Resident Evil 4

"Whoa! Is this Resident Evil 4!!?"

CAPCOM introduces the latest Resident Evil to date: RESIDENT EVIL 4 for the PlayStation 2

“1998... I'll never forget it. It was the year when these grizzly murders occurred in the Arklay Mountains. Soon after, the news was out to the whole world revealing that it was the fault of a secret viral experiment conducted by the international pharmaceutical enterprise, Umbrella. The virus broke out in a nearby mountain community, Raccoon City. And hit the peaceful little town with a devastating blow crippling its very foundation. Not taking any chances, the President of the United States ordered a contingency plan - to sterilize Raccoon City. With the whole affair gone public, the United States government issued an indefinite suspension of business decree to Umbrella. Soon its stock prices crashed and for all intents and purposes Umbrella was finished.”

“Six years had passed since that horrendous incident...”

The above introduction Leon S. Kennedy gave us is enough to make anyone get the itch to play. The following segments are divided for the intents and purposes of dissecting Resident Evil 4 into itty-bitty tidbits of luscious goodness.

The Graphics: 10/10

Resident Evil 4's graphics are excellent. The characters' features are detailed and very distinct but not over the top. They match perfectly well to the background whether it is daylight or night time. Although the breakable wooden crates and barrels are noticeably ‘highlighted' from the background, it doesn't lessen the great quality of the environment. There are also other breakable things, you can shoot windows a few times and you can see how they are cracked to the point of breaking. Eggs can also be broken by throwing or by shooting it with a gun, it's also detailed by the way the yolk and white pours out. Animals can be killed and rotten foods are really, well---rotten complete with maggots and all. Not to mention the beds, you will be very disgusted by the way it looks.

The map too is quite different this time around as it gives you the precise location of where you will go or what door the key you got goes into. The enemies is also very detailed as well, it shows that they do work on a farm by the way their dress looks and how it is stained. Their menace looks are greatly enhanced by this and gives the effect to the gamer of how creepy they are and how you don't want them to touch you. And that's just the first few chapters, as you move on, more uglies are gonna blockade your way.

The guns and weapons featured in this game are very good-looking, not just on your attache case while examining it, but also the way it looks while Leon is holding or firing it at a villager. Spent shells can be seen on the floor especially if you use a submachine gun on auto-fire. Aside from that the arrows ‘the woman in red' uses is also well made, specifically as it reaches its target. Explosions from red barrels or frag grenades are awesome and the fire on torches or people is---well it burns like an actual flame, and illuminates just like in real life. Items like: F. Aid Sprays, herbs, fish and money are exceptionally detailed also. The sky as well as the weather, like rain, is also wonderful as it drops on the river, you can clearly see the ripples.
Overall, the graphics is quite excellent it certainly satisfied me and many gamers out there, so I gave it a 10/10. Graphi-licious. As for the FMVs, their quite good and you might WANT to watch FMVs while playing Resident Evil 4 because of the ‘hidden' surprise, more on that later…

The Sound: 10/10

The environment sounds like the: crows squawking, rain patter on the river, wind blowing, dog barking/growling, boulder rolling, axe or knife cutting thru flesh, sound of a person moving thru water, grenades thrown on rivers, typewriter noise, door creaks, bodies thrown on the ground, ‘burning sound', engine noise, windows crashing, wooden crates or barrels being shot or knifed, bullets hitting metal or wood, reload sounds, lightning and thunder are but a few things that are can be very distinctly heard in the game which adds flavor to an already hot steaming soup of sounds galore.

The Voice Acting the Seiyuus (voice actors or actresses) provided was well made; they give the characters more of a personality that delve us deeper into how they think, feel or act. Although some may disagree, the ‘girl in the green skirt', actually sounds cute. Leon S. Kennedy on the other hand has a manly, older, toughened voice compared to the past Resident Evil game. The villains are also voiced top-notch, makes you wanna hate them more and motivate you to eliminate them. Aside from this, the villagers in the game also make creepy sounds, the way they speak Spanish as they come closer to you, either pumps you with adrenaline or makes you so excited that you fail to fire Leon's gun at them.

The BGMs take the cake because it's like your already sitting on a stove and you ask for a heater to cool off. Just when you thought you can take a villager or big clawed muscle-heads' on, the music kicks in. It melted my courage the first time, especially while playing in the dark---alone. BGMs add more tension to a tension-filled situation: surrounded and flanked by villagers and your ammo's ticking so close to zero, makes you wanna pee in your pants or cry out for ya Mommie.

Although many are annoyed by the constant: “Leonn! HELPP!!” by a certain someone, it doesn't hurt the ratings of the sound department of this game that is why I gave it a 10/10. Booya!

The Gameplay: 10/10

The new changes, first: Behind The Character Camera Perspective (BTCCP). With many FPS (First Person Shooter) games that let's you only see the characters hand plus weapon and FPV (First Person Viewing) that allows you to shoot as if actually carrying a gun or weapon and scan a wide part of what's in front of the character, CAPCOM ingeniously puts the camera behind the character, which uniquely allows you to target any body part of a specific target (i.e. a villager or a white-faced black robed priests) via red laser from the weapon mount and to ‘see' what's in front of the character (compared to the previous Resident Evil installments). Although it took a little getting used to, the experience was quite unique especially to veteran Resident Evil gamers. It is quite a hassle at first this BTCCP, but it actually brought out the gamer in me, to adapt to certain changes in order to enjoy a truly great game.

Second: The Dodge Buttons and Timed Action Button Press. Guess what, you can't just skip those FMVs anymore especially in Resident Evil 4. CAPCOM once again outdid itself by introducing this ‘surprise' in Resident Evil 4. Extra scenes of explicit violence and gore await to those who don't master the art of dodging via Dodge Buttons or using the very helpful Timed Action Button Press. More tension and excitement are in store for the gamer as certain situations now calls for your immediate initiative to ‘Dodge' or use an ‘Appropriate Action' in critical moments of the story which is more than welcome, so ‘no just watching the cutscenes while reading manga and sipping tea' anymore.

Third: The Merchant. When I first saw him I was like WHOA! Who the hell is this guy!? Seriously though, I was waiting for the Dodge Buttons or Timed Action Button Press to appear. Anyway this is another ingenious idea to introduce the use of currency for a weapon in a Resident Evil game. My only angst though is that you can't buy ammo for your gun. But at least those treasures you picked up are pretty handy if you are low on Pesetas, Strangah!

Aside from these three new changes, there are also a few other things. Like Leon can now climb stairs without pushing the X Button, he can do a 180 Degree turn in the opposite direction by pressing back at the LEFT ANALOG STICK+Circle Button, he can now reload in real time by pressing R1+Square or Circle Button or wield a knife by pressing L1+X Button. By the way the other controls for Resident Evil 4 are as follows: X Button is the action button and if you press R1+X Button you fire your weapon, Circle Button can be combined with the left analog stick to enable Leon to RUN, pressing the START Button opens your attache case and the Triangle Button allows you to view the map.

There you have it the creme of la creme, the chocolate inside the donut, the soft part on the inside of an otherwise chewy outside is why I gave the Gameplay a 10/10. Shazam!

The Story: 10/10

I won't spoil it for you. It would seem that a US Government agent was sent to retrieve someone somewhere in Europe. He got more than he bargained for.

Replayability Factor:

Let's see:
If you finish Normal Mode you will unlock a new mode. After that if you finish the ‘secret' mode, you will get 5 new toys (if your worthy or fulfill some certain requirements), two new extra scenarios and something that let's you watch something. Oh yeah, there are other playas who wanna join the fray, you can see them in the mini-game that you unlock.

Buy or Rent?

If you don't know about Resident Evil, the story and the characters or don't wanna know about them or their story, then rent this game. But if you're an action/horror flick fanatic, Leon die-hard fan or going-gaga-over-a-monster fan then this game is just what your lookin' foh. BUY IT!!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/06, Updated 04/04/06