Author: SmashBrutha08
Title: Resident Evil 4
Posted: Saturday, November 28, 2009 at 8:26 pm




-Intro-

Resident Evil 4 is the fourth main series game of its franchise. The game was originally released for the Nintendo Gamecube and was later ported to the Playstation 2 and the Nintendo Wii.

Resident Evil 4 puts players into the role of Leon S. Kennedy, a United States government agent. Ordered to rescue the president’s daughter from a Spanish cult group, Leon travels to Spain where he is met by several enraged and violent villagers. Leon must explore the Spanish village and survive the attacks of its citizens to complete his mission.

-Gameplay-

In terms of gameplay, expect a third-person shooter mixed with adventure elements. With gunplay, grenades, and a focus on headshots, Resident Evil 4 is clearly a shooter. At the same time however, the game requires you to solve puzzles and explore dungeon areas. The game is divided into three main locations and features a mix between linear and non-linear progression. A lot of the time, you’ll be able to freely explore the areas on your map. This does not mean that you’ll be able to return to an early area later on in the game however. At many points in the game you’ll be forced to permanently leave an area, so while you have the ability to roam around the game world, don’t expect for the game to be too focused on exploration.

As a third-person shooter, Resident Evil 4 is a bit dated. There’s no run-and-gun, there’s no kind of cover system, and the controls are a bit clunky. I understand that the developers meant to create a sense of horror and urgency through this, but Resident Evil 4 really isn’t that scary of a game. It’s really more focused on action and because of it, the decision really slowed the combat down. More often than not, the combat will feel slow paced and lacking in terms of tactics. However, this really depends on how the level design is. In first and second main areas, the combat often felt slow paced to me (this wasn’t always the case though). In the final location however, the areas were more open and I enjoyed combat more because of it.

Another thing that will help you enjoy the game’s combat is Leon’s variety in weapons. From his ever-reliable handguns, to his long-range combat suited rifles, to his one-hit killing yet one-time use only rocket launchers, Leon’s weapons are very enjoyable to use. Leon can also make use of grenades and melee attacks like suplex’s and kicks.

What also makes the weapons enjoyable to use is the fact that carry such a large number of them. Through the attach case, Leon is able to carry items like herbs, ammunition, weapons, and weapon attachments with him as he fights to rescue the president’s daughter. Along with carrying these items, the player can have Leon combine items like herbs and weapons. Combining herbs will increase their healing effects while combining weapons with attachments will increase their efficiency. By rotating the items inside Leon’s case, the player can use the majority of the space inside it.

Eventually however, Leon’s attach case will become too small for all the items players will need for survival. Players can buy larger attach cases and other items through the game’s merchants. As the player progresses, he/she will collect currency. After speaking to a merchant, the player can redeem that currency and buy things like weapons, first-aid spray, and weapon upgrades. Along with this, players can sell treasures to the merchants and gain currency.

One thing you should know about Resident Evil 4 is that it is filled with quick-time events. As you progress through the game, you will experience multiple instances where the game asks you to press a certain button or make a motion to perform a scripted action. Whether or not you enjoy the numerous QTEs in the game will depend on your opinion of them. At times, they felt forced and unsatisfying to me but at other times, they gave me a great feeling of intensity. One great example of this is the fight scene between Leon and Krauser. The fight scene has become one of my favorites of all time and the QTEs that are a part of it really contributed to that.

Although Resident Evil 4 was an enjoyable game for me to play, there were times where I felt like skipping through certain levels. The game lasts about 20 hours and while this is impressive for an action-focused game, I also felt that it dragged on a bit at points. I wouldn’t mind it at all if Resident Evil 4’s length was 12-15 hours instead of 20.

Although I felt that Resident Evil 4 had its shortcomings and flaws, it was a very enjoyable game for me to play. I enjoyed the gameplay a lot.

Score: 9.0

-Story-

My biggest complaint with Resident Evil 4 would be its narrative. I have seen many other reviews for Resident Evil 4 and for some reason they give 8s and 9s to its story. I strongly disagree with these scores and one of my main reasons for this is because of the game’s shallow plot. The story lacks any real twists and fails to become anything more than just a chase for girl in need a rescue. From the beginning to the end, Leon’s main mission is to rescue the president’s daughter. Basically he starts of searching for her, finds her, loses her, then finds her again, gets separated from her once more, and then rescues her again before the credits roll. Don’t expect much in terms of Resident Evil 4’s plot.

What’s also lacking in Resident Evil 4’s story is the quality of its characters. It’s very safe to say that there is zero character development in Resident Evil 4. Leon for example fails to develop as a character or show any personal feelings toward his mission. His fight against the parasites inside him could have become a very interesting personal struggle, but because of the lack of character development, it fails to become anything more than a mere plot device. The same is true with the game’s many other characters.

Finally, I thought the game’s dialogue was a problem. I understand that the corny dialogue was placed in the game purposely, but that didn’t stop it from turning me off at points. At times the dialogue might make you cringe and at times it may make you laugh, but either way it always gave me difficulty in taking the storyline seriously.

And many of the game’s cutscenes have that serious look and feel. While Resident Evil’s story has its faults, it also has its many action-packed and epic moments. These scenes are the high-points of Resident Evil 4’s story and will most likely be the most memorable parts of it for players. Unfortunately for Resident Evil 4, epic moments alone do not make an interesting story. Because of this, Resident Evil 4’s story is nothing more than average.

Score: 7.0

-Presentation-

Last generation, Resident Evil 4 was one of the best looking games in terms of its technology. In this generation, it’s still a great looking game. At times, you’ll find blurry textures but it’s still very good looking.

And everything Resident Evil 4 lacks in terms of technology is made up for with its great atmosphere. At many of the darker areas in the game, you’ll find immersive and convincing atmosphere that will really suck you into the game world. At times the atmosphere might even give you a slight sense of horror, despite being more action-focused this time around. Resident Evil 4 is a very good looking game.

Score: 9.5

-Sound-

Resident Evil 4’s music can range from sounding bland and uninteresting to sounding action-packed and epic. Although you could criticize it for its more bland sounding songs, you could also argue that they help the game create a sense of horror.

Ganado I
Ganado IV
Ganado V
Infiltration
Regenerator
Save Theme
Serenity
Vs. Krauser

In terms of sound effects, Resident Evil 4 is pretty flawless. From the voice acting, to the chants made by the angry villagers, to the creepy and chilling sounds one type of enemy will make later on in the game, the sound effects in Resident Evil 4 are very close to perfect. And if you’re playing the Wii version, you’ll likely appreciate the reloading sound effects coming from your remote.

Score: 9.0

-Overall-

Resident Evil 4 was a very enjoyable game for me to play. While I think some people overrate it in certain aspects, it’s definitely my favorite third person shooter. Although I think it’s dated as a TPS, I also think the game’s variety makes up for it. Because of its adventure elements, its immersive atmosphere, its scarce but appreciated horror elements, its more action-focused moments like the Leon vs. Krauser scene, I think that Resident Evil 4 makes up for what it lacks and becomes a great single player experience.

Overall Score: 9.0

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