My Resident Evil 4 Review

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Game: Resident Evil 4System: GamecubeRelease Date: 01/11/2005Players: 1Rated: MPublisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomGenre: Survival Horror/ActionResident Evil 4 can best be described as an enema the constipated RE series was in dire need of. The ever-despised, dodgy camera system, teeth-grindingly frustrating controls, painfully predictable enemies and the occasional lackluster voice overs had the franchise swamped and seemingly dead in the water.January 11th, 2005, the botheration of these cop-outs were finally put to rest. Gone were the gut-wrenchingly terrible camera angles, the clumsy controls, boring enemies, and most; if not all of the dreaded voice acting.Meet Resident Evil 4, a total revamp for the series, and a good one at that. You'll play the main campaign as Resident Evil 2's well-groomed, and resourceful Leon Scott Kennedy, in search of the recently abducted Ashley Graham; the United State's President's daughter. Leon's quest begins low-profile, but enters a snowball effect and grows to immense proportions.Along the way, you'll come across many diverse locales and characters who populate them. You'll see it all, from the crazed common folk (Ganados), to the sinister Los Illuminados cult leaders. All the game's characters have well written, and very charismatic personalities.While the controls for Resident Evil 4 aren't really any different from it's predecessors, this is a good thing. The controls work exceptionally well in conjunction with the new over-the shoulder camera system, and are easy to get accustomed to in short time. R readies your equipped weapon, L readies your knife, pressing A while holding L or R will invoke Leon to fire/ use the readied weapon. Pressing B while holding R will cause Leon to reload his weapon he has equipped. The control stick or digital pad functions as your movement, and your aiming. About faces, and quick turning are pulled off with ease, and in general controlling Leon is slick. However, RE4's controls could have been more tweaked and streamlined, adding in the ability of strafing wouldn' t hurt, and you can't aim and move at the same time.To say the least, the graphics in RE4 are nothing short of stupendous. Every bit of the game is eerily beautiful and rendered amazingly well, and adding an extra layer of dread to the theme of the game. Resident Evil 4 is quite possibly one of the best looking games of all time. It's that good. From something as minute as the raindrops splashing against Leon's clothes to the squalid and vile appearance of the chainsaw wielding maniac Dr. Salvador, wondrous graphics are aplenty in Resident Evil 4, and oh boy, can they be repugnant, but at the same time, not over-the-top or unnecessary.Gameplay in this survival horror romp is highly enjoyable as well as incredibly diverse. You will find yourself thrown into a number of different situations; among these are being tugged along in small boat by an overgrown salamander, or barricading, yourself in a cabin and having to fend off an insane amount of crazed Ganados. There are also frequent instances in which you must press a button or combination of buttons in order to perform a task, failing to do so can often result in a tastefully gruesome demise. Capcom has also decided to amp the flow of action by making small movements easily done with the touch of a button, such as climbing ladders, jumping out of windows, jumping down from heights, putting up ladders, etc. Personally, Resident Evil 4 could be the most intense game I've played yet. There are also many times when your escort Ashley throughout various locales, however, almost as soon as you begin to tire of having her follow you around, she ends up getting kidnaped for a good few chapters, giving you some freedom from managing the well being of two people. In summary, gameplay is RE4 is diverse, and always a blast to play.The replay value in Resident Evil is plentiful. Once completing the main game, you can open up a slew of different things to do. Most noteworthy are the two "mini-game" scenarios, Assignment Ada, and The Mercenaries. In Assignment Ada, you take control of the mysterious Ada Wong in her mission to retrieve 5 Las Plagas virus samples from an island stronghold. Here you'll face hordes of enemies, possibly die a lot, and have your patience and skill put to the test. However, after completing this daunting journey, you are granted the ability to purchase the Chicago Typewriter from the Merchant on your next play-through. However, Mercenaries is a different, more insanely non-stop action packed romp that is also very hard and incredibly hard to put down. Your main objective is to destroy, and or kill any creature that be in your way. Kills and treasures earn you points which in turn, are added together and give you a score markup at the end of the game, assuming you survive the tussles. This will form into a grade out of five stars, depending on your score, you may score low or high. Nabbing a four star rating or higher nets you the ability to unlock a new character for play in the mini-game. By using all unlocked characters and getting five star ratings with all them, on every level will reward you with the Hand cannon, a seemingly weak gun you can pick up free of charge. But by upgrading it fully, you can transform it into a high-powered magnum featuring infinite ammo.This is only a section of the goodies to be found. Try going about objectives with different strategies, weapons, and the like. Buy the Matilda, Mine Thrower, or Infinite Rocket Launcher if you fancy doing so.Originality factor for RE4. Quite. How could one possibly label this erratic survival horror venture as uninspired? There's so much originality within the game, Capcom has really out-done themselves this time. Whether you're pitted against a tremendous gigantic experiment, dodging attacks during a cinematic battle in real time, or simply immersing yourself in the bizarre, yet earthly story of Resident Evil 4, there is no such thing as a dull moment in this game.Giving games a number isn't my style, but I personally love Resident Evil 4, through and through. I give it my highest recommendation, and personal choice for Best Game Of 2005.