Resident Evil 4
Nine months later, this Evil’s just as good.
Published: October 25, 2005
It's a little weird to be writing a review for a game that I knew I'd have to eventually cover, if only because I played it nine months ago without really worrying about the graphics or the sound or any of the other crap that sticks in my head as I play stuff. It was just gaming (in this case with a handy girlfriend in tow), pure and simple, with no distractions.
Now, in stark contrast to that, I'm forced to sit through the game, plowing through it all over again, my eyes straining for faults and ears tuned to catch every little audio squelch. The problem is, I'm still not really catching any of that. Sure, the graphics have taken a step down, but in their place has risen a true 16:9 mode, progressive scan and a complete extra segment of the game that adds another good 25% to the storyline and actually shows things from another angle.
Of course, someone's still going to ask if it's worth getting, and if you don't yet own any copy of the game, I'd reply with a simple, "are you retarded?" Even if you own the GameCube version, there's actually enough here to warrant another purchase if you just crave more of the game, though after about 20 or so hours of it, that's probably something left to the hardcore.
Aside from some new weapons (Leon gets a Laser Rifle and Ada's original side-missions now let her use a gunpowder bow gun), alternate costumes for Leon and Ashley, which is admittedly more of a Japanese-friendly extra than for US audiences, and the aforementioned technical goodies all the rest of the stuff's identical to the GameCube version.
It should be mentioned, though, that the extra segment, titled "Separate Ways" is far, far more than just the Mercinaries extras you unlock at the end of the game. This is a complete tangent storyline thread starring Ada, and there are times when it crosses through Leon's progress in the game in incredibly cool ways. It's a bit like the way Back to the Future II revisited scenes from the first movie, but y'know, less DeLorians and stuff.
It's pure awesome, and works perfectly as an unlockable when you beat the game because so many scenes are still fresh in your mind. If Capcom had just slipped it in as another menu entry, it wouldn't have had nearly the same kind of impact, and while it's doubtful they would have, it just makes all the other stuff you unlock all the better.
But I'm getting way, way ahead of myself here. Let me catch everyone else still reading that hasn't played the game up to speed. Leon Kennedy, the very same (though you wouldn't know it by looking at him) cop from Raccoon City and Resident Evil 2 is back, now on assignment by the U.S. government to track down the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley. She was apparently taken somewhere in the remote countryside somewhere in Europe.
This is where Leon spills the whole story of RE2 to anyone new to the series, from the back seat of a couple of local cop car on the way to Ashley's last reported location, and where the game jumps happily right into the action.
Granted, we're revisiting an old character, but quite literally nothing else about the Resident Evil series remains, and this really must be reiterated. There are no zombies, though your enemies may very well be suffering a fate worse than becoming a zombie, which you'll discover shortly after wading through the first couple areas and defaulting the usual headshot antics that worked so well in previous games.
These are people, though clearly affected somehow, they still act like people. They'll bob and weave to avoid your laser sight, charge you at blinding speed, and often refuse to go down without multiple rounds. You can fix this to a certain degree by visiting vendors peppered throughout your journey that will let you trade in all the currency and gems you "borrow" from the locals to buy new weapons and, more importantly upgrade your existing ones.
This adds tinges of a very light role-playing game feel to the game. Mixing yellow herbs with the familiar red and green ones will boost your life meter (or Ashley's when she's with you) just a hair, and the upgrades to your weapons do everything from add more ammo to add a sight or a laser target to guns that don't have them to increase the stopping power of each round. Best of all, you're free to do any of these upgrades as you please.
You do have a finite amount of cash, though, and it's here that just the lightest bit of strategy comes into play. Do you stick with upgrading your weapons all the way, since plenty of ammo's always around for the default pistol (and maxing it out does give you a nice little extra kick), or do you venture into more powerful or higher-output weapons like a rocket launcher or sub-machine gun?
Now, in stark contrast to that, I'm forced to sit through the game, plowing through it all over again, my eyes straining for faults and ears tuned to catch every little audio squelch. The problem is, I'm still not really catching any of that. Sure, the graphics have taken a step down, but in their place has risen a true 16:9 mode, progressive scan and a complete extra segment of the game that adds another good 25% to the storyline and actually shows things from another angle.
Of course, someone's still going to ask if it's worth getting, and if you don't yet own any copy of the game, I'd reply with a simple, "are you retarded?" Even if you own the GameCube version, there's actually enough here to warrant another purchase if you just crave more of the game, though after about 20 or so hours of it, that's probably something left to the hardcore.
Aside from some new weapons (Leon gets a Laser Rifle and Ada's original side-missions now let her use a gunpowder bow gun), alternate costumes for Leon and Ashley, which is admittedly more of a Japanese-friendly extra than for US audiences, and the aforementioned technical goodies all the rest of the stuff's identical to the GameCube version.
It should be mentioned, though, that the extra segment, titled "Separate Ways" is far, far more than just the Mercinaries extras you unlock at the end of the game. This is a complete tangent storyline thread starring Ada, and there are times when it crosses through Leon's progress in the game in incredibly cool ways. It's a bit like the way Back to the Future II revisited scenes from the first movie, but y'know, less DeLorians and stuff.
It's pure awesome, and works perfectly as an unlockable when you beat the game because so many scenes are still fresh in your mind. If Capcom had just slipped it in as another menu entry, it wouldn't have had nearly the same kind of impact, and while it's doubtful they would have, it just makes all the other stuff you unlock all the better.
But I'm getting way, way ahead of myself here. Let me catch everyone else still reading that hasn't played the game up to speed. Leon Kennedy, the very same (though you wouldn't know it by looking at him) cop from Raccoon City and Resident Evil 2 is back, now on assignment by the U.S. government to track down the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley. She was apparently taken somewhere in the remote countryside somewhere in Europe.
This is where Leon spills the whole story of RE2 to anyone new to the series, from the back seat of a couple of local cop car on the way to Ashley's last reported location, and where the game jumps happily right into the action.
Granted, we're revisiting an old character, but quite literally nothing else about the Resident Evil series remains, and this really must be reiterated. There are no zombies, though your enemies may very well be suffering a fate worse than becoming a zombie, which you'll discover shortly after wading through the first couple areas and defaulting the usual headshot antics that worked so well in previous games.
These are people, though clearly affected somehow, they still act like people. They'll bob and weave to avoid your laser sight, charge you at blinding speed, and often refuse to go down without multiple rounds. You can fix this to a certain degree by visiting vendors peppered throughout your journey that will let you trade in all the currency and gems you "borrow" from the locals to buy new weapons and, more importantly upgrade your existing ones.
This adds tinges of a very light role-playing game feel to the game. Mixing yellow herbs with the familiar red and green ones will boost your life meter (or Ashley's when she's with you) just a hair, and the upgrades to your weapons do everything from add more ammo to add a sight or a laser target to guns that don't have them to increase the stopping power of each round. Best of all, you're free to do any of these upgrades as you please.
You do have a finite amount of cash, though, and it's here that just the lightest bit of strategy comes into play. Do you stick with upgrading your weapons all the way, since plenty of ammo's always around for the default pistol (and maxing it out does give you a nice little extra kick), or do you venture into more powerful or higher-output weapons like a rocket launcher or sub-machine gun?
