Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

"Resident Evil 4 is a gaming experience you will never forget!"

Resident Evil has become the most popular survival horror franchise of all time, and has become one of Capcom's most signature series. Resident Evil marked an evolution in the history of gaming for one of the most realistic and scariest gaming experiences ever. Resident Evil 4 continues to follow the same format, except this time, Capcom has decided to change the gameplay. Trust me when I say that this is the best thing that could have happened to Resident Evil. Resident Evil 4 on the Wii is an amazing update to an already amazing Gamecube and PS2 game. I admit that I was never a huge Resident Evil fan, but once I played 4, I got hooked and did not want to stop playing. I can officially say I am now into the Resident Evil series.

Resident Evil 4's story centers around Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil 2. Leon is on a top-secret mission to go and rescue the president's daughter Ashley, who has been captured by a group of people known as the Las Plagas. When Leon arrives to the island of the Las Plagas, he starts to discover the horrors of the villagers and wants to unveil the truth behind this mysterious disease. This game has one heck of a story, and it gets more interesting as you keep playing. The game has amazing graphics, easily some of the best the Gamecube has ever seen, and even probably some of the best on the Wii so far. The game's story is told through cinematic cutscenes that are animated very well. Each character has good movements and facial expressions that really help to drive the feeling of the their personalities.

The gameplay for this game, is out of this world! The game is divided into chapters, and there are five in all, each with four subsections. You move Leon with an over-the-shoulder third person view with the joystick on the Wii-remote. The B button is used for the aiming and the A button for firing. You actually have to point the remote at the screen to aim, almost as if you were shooting a gun. You also have to either shake to remote, or hit down on the D-Pad to reload the gun. The controls are solid and really respond well. This only helps to drive the experience of the game even more, because it helps you to feel like your actually in the game and killing enemies revolves around your aiming accuracy. The game is very linear as there is a map that shows you where your next destination is that you can pull up at will. The game has the standard weapons you would come to find in a Resident Evil game; a handgun, shotgun, TMP, Rifle, etc. The game also still contains the series' trademarks with typewriters still being save points and herbs and first aid sprays being healing items. This time, you can also buy healing items and weapons from a traveling merchant, plus you can upgrade your current weapons with more firepower and ammo capacity.

The game also boasts some impressive boss battles that are really intense and fun. Plus, during scenes and boss fights, there will be timed reaction commands that you will have to do in order to dodge attacks. These timed button presses sometimes pop up on the screen so fast and if you are not prepared for them, you will lose and get a game over. Aside from the main story, once you have completed that game there are many extras that become unlocked. The Wii version has the mercenaries and assignment Ada mini-games from the gamecube version, but the Wii version also includes the bonus adventure Separate Ways where you can fully play as Ada and see the story from her point of view. This game is a lot shorter than Leon's story, but you get to see all of the things Ada did and why she did them. Also, there is a bonus trailer for the upcoming Umbrella Chronicles, a movie scene viewer that allows to watch every cutscene in the game, plus the option for you to play the game on the professional difficulty level, as if this game isn't already challenging enough.

To make things plain and simple, Resident Evil 4 is an AWESOME game. The Wii update contains the most content of all three versions and is only $29.99. How can you go wrong? Not only is Resident Evil 4 the best survival horror game, but it is easily one of the best games of all time. You owe it to yourself to play this game if you somehow missed out on it back in 2005 on the Gamecube, or on the PS2. Once you play this game, you will never forget it and will want to go back and play it again. It's just that damn good. Now Capcom, let's not have too long of a wait for Resident Evil 5, as that game seems to be following in 4's footsteps. The excitement is building!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/27/07