RESIDENT EVIL 4
REVIEW
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If I remember well, I was attending a coding party back in 1997 when I first
spotted that game of a new gender called "survival horror" : it was Resident
Evil. That game proved very fun... and spooky too ! Soon after came resident
evil 2 where you could play the whole game twice with different characters and
storyline, Resident Evil Nemesis in which some dark warrior was chasing you
without you knowing why... We had to wait for the Dreamcast to bring Code
Veronica which was the 1st episode using real 3D environment as well as a very
long and breath catching experience.
Then... Almost nothing... For a very long time... CAPCOM shamlessly ported all
early episodes to next gen consoles and even tho Rebirth was looking a hundred
times better than the very first episode, it didn't bring anything new... The
same goes to Outbreak and Resident Evil 0 which proved quite funny but far too
easy and not bringing any more new ideas...
Was it the end of a saga ?
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For almost a decade, Resident Evil has shared both followers and opponents :
the controls were not so accurate, storyline was about the same and loading
times were still too present, you know what I mean, let's call it the "door
syndrom" :) Not to forget that everyone isn't fond of zombies.
Then we heard about Resident Evil 4 to be exclusive to Nintendo Gamecube : I
have to confess I mainly bought NGC for three games : Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX
and... Resident Evil 4 of course. Some promotion DVD showed enough to make all
gamers drool for months, erm better say years :)
We saw a lot of snapshots, read a lot of rumours until we heard about the game
totally changing direction : erase and rewind ! Forget about the mansion, the
living dead or that foggy creature assaulting you with a butcher hook.
Here, in Europe, we had to wait till March 18th before the game was released
but all US/Japanese reviews I read were so enthusiastic that I was VERY eager
and counted days until that D-Day.
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D-Day : a new nightmare begins...
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Your are Leon S. Kennedy, rookie cop hero of Resident Evil 2, now working for
some US secret service and looking for US president's kidnapped daughter
somewhere in Europe... Gotta say that I wonder where they found that idea of a
land looking like Dracula's dark territory but... with people speaking Spanish.
Forget about UMBRELLA, forget about zombies, you're here on a "regular" secret
mission in a remote land.
What's new then ?
> REAL 3D environment truly allows you to go here and there
> no more crates to put extra weapons and bonuses into
> free shooting now brings a lot more fun
> upgrade your weapons and/or buy new weapons from the merchant
> more than 20 hours of intense and original gaming experience and no boring
endless CGIs to bore you to death
> a lot of new and cool ideas you'll find about later in the game :)
What could have been better ?
> The game isn't really hard but there's a "professional" level unlocked once
you've finished the game :)
> I wish I could use strafe when targeting nasties...
> Erm really nothing more than that !
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A man in action
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The first thing you will notice when playing the game is the beauty of the
environment and characters too. To make sure the game suffers from no slowdown
the game window has been a bit reduced adding black borders up and down the
screen even in 60Hz mode but it won't be noticed when you try to escape from a
very large bunch of crazies.
It all starts very fast and soon enough you get "trapped" into a weird village
surrounded by even weirder dwellers who seem to like human flesh. No zombies,
just VERY odd people (the kind who sleep with their sisters and daughters :)
You'll learn to shoot where it hurts be it the head or legs and it proves very
funny to get the bastards on their knees before you finish them with a lethal
kick in da face !
Unlike other episodes you cannot reload your weapons from the inventory, hence
bringing more tension, you'd better have a look at your ammo before shooting
or else you may have to face a very bad situation.
The game also includes a lot of bonuses, like treasures hidden here and there
as well as shooting rooms in which your skills will allow to unlock goodies
such as small representations of the characters met in the game. It's totally
useless but is a very nice collection (tho I never managed to get the fourth
row of characters :(
Bosses must be the biggest and ugliest (understand most beautiful) I have seen
in a video game : El Gigante, big as a golem will scare the shit out of you
and you'd better get your boots ready for a tough "fishing" session :) All
characters are very detailed and move very naturally tho I have to confess
collisions tests are far from accurate as you'll often see an arm going thru a
door... But it doesn't spoil the fun.
Hey mista don't hurt me, I'm not a hobbit !
Compared to earlier episodes, you will be so happy to read that it's over with
twisted puzzles you couldn't solve : nor more piano lessons or statue moving,
puzzles are only here to entertain you, not slow you down and get on your
nerves.
In a way this game is easier than other episodes but a -LOT- spookier since
you will feel surrounded by a dozen ennemies more than once ! Sometimes you
don't even need to shoot them as some sequences require to press buttons to
change your destiny. This "Quick Time Event" - as Shenmue lovers already know
of - brings a nice touch of diversity to the whole game.
Going thru the whole game is not only very stressing but also full of tasty
surprises but I don't want to spoil the whole fun :)
The loooooooove boat !
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Extras
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Once you go thru the whole story, you'll happily find out that it's far from
over as quite a lot of goodies are expecting you such as :
Assignment Ada : a full mission with a character you have spotted here and
there in the main game. Tho it won't take you more than an hour, it's still
very enjoyable.
New suits for at least 3 characters including the President daughter who
definitely looks, hmm, tastier now (the girl, NOT the president hey !)
New weapons to be bought from the merchant like the unlimited rocket launcher
that will bring you more confidence when facing the nasties for the second
time. Not to forget an additional difficulty level for hardcore gamers.
Last but not least mini-games called THE MERCENARIES will set you into closed
levels (village, mine, castle and underwordlike scenery) in which you will be
given limited time to shoot as many baddies as possible, surely the most nerve
breaking part of the game !
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Last words
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In my humble opinion this new and fresh episode truly brings tons of new ideas
not only does it look gorgeous but it also gives you more freedom than ever !!
Upgrading weapons takes some time but will bring satisfaction in the end and
the many goodies included allow the game to be played again and again. Maybe
we're just missing a multiplayer mode and extra moves ?
Every Gamecube owner worth of the name HAS to buy this game as this is a new
experience that has almost NOTHING to do with earlier episodes ! I even wonder
why they called it Resident Evil as it shows so few common points with other
sequels. To be honest, I don't even think I'm gonna sell it as I feel it would
be a shame to get rid of such a GREAT game.
Now YOU make up your mind :)
NB : tho this game was planned to be Gamecube exclusive, we know that a PS2
porting is in the pipeline in spite of many rumours reading about the PS2
being too weak to brink the same quality... Anyway this version is only meant
for Xmas 2005, meaning you guys still have to wait a bit longer :)
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STS signing off for Alive 10
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