Resident Evil 4 (thoughts) *spoilers*

[Anarky]

I found it to be a fun game, but at the same time it was not very resident evil. I mean at the end of the game i have around 950 kills. In a standard resident evil i doubt you even get close to killing 100 enemies. Most of the time you run and avoid enemies like a little bitch to save ammo. Also the story... it felt like hey this is Leon Kenedy he now works for the president and umbrella went bank rupt. And there is this village with crazy parisites and oh shit its ADA! Umbrella is mentioned maybe 5 times in the whole game. And if you play operation Ada you see Wesker, and they talk about reforming umbrella.

I honestly found it to be fun, but not what I expected, I guess you can't be fighting big bad Umbrella forever, but it felt so different from previous tittles. Also the Codec thing was kinda annoying, specially little fucking napoleon. And the view was super awkward.

Mercaneries is cool, but those fucking chainsaw bitches and metal clawed ravers love to chop off my fucking head.


Game is worth a play, but not quite the expected reisdent evil.

[Eric]

Yeah the gameplay is a real blast, it's nothing like the past Resident Evils. It's also very linear.

[Torgo]

The horrible dialogue wasn't enough to convince you?

I was actually surprised how much RE4 retained the series' feel, despite the lack of zombies,addition of shops, increasingly unbelievable story/characters, etc. The game kept me on a constant state of tension, moreso than any other Resident Evil. I was afraid of quiet areas because I just knew that a horde of villagers could rush in at any moment.

And even though enemies dropped ammo, the enemy/ammo ratio was large enough that you could run out of firepower really quick if you're dealing with wave after wave of villagers. The part where you, Luis, and Ashley are holed up in the cabin comes to mind. That scene was right out of a zombie movie, without the zombies.

[M'k'n'zy]

You could also run out of ammo extremly easily once you got to chapter 5. I remember always being afraid I was gonna run out.

[Blotus]

It's without a doubt the best in the series.

And even though I would have been very pleased with another ammo-lite, zombie-filled, confined to tight corridors RE, I'm very happy about the direction this one took. Although I loved Code Veronica, the gameplay and control was starting to get stale. If you've seen the early videos of RE4, you know its original look was very very similar to RE1 (even took place in a mansion).

After three times through it, I never ran out of ammo. Every other enemy drops shotgun or handgun ammo.

Dialogue and voice-acting is much improved.

Leon's death animations rule.

Krauser vs. Leon = best knife fight ever.

The Mercenaries is much improved over the game in RE3. Only problem with it I have is how many times you have to beat it to get the Handcannon (20 times w/60,000 score).

Variety of weapons is great. The reload animation for the bolt action rifle made me cream my pants.

Boss fights are terrific.

Blah, blah... the series had to evolve. It still retains the feel for me, and even if it didn't, it would still be awesome. Best game of the year so far (only February, I know), and it will probably remain my favorite come the end of the year.

[Anarky]

well did anyone else miss the Umbrella feeling though? or was i the only one?

[Torgo]

Dialogue and voice-acting is much improved.

No.


Salazar: "I've sent my right hand after you"
Leon: "Your right hand comes off?"

Leon (about Ada): "She's like a part of me I can't let go. Let's leave it at that."

well did anyone else miss the Umbrella feeling though? or was i the only one?

Don't worry, I don't think we've seen the last of them. It doesn't really matter though, the storyline's gone wacky since RE0.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

I get the slightest of feelings that the dialogue is now actually sort of self-aware. It's bad man, real bad, but it's not quite master of unlocking bad. It's McBain, ice to see you bad. But either way it remains hilarious.

"Where's everybody going? Bingo?"

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

Also, I fucking LOVE the title announcer. I thought Resident Evil 0's title announcement was great ("Rehhisdent Eevvill... ZEE-ROOOOHHHH!!"), but 4's puts it to shame. The guy sounds like he's going to keel over and die about half-way through saying "four". FOUUURRRWAAGHHHKKK

[Blotus]

Voice acting and dialogue is better. Play the older ones.

And the title credit guy is pretty fuckin funny.

[Eric]

Yes they are without a doubt self-aware of their cheesiness in this game. A little to much, the bingo line comes to mind.

And yes I missed Umbrela. >_<

[Stephen]

I'm mostly in agreement with Lotus. I never expected to love a Resident Evil game solely for its mechanics, but the gameplay here is unquestionably the best the series has ever seen. I love the new item organization, I love the fact that there aren't anymore goddamn ink ribbons, I love the relative abundance of ammo, and I'm grateful that the continue function basically removes the needless frustration of retreading old ground. Only quibble: a quick Metal Gear Solid-style button-press to change weapons without having to access the menu screen would have been nifty.

I consider it a testament to the game's quality that I didn't even really mind the lack of creepy atmosphere and the so-so story, but I'll say just a few words on these topics:

Aside from the awesome part in the village when it's dark and raining, and maybe a few moments in the interior of the island fortress (like the guy who pops out from the oven), Resident Evil 4 doesn't match the level of atmospheric terror in the Gamecube remake of RE 1. That sorta bugged me, but the intensity of some of the battle royales makes up for it. Still, I would have liked to have seen a few more "scripted" scares.

As for the story, there's no question that Resident Evil 4 has the slickest production values, so of course the cutscenes look great, and the voice acting is easily the best yet. Yet for all that, the game's plot is pretty thin, and not a whole lot happens. There's almost no character development or dramatic tension a la Resident Evil 2 (still the best of all the games, story-wise, IMO), just a lot of cool poses and veiled hints and a couple red herrings (what's "The Ritual" all about, anyway?). It's all clearly a setup for Resident Evil 5, but you wish Capcom would resolve a few things now and then instead of putting off whatever happens between Leon/Chris/Claire/Ada/Jill/Barry/Rebecca/Wesker/Sherry/Ashley/ until 2015.

Ah, whatever. I shouldn't ever expect satisfaction from a Resident Evil plot. I'm just going to enjoy playing the damn thing for a change.

[Torgo]

There was slightly more cheese than I would have preferred. The "Codec" conversations and lines like Leon's comment about insects lives not comparing to human lives gave me Metal Gear Solid flashbacks. Another fun-to-play-but-awkward-to-watch series.

[Torgo]

Finished upgrading the Handcannon. RE4 is my bitch.

[Blotus]

I doubt I'll ever get it. 20x60,000 rounds in Mercenaries will take me forever.