper comes in handy. He'll let you buy, sell, and upgrade weapons, as well as buy health sprays and larger attached cases for bigger inventories. Too bad you can't buy ammo, but that's what downed villagers, boxes, and barrels are for. ;)

I give the gameplay: 9/10

Graphics:

The graphics of Resident Evil 4 are simply breathtaking. They are quite simply the most strikingly realistic and best looking visuals of any console game I have seen this generation. The character models for Leon and the other main characters boast extremely high polygon counts and move with a level of realistic motion that boggles the mind. The graphics engine beautifully and frighteningly renders lush yet suffocating rural environments, mobs of strikingly realistic villagers, shadowy and haunting gothic architecture, hideous creatures beyond comprehension, mud, water, wind, fire, rain, slime, and copious amounts of blood and gore. All at a mostly steady 30 fps. The exploding headshots are a macabre sight to behold, but be warned that those who rely too much on them will be in for an terrifying surprise.

The weapons that you bring to bear are realistically modeled and well detailed, so much so that an avid gun enthusiast could identify many of their real-world incarnations, despite their pseudonyms. Every nuance about how they look and act clicks and feels "just right". If only the loading animations didn't stop you dead in your tracks (sometimes literally).

Also wholly convincing and frighteningly detailed are some of the deaths that can befall our hero. Let's just say that when one of the chainsaw wielding villagers takes a swipe at Leon's neck, he very quickly and messily becomes a foot shorter. The plethora of different exotic ways one can die will become quite apparent during play, since a first timer will probably die alot the first time through the game. What's interesting though, and something that doesn't happen very much in videogames, is that some of these deaths are given quite a bit of cinematic flair (namely those associated with the timed-button cinemas). Needless to say, one could spend a lot of time indulging their morbid curiosity in seeing how many possible graphically violent ways there are to die in this game. Eww.
 

I give the graphics: 10/10

Sound:

Simply fantastic. The audio really helps to bring the visuals to life. Gunshots ring out in realistic fashion. Villagers moan, yell, and mutter angrily at the mere sight of your presence. When you are spotted, a harsh, tension-inducing audio track will usually kick in to set the tone of the action perfectly. Of particular creepiness is the muttering of the crazed monks you encounter later in the adventure, as it mixes in with the dissonant music track seamlessly.

Just as is the case with any horror movie worth its salt, the use of quietness and silence can be just as effective as its use of noise. Resident Evil 4 shines here as well, as the game seems to accurately reflect room acoustics in the way that sounds echo. If you listen attentively, you can identify threats based on subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) audio cues going on in the background.

The voice acting for the cinemas is generally strong and well acted. Definitely a step up for the RE series. It is not Oscar worthy, but it's obviously not trying to be. It does however progress the story without making you cringe too much. Silly lines do show up from time to time, but goofy lines have been par for the course for horror movies for years to come. ("You're ignorant! You're acting like a child" - name the movie that's from and win a gold star*)

(*gold star availability subject to supplies on hand)

I give the sound: 10/10

Replayability:

If you are at all like me, replayability for RE4 will be incredibly high. This game grabbed ahold of me and still hasn't let go. Since its release in January '05 (it's now October '05 as of this writing), I have played through this game more than ten times (I literally lost count.

Ironically, this is a game I almost didn't play through again, due to it's high challenge. The first time through I remember saying, "This game is just way too hard. I guess I'll play through it this one time, but I don't think I'd ever play it again." However, once I got to the end, I was simply floored by the game and ready to play it again. And again. And again. On and on and on.

Knowing what's ahead makes overcoming some of the challenges of the game much easier, but the game still retains its edge. It retains an unpredictable chaos factor that keeps the game fresh and exciting.

For a gamer who wants a game that will offer them a consistent challenge every single time, not just on the first time through, Resident Evil 4 is the real deal (and these aren't cheap deaths, since it is possible to beat the game without dying). Coincidently, it retains a strong capacity to deliver a sense of visceral tension and its fright factor remains strong after many playthroughs. It's not quite the same experience as playing the game for the first time, but you'll be surprised at just how effective it is at making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, even when you know what's coming.

Although many of the game's frightening, tension-filled moments are scripted events, lot of the scares are "in engine" as one could say, with the AI simply doing it's thing, coming at you from a direction you weren't looking in or having them react to your strategy in a way you weren't counting on.

Beating the game once opens up a sub mission starring a secondary character as well as a sort of time attack mode, which exploits the strengths of the AI to it's fullest and offers alot of fun. You have a time limit, but infinite enemies to contend with, gradually escalating and sending more and more powerful enemies at you. Some of these more powerful enemies are actual bosses from the game. Fun times.

I give the replayability: 10/10

Challenge:

I've hinted to it in other sections of this review...

Sweet Moses on a go-kart is this game hard!

It is one of the most challenging games I have the recollection of playing.

You will not get through the first village skirmish on your first time through.

Some of the later enemies and timed-button sequences require that you be the absolute master of the control scheme in order to survive the encounter or peril. This may hurt its value for casual gamers, since the game is very hard the first time through, and remains consistently challenging.

Some people have complained about the Ashley escorting sections of the game, but I never found them to be terribly difficult. Strangely enough, I actually found them to be incredibly forgiving, since the game tends to back off on the insta-kill stuff during these sections. Also, She usually stays behind you and keeps out of harm's way (I'm also surprised she can duck fast enough to not get hit when I have to pull off a shotgun blast very quickly at an enemy close to her). Just don't let her get captured or TRY to hit her, and you'll be fine there.

Still, RE4 is a challenging game, and should be approached with that mindset. From a story standpoint, it is an uphill battle against an organization of savage people who want desperately to kill you. In that sense, the challenge fits the game perfectly.

I give the challenge: 10/10

Value:

The difficulty of this game is a very substantial factor of its gameplay, and might restrict its appeal to a broad range of gamers. However, should an experienced and dedicated gamer choose to stick it out through the tough times and overcome the challenges ahead, they will find that Resident Evil 4 offers an exhilarating and thrilling adventure like no other.

I give the value: 9/10

Overall:

Quality on every front. It gets my game of the year award. Heck, it's been my favorite game ever almost since it came out.

I give Resident Evil 4: 10/10

Conclusion:

If you own a Gamecube, then this is most likely a must buy. The strong gameplay, combined with the breathtaking visual and audio presentation, make this a hallmark of this console generation. It also breaks several boundaries of what a "game" is, and best of all makes everything work together with a startling level of polish.

Did I mention that it's incredibly fun and genuinely scary?

Go buy it.

Rent it if you're a wuss. ;)

Nevertheless, if you pass this game up, you're missing out on a truly stunning Gamecube game.

Written By: The Steve Has Spoken
E-Mail: unbob1000@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.myspace.com/thestevehasspoken
Date Submitted: October 25th, 2005

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