Resident Evil 4 is pretty much as good as gaming gets. It is the pinnacle of action-horror. It was an absolute revolution for 3rd person shooters, action games and gaming in general.
The gameplay is near perfect. The controls are excellent because the whole game is designed around them. The over the shoulder camera keeps the action at the perfect distance. The weapons using laser sights and having so much punch to them. Fast, accurate aiming with just enough weapon sway, inaccuracy and enemy threat to keep you on your toes and trying to hit your shots. The way enemies consistently react to getting shot and the incredibly satisfying headshots. Following up with a kick or suplex. The game just constantly rewards you for playing well. Taking on enemies with just a knife whether it's for fun or to save ammo or to slash projectiles out the air. Watching enemies fall off edges after being shot. Pushing the ladders while enemies try to climb it. Shooting through doors. kicking doors open to damage enemies on the other side. Getting enemies to group together and throwing an incendiary grenade into them. Leaping out windows. The set pieces and bosses. Crowd control. Repositioning when needed and not knowing exactly what's behind you while doing so. Using the environment to your advantage. Getting your head taken off in one horrific hit. The enemy variety. The weapon variety. They somehow made you not hate escorting another character. The list goes on and on and god damn it's all so good. The pacing is so well done as well with the game constantly throwing cool new things at you but also knowing when to slow things down a bit. The developers didn't even stop after creating a brilliant, lengthy, highly re-playable main story, they went and did more. The Mercenaries mode is really addictive. Then there's Separate Ways and unlockables too.
The story, characters, dialogue and cut scenes are ridiculously entertaining and well directed. It's so goofy and fun. God damn it's all so fun, remember FUN? It's like the only questions asked when making this game were - Is it fun? Is it entertaining? Does it play well? Does it fit in? If yes, then put it in the game. It's like they had no fear of risks and were just totally confident in what they were making, which is surprising if you know the story of this games development. The tone and atmosphere is handled perfectly. Seriously how did they do this? The game can be silly and/or over the top one minute and then have no problem being more serious the next. It also can be genuinely creepy at times, or surreal or bleak. It definitely delivers on the body horror and gore too.
The game looks and sounds top notch as well. It was one of the best looking games available when it came out. The art direction is fantastic. The village is cold, bleak, isolated and hostile with something gruesome around every turn. The castle is surreal, sinister and uncomfortable. It's so opulent and ornate but something is very off about it and there are traps everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the mansion from the RE 1 remake. The Island is grimy, dirty and industrial and does have some great creepy sections but it's visually more generic and forgettable unfortunately. They nailed the character and enemy designs too. The voice acting is exactly what was needed. The enemies sound harsh and scary. The guns hit hard and all the gross noises are spot on. The soundtrack is superb and so are the ambient sounds.
However no game is perfect and Resident Evil 4 is no exception. The worst thing about this game is that it wasn't survival horror and it put an end to Resident Evil being a survival horror franchise as they went down the action-horror path from here on wards. The puzzles are also not the best but I guess really good puzzles would have bogged down this games action focus and pace. The Island is also not as good as the first two locations. I think this is mostly due to the first two areas setting such a high bar, the industrial setting feeling more generic and maybe being a little too action heavy at times. Looking back at the game now I think it did overuse the quick time events as well. As cool and well done as they are it gets a bit much, especially when your on like the 20th play through.
If you have never played it before do yourself a favour and play it now. I highly, highly recommend Resident Evil 4. I still remember buying my collector's edition just after launch, which is still on my shelf, and playing it all day. Then I bought the Wii version and played it to death again. Then the PS3 and then the PS4. I think I am going to be playing this once every five years or so until I die. Some people try to dismiss this game's high praise with statements like "It's just nostalgia" or "You just think old good, new bad." But they are wrong, Resident Evil 4 really is just that good. This is what lightning in a bottle looks like.
9.8/10
Extra notes:
I think it comes across in the review but just to make things clear. This is a general review of Resident Evil 4 and not for any specific release.
Here are a few thoughts on the different versions
The GameCube release is special for me because that was my first experience and the game was built for the GameCube and that controller. I think the GameCube version is harder too; I’m not sure if they messed with the games balance or if it’s just me but the original feels more challenging. I also have the collector’s edition which came with a very cool bonus disc with behind the scenes stuff. But this version misses out on the extras added later and it is on two discs.
The Wii release is my favourite because it’s the same RE4 but with the extra content and Wii controls. Playing with the Wii remote makes an already incredibly fun game even more enjoyable. Aiming feels great and shaking the controller is a nice change from the button pressing QTEs.
The PS3 and PS4 HD releases are the same awesome RE4 and I loved them but I think they should have put more time and attention into them. Capcom could have done a much more thorough remaster.
The gameplay is near perfect. The controls are excellent because the whole game is designed around them. The over the shoulder camera keeps the action at the perfect distance. The weapons using laser sights and having so much punch to them. Fast, accurate aiming with just enough weapon sway, inaccuracy and enemy threat to keep you on your toes and trying to hit your shots. The way enemies consistently react to getting shot and the incredibly satisfying headshots. Following up with a kick or suplex. The game just constantly rewards you for playing well. Taking on enemies with just a knife whether it's for fun or to save ammo or to slash projectiles out the air. Watching enemies fall off edges after being shot. Pushing the ladders while enemies try to climb it. Shooting through doors. kicking doors open to damage enemies on the other side. Getting enemies to group together and throwing an incendiary grenade into them. Leaping out windows. The set pieces and bosses. Crowd control. Repositioning when needed and not knowing exactly what's behind you while doing so. Using the environment to your advantage. Getting your head taken off in one horrific hit. The enemy variety. The weapon variety. They somehow made you not hate escorting another character. The list goes on and on and god damn it's all so good. The pacing is so well done as well with the game constantly throwing cool new things at you but also knowing when to slow things down a bit. The developers didn't even stop after creating a brilliant, lengthy, highly re-playable main story, they went and did more. The Mercenaries mode is really addictive. Then there's Separate Ways and unlockables too.
The story, characters, dialogue and cut scenes are ridiculously entertaining and well directed. It's so goofy and fun. God damn it's all so fun, remember FUN? It's like the only questions asked when making this game were - Is it fun? Is it entertaining? Does it play well? Does it fit in? If yes, then put it in the game. It's like they had no fear of risks and were just totally confident in what they were making, which is surprising if you know the story of this games development. The tone and atmosphere is handled perfectly. Seriously how did they do this? The game can be silly and/or over the top one minute and then have no problem being more serious the next. It also can be genuinely creepy at times, or surreal or bleak. It definitely delivers on the body horror and gore too.
The game looks and sounds top notch as well. It was one of the best looking games available when it came out. The art direction is fantastic. The village is cold, bleak, isolated and hostile with something gruesome around every turn. The castle is surreal, sinister and uncomfortable. It's so opulent and ornate but something is very off about it and there are traps everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the mansion from the RE 1 remake. The Island is grimy, dirty and industrial and does have some great creepy sections but it's visually more generic and forgettable unfortunately. They nailed the character and enemy designs too. The voice acting is exactly what was needed. The enemies sound harsh and scary. The guns hit hard and all the gross noises are spot on. The soundtrack is superb and so are the ambient sounds.
However no game is perfect and Resident Evil 4 is no exception. The worst thing about this game is that it wasn't survival horror and it put an end to Resident Evil being a survival horror franchise as they went down the action-horror path from here on wards. The puzzles are also not the best but I guess really good puzzles would have bogged down this games action focus and pace. The Island is also not as good as the first two locations. I think this is mostly due to the first two areas setting such a high bar, the industrial setting feeling more generic and maybe being a little too action heavy at times. Looking back at the game now I think it did overuse the quick time events as well. As cool and well done as they are it gets a bit much, especially when your on like the 20th play through.
If you have never played it before do yourself a favour and play it now. I highly, highly recommend Resident Evil 4. I still remember buying my collector's edition just after launch, which is still on my shelf, and playing it all day. Then I bought the Wii version and played it to death again. Then the PS3 and then the PS4. I think I am going to be playing this once every five years or so until I die. Some people try to dismiss this game's high praise with statements like "It's just nostalgia" or "You just think old good, new bad." But they are wrong, Resident Evil 4 really is just that good. This is what lightning in a bottle looks like.
9.8/10
Extra notes:
I think it comes across in the review but just to make things clear. This is a general review of Resident Evil 4 and not for any specific release.
Here are a few thoughts on the different versions
The GameCube release is special for me because that was my first experience and the game was built for the GameCube and that controller. I think the GameCube version is harder too; I’m not sure if they messed with the games balance or if it’s just me but the original feels more challenging. I also have the collector’s edition which came with a very cool bonus disc with behind the scenes stuff. But this version misses out on the extras added later and it is on two discs.
The Wii release is my favourite because it’s the same RE4 but with the extra content and Wii controls. Playing with the Wii remote makes an already incredibly fun game even more enjoyable. Aiming feels great and shaking the controller is a nice change from the button pressing QTEs.
The PS3 and PS4 HD releases are the same awesome RE4 and I loved them but I think they should have put more time and attention into them. Capcom could have done a much more thorough remaster.
Nightmare_0mega
2 months ago
Or mess around in Mercenaries.
Or do the ADA side story/side missions.
And I'm the kind of heathen that plays on the PS2! Even have myself the limited edition RE4 chainsaw controller for it (god, that thing's fun).