The story starts off pretty basic. You play the role of Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil 2. In the six years that have passed since Leon escaped the Raccoon City incident and a lot has happened. Umbrella Corporation has folded due to the incident and pressure from the US Government while Leon has since become a member of a special unit assigned to protect the President’s daughter. However, before Leon can start his job, someone kidnaps the President’s daughter, Ashley. Under the direct order of the President, Leon must travel to Europe to a strange village where she had reportedly been seen at, find her, and bring her back safely. Leon arrives in this village and is soon attacked by the local villagers who, while they're not the mutated zombies of Resident Evil fame, are not quite human. As is tradition with Capcom's survival horror series, there are plenty of journals and memo's to read filling in background info, but the main story progresses in a much more cinematic style than before, giving Resident Evil 4 a much epic feel right from the start, something that survival horror games haven't quite achieved in the past.
To put it simply, Resident Evil 4 reinvents the survival horror genre. On just gameplay alone, there is no other survival-horror game today that is deeper, more intense, more polished, or generally more fun to play. In fact, there are few games of any type that can match what Resident Evil 4 is. So what makes RE4 so special? Well, firstly are the improvements made with the controls. While the game uses the same control scheme used by its predecessors as a base, it works far better than before. The reason it for this is due to the change in how the camera works. Instead of having fixed camera angles, which was the cause of many directional problems when moving from screen to screen, the camera is now fixed behind the shoulder of Leon. Now pressing forward on the analog stick will always make you move forward while holding left and right will turn. Holding B will allow for running while a simultaneous press of down + B results in a 180 degree turn which you'll soon learn to fall back on in times of crisis. However, the biggest change to the controls is that of the new manual aiming system. By holding R Leon will draw his weapon and you can then aim it with the control stick much like how the N64 Goldeneye worked, and just as precise. Also, a knife can now be equipped by simply holding L, which is a great addition as it's on hand instantly rather than swapping it in the menus like the past games. Although the game is now presented in a 3rd-person shooter you do not have the ability to strafe. Initially it will feel strange but it soon becomes forgotten. The game simply doesn't need it anyway as the slight restriction of the controls adds to tension but without becoming frustrating. You can peek around corners however by moving the c-stick that helps reduce the need for strafing anyway.
Much of the core gameplay with which Resident Evil is known for is still evident in RE4. The game still remains a continuous journey of combat, survival and puzzle solving at heart, but is now a more linear adventure with a stronger emphasis on action and less on backtracking with items needed to progress further. The puzzles are fewer than before and while there are still a fair few mental-based problems to solve, puzzles tend to have you interacting with your surrounding environment to progress rather than simply finding a certain key that unlocks a certain door. The usual items can be found laying around the world of RE4 like healing herbs and weapon ammo along with treasure. Treasures are a great way to earn yourself money. Combining smaller treasures with the right larger one means you can sell them for higher values to a new feature in the RE series, the Merchant. The Merchant will buy practically anything from you for a price. Money can be spent on a variety of things, most importantly, buying and upgrading weapons. You can buy anything from handguns, shotguns, rifles and even a Rocket Launcher. Not only this, but you can use your money to upgrade current weapons to increase their capacity, firepower, reloading speed, etc. Upgrade them fully and you'll unlock a special 'exclusive' feature for that weapon.
Hey, good lookin'!
Another huge improvement over past Resident Evil games is the inventory management system. Key items are now on a separate screen with unlimited space making things much simpler, inventory space is now much more plentiful, and the storage crates and ink ribbons of the previous titles are thankfully gone. Switching weapons is only a two or three button presses away, and while it might have been nice if Capcom could have included some way to switch weapons on the fly with the d-pad or something, more often than not you find yourself needing to pause it to give you time to decide which weapon would be best for the situation. Also implemented into is the ability to save as many times as you want without the need for an ink ribbon. Many people didn’t like that aspect of the past RE games so this is a much welcome change in my eyes.
But Resident Evil 4's biggest improvement is to the combat. Gone are the slow moving zombies and cramped corridors of the previous games and in its place are wide-open areas with the kind of size and complexity most games can only dream of. Despite the fact the game is more open and the controls are far less restrictive, RE4 manages to attain a high level of tension and suspense never seen before. Instead of fighting dumb enemies that just slowly shuffle towards you, you now have to deal with packs of strong, fast and most importantly, intelligent enemies. The enemy AI is simply fantastic. On spotting you they will communicate with each other to coordinate their attack. Then they'll move towards you, not slowly and singularly, but in groups at pace and if you don't move quickly, it's game over. But it's when you move that you see them at their best. Go into a house and they'll follow you in. No longer does a mere door stop them coming in, they'll smash right through it. It's not just doors either, they'll quite happily prop up a ladder next to a window and climb in that way. You can delay their attacks by moving furniture across windows and doorways, but that's all it does, delay them. Before long that wardrobe you just blocked the door with is reduced to nothing more than a pile of broken wood on the floor. Constantly throughout the game you will find yourself scrambling for a good place to fight enemies from and trying to figure out the best way to approach a battle, RE4's combat is nothing short of pure brilliance.
This of course is just as much to do with the weapons you possess and the actual control you have over them. Each of RE4's weapons has their own benefits and weaknesses. Shotguns are of course ideal for close range combat, pistols offer accuracy at all kinds of distances while Rifles are superb for one hit headshots at distance, especially with a sniper scope equipped. Actual control of the weapons is flawless. Once you take aim with the R trigger you are given complete control, meaning you can aim anywhere and take shots at any part of an enemy’s body. Headshots will obviously kill the quickest, but doing things like shooting enemies legs or shooting weapons from their hands are of just as much importance at times. In fact, by shooting legs you can stun enemies and set them up for one of Leon's close combat moves. When an enemy is stunned you can kick an enemy down or even force them onto their head with a simple tap of the A button, which, along with the use of the knife, is great way of preserving ammo in one-on-one encounters. Leon also has 3 types of grenades he can use, frag, incendiary and flash, each of which has their own unique uses. Another small change to the combat is how reloading weapons now has to be done in game and not via the menus. Because of the new weapon upgrading system, it’s clear why the option to manually reload via the menu was taken out because there would be no point in spending your money on improving your reload time if you could simply just press start and select reload.
Escorting is another first for Resident Evil and was something I was personally skeptical about considering how few games have managed to pull it off, even the superb Ico had the odd frustrating moment when Yorda wouldn't follow you. RE4 again pulls this off magnificently. Once you find Ashley she will take cover behind you, duck if you take aim, or be able to find her way to you if she falls behind. You can leave her anywhere by pressing X. When you call her again with the same button she'll be behind you within seconds. Never does she block your way or stand in the way of your fire. While I'd estimate you only have to escort her for less than a quarter of the game, RE4 makes the sections where you are guarding her actually enjoyable rather than the hassle they could quite have easily have been.
Resident Evil 4 also boasts some Shenmue-like 'QTE' (Quick Timer Event) cut scenes. Rather than just sitting there watching cut scene events unfold on screen, Capcom have added interactivity to a lot of them. For a simple example, there is a cut scene, which sees Leon having to make a large jump across a large gap. Instead of just watching Leon jump the gap and attempt to pull himself up without falling, you're asked to press A as fast as you can to 'pull' Leon up yourself. Succeed and you'll continue seamlessly into the game, fail and you fall to your death. Without spoiling things, these interactive cut scenes are extended further later on into actual combat. This greatly expands interest in the cut scenes and keeps you focused on the gameplay even as the story is unfolding. While it wouldn't really work in something like Metal Gear Solid where you’d be sitting through lengthy cinematics, it works brilliantly here.
Just don't make them angry, ok?
All this praise and I've yet to even mention the biggest, most impressive and eternally memorable part of Resident Evil 4, the Bosses. From start to finish their designs consistently amaze. And I don't mean just in a visual sense, it's the actual combat you have with them that really makes them so unforgettable. Most of them are huge leaving you little space to run and hide, combined with their brutal attacks, some of which can kill in a single blow, mean you're constantly having to perform well times dodging actions with the A & B buttons/L & R triggers which offers a great deal of reward when you pull them off successfully. Defeating them is not just a simple case of shooting them until they die. Many have multiple changing weak points, combine the use of surrounding equipment/environments and even use some 'QTE' cut scenes. Many games have their classic boss fights, but there are few that can match what Resident Evil 4 has in either quality or quantity.
Resident Evil 4's has as much lifespan as you could wish for in a single player game of this type. The main game genuinely takes around 20hours on the first play through, around the same length as similar adventure-themed games such as Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes which I feel is a perfect length. On completion you'll get a rundown on how many saves you have done, how long it took you to complete the game, shot accuracy, etc. The default difficulty is remarkably well judged. Rarely is the game easy, but rarely is it too hard either. I think I clocked in over 50 deaths on my final stats page but dying isn't a frustration thanks to the superb invisible checkpoint system that somehow manages to put you back far enough that dying feels like a penalty, but not too far that it becomes annoying replaying certain areas over and over. There's enough ammo and health to survive, but not too much that you can afford to waste them.
On completion of the main game you'll unlock the "Professional" difficulty, which truly is hard with enemies hurting more, taking more damage and being even smarter. If that wasn't enough there are also an impressive amount of Extras packed into RE4. Along with the 4 shooting galleries hidden within the game that unlock many RE4-themed bottle caps, and some excellent unlockable weapons like infinite rocket launchers and super powerful machine guns, completing the game unlocks 2 extra modes. The first, which I won't spoil for you, offers players a chance to relieve the final few parts of the game from a different characters perspective. It's nothing much different but interesting to play through all the same as it fills in a few gaps in the story. However, the second mode, 'Mercenaries', could have been a game in itself. Basically, you're dropped into one of four levels with just a few guns and items. You then have to basically kill as many enemies as you can before the time runs out. The timer can be extended by picking up hour glass timers giving you more time to score points, but also longer to try and stay alive. Be warned - you die and you don't get a score. Combo's are achieved by killing enemies in quick succession and are the key to the high scores. There are new enemies to fight and new characters to control in 'Mercenaries', but my lips are sealed on those.
As anyone with working eyes can see, Resident Evil 4 is graphically stunning. Character models are incredibly smooth with detailed facial features. Enemy design is never anything less than competent. The standard earlier enemies are all satisfyingly threatening, while some of the boss designs are simply outstanding. The environments are simply huge. One scene involves riding a cable cart and you can see way out into the mountains and spot villagers from what seems miles away. Simply take out a sniper rifle and you'll be able to shoot them. They're also quite varied, with a handful of distinct settings throughout. The environments bring depth and realism to the game, and rarely reminds you that you are in fact playing ,just that, a game.
There are numerous special effects throughout that impress too. The rain constantly patters off Leon's shoulders and can be seen slamming down hard on the ground. Realistic weather is rarely done well in games. Things like animating the leaves on trees to simulate wind convincingly, heat haze and sun glare, decent rain and water reflection effects - these are all things that are processor-intensive and rarely bothered with. When someone does them, and does them well, you suddenly realize what you've been missing. Fire is common effect to use in videogames, but I've not seen it better replicated than here. It's not just effects that make the game world impressive either. Things like animals populate certain areas of the game, many of which will react to you. The art direction too is consistent, similar to Metroid Prime, helps a great deal in creating a world you can't help but be sucked in to. Cut scenes are also a huge step up from the previous games and even show the likes of Hideo Kojima a trick or two.
Technically, it's not quite perfect. Textures can occasionally be downright ugly sometimes but it's the aspect ratio of the game that prevents me really giving it full marks graphically. Due to Leon standing in the middle of the screen, it's understandable why Capcom wanted to make the game in 16:9 to allow a wider viewing angle. But the game is forced into 16:9 by black borders that present a problem, especially for wide screen owners. Playing the game in your TV's 16:9 mode will result in a squashed picture, whilst zooming off the borders means getting a lower resolution picture. 4:3 TV owners are just stuck with the borders. I can only assume the lack of 16:9 support is due to hardware limitation. The game runs incredibly smoothly, not slowing down once from start to finish, which I imagine is down to the slightly lower resolution allowed by using borders.
*note to self* - do NOT shoot Ashley in the head....
Sound plays a big part in survival horror games and RE4 doesn't fall short here. Be it weather effects such as howling winds and thrashing rain or the sound of enemies shouting down large echoing halls, RE4 always provides a fitting atmospheric background ambience, made all the better with fantastic Dolby Pro Logic II support. The soundtrack is equally appropriate with tunes lending themselves to past RE games and even the odd track sounding rather like Silent Hill in places. The sound also plays a part in the actual gameplay as you never quite know when an area's clear. When you can kill all the enemies the insane scary music will stop - but that's only when all the enemies who have seen you are dead, so you're always kept on your toes. Voice acting is pretty solid. It's not as convincing as say Metal Gear Solid 3 or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but the script is decent and overall it's by far the best I've ever seen from Capcom. Metal Gear Solid style codec cut scenes are also used, but they mainly just to bring you up to speed with story and are relatively short and snappy, so no emotional rambles like the aforementioned game.
No game is without its faults and Resident Evil 4 isn't about the change that, despite how minor they are. My first complaint is about the lack of some kind of quick select weapon system that could have been in place on the d-pad. Like I mentioned earlier, although more often than not you find yourself needing to pause it to give you time to decide which weapon would be best for the situation, it would have been nice to put something like grenades on the d-pad for easy access. The lack of big scares is something that die hard Resident Evil fans may miss. RE4 is much more geared towards feelings of panic and despair rather than fear. That's not to say it doesn't have its fair share of scares, just not many 'jump out of your seat' moments as the older titles had. My last complaint is somewhat trivial, but it regards the Merchants, or more precisely the way in which they exist. In a world that does such an amazing job of immersion it does feel somewhat out of place to find many of them sitting in the middle of nowhere selling weapons. But hey, it's a game, not everything has to make sense and the Merchant adds far more to the game than it could ever take away from it.
Capcom have done an amazing, absolutely admirable job in making a Resident Evil that has the potential to appeal to so many different people. Many people, myself included, who got tired of RE’s tiring formula, and even those who have never shown interest in the series, can thoroughly enjoy what RE4 offers. To the relief of fans, there is no doubting it feels like Resident Evil. From the classic herb mixing, to Leon’s past, to tiny little things like the font of the text or the sounds within the menu, they all make this feel like Resident Evil. But there are also the little things that have been neglected in previous games, and many games in general to be honest. Firstly it tries to erase unnecessary frustration at every possible opportunity. Being able to equip the Knife with ease is a good example, then there are the regular mini checkpoints that prevent tedious backtracking through an area. Save points don’t require ink ribbons further relieve frustration, while the menu interface is simple and easy to navigate. Also if you go into your menu screen you can check out your last 'codec' conversation so if you happened to be coming back to the game from long time away from it you can quickly get up to speed with what's happening and with the addition of a red marker on map showing your next destination, where you need to go next. It just feels like a quality title throughout.
Here is a game that not only lived up to the hype, but also far surpassed anyone’s expectations. Resident Evil 4 is a game that completely revitalized a series that was getting stale, creating an unforgettable experience and is, by far, the best game in the series. The best way to get enjoyment from Resident Evil 4 is to treat it as a heavily atmospheric adventure game. It's not scary the same way Capcom's previous games were in relying on jump-tactics, but the experience is much the better for it. Resident Evil has superb controls, a satisfyingly deep combat system, jaw dropping boss fights and a perfectly judged difficulty. It's both visually and aurally stunning, is over 20 hrs long and is packed with extras (including the sublime Mercenaries) and has some of the most fantastic pacing which is forever keeping the player busy from one location to the next. The game somehow knows just when you're beginning to tire of a certain section as within minutes it progresses somewhere else with yet another amazing set piece after amazing set piece.
Turn off the lights, switch on the surround sound and prepare for an experience that won't be matched again for a long time. Game of the year? Well it's too early to call that, E3 is only weeks away now and 2005 still has a lot to bring, but it's certainly the best game so far this generation.
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