Developer - Capcom Production Studio 4Publisher - Capcom
Platforms - Gamecube, Wii, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Mobile Phone
Release date - PlayStation 2: NA 25-10-2005, EU 4-11-2005, AUS 11-11-2005, JP 1-12-2005
Genre - Survival Horror/Third Person Shooter
Mode - Single-player
Rating ESRB: M
PEGI: 18+A marvellous game I finished playing some time ago (a week, actually). My thoughts about it are Capcom pulled it out for this game. I never liked Capcom games much; I only liked the second Devil May Cry, and I never saw anything special in MegaMan. I have never played any other game belonging to the Resident Evil series, but people tend to say the other ones are better. According to these opinions, the older games must be perfect, for this one almost was. Resident Evil 4 is one of the best games I have played for PS2 (understand me if I say this too many times about many games, but PS2 has an incredible games collection), and due to this fact, it earned the honour to be reviewed. From here on, my friends, I am reviewing Resident Evil 4, the magnificent.
Leon fighting one of those hordes of Ganados you're sure to battle (and destroy). And behind him, you have a great sight: the CastleThe first thing you see when you start the game is a ''short'' introduction. Unique images as the background, text over it, and the voice of Leon Scott Kennedy, the main character (who many of you may know from RE2). If you read the text along with Leon, you'll get what happened. He's talking about 1998. It was the year when some grisly murders occurred in the Arklay mountains. Soon after that, the news were out, saying it was the fault of a viral experiment conducted by an International Pharmaceutical Enterprise, named Umbrella. Apparently, the virus broke out in a nearby mountain community, Racoon City. This virus hit that 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 Racoon City.
One of the many bosses you'll fight (and probably one of the prettiest)With all the affair gone public, the US government issued an indefinite suspension of business degree to Umbrella. Soon its stock prices crashed, and for all intents and purposes, Umbrella was finished. However, sometime after this happened, an American traitor (who older players surely know) managed to kidnap Ashley, the president's daughter. But, later, they were told that a girl who was extremely looked with her was spotted in Europe. As he was previously related to the incident with Racoon city in RE2, he was sent to the place in which Ashley was seen. And here is where Leon's new adventure starts.
That's why you don't want to get near chainsaw manIn the clip next to the last you watched, Leon is travelling with two Europeans in a small van. Along the way, one of the policeman stops, and ''waters'' the plants nearby, if you know what I mean. In that foggy, freezing atmosphere, he has the correct feeling that he saw some thing moving. Yes, some thing, not some one. He ignores it, and they proceed. After it, they stop, and Leon finds a house. He meets a hostile and aggressive man, and asks him if he has seen Ashley. It turns out the man (as all the other villagers, also called Los Ganados (Spanish for The Cattle (??) ) ) is a maniac murderer, and grabs his hatchet, trying to split Leon into two pieces.With no choice but to end the man's life, Leon hears one other engine, different from the one with he was a few minutes back. All of a sudden, cries are heard and gunshots fly. And then, a crash of two cars, more screams and one other crash. Like the man Leon killed, all the villagers were possessed, and they all have the objective to kill strangers. From here on, you're completely on your own, with hundreds and hundreds of Ganados and other creatures trying to destroy you any way they can.
"Welcome to our Castle, Mister Kennedy..."The places you get yourself in are many, and they're all scaring good. It starts in a small village, filled with the most blood-hungry "people" ever. Actually, the size of the "village" makes me think about it. The village is, in fact, quite a town. You'll find merchants, houses, towers, undergrounds, wells, farms, cemeteries, lakes and churches, even more are to be explored in the immensity RE4 is. After the town, you visit a castle, and what a castle! Apart from hostile, it's a beautiful palace. It's gorgeously decorated, with fountains, suites, dinning rooms; treasures are found all over the game, as well as ammo, herbs and hundreds of enemies. And after this enormous mansion we get to go to an island. It's likely that you'll find yourself fighting a scary enemy inside a refrigerator, or near a garbage disposal area, fighting soldiers with flails and crossbows. RE4 is a new world, and you're off to go for it.
You'll be killed for reckless driving!As well as the places you visit, the locals also differ. From Villagers to Regenerators, going through Militia and Zealots, including bosses (very bad looking, I must say). And they all have their very own characteristics, because the Plague they're infected with always differs. Villagers are common people with common lives, usually farmers, wearing "weapons" like hatchets, pitchforks or knives. At a certain point, their heads turn into a savage monster with knife-like edges that do some nasty damage. Zealots are found in the castle, and they seem to be monks, or something, wearing flails and scythes, and sometimes shields. These homicidal heads' turn into a head-eater creature, that literally munches your head off. Militia are nothing more but soldiers, with helmets, shields, flails, and often, dynamite.Bosses are also abundant; throughout the game you'll find more than ten bosses. All of them with their own horrendous style, vicious attacks and way of losing. Bosses are the most generous things in the game; as well as key items, they also give you large quantities of money, usually above thirty thousand pesetas. I think it's worth the effort.Although the game is not considered a survival horror game (unlike the previous games of the same franchise), some parts gave me a good scare. This happened because of the great graphics put into the game, and because of the even greater soundtrack present all the time. These are, also, two of the reasons why this game received such a comfortable critique from the press. The graphics along the game are simply delightful. Detailed, fluid, sharp... The only graphical downside was the "polishness"; the game has a strange touch, everything looks plain and straight. The greyish accent the developers put are for some a downside too, but for me, they're a great upside, and one of the reasons the graphics look so good. The greyish accent darkens the game, giving it a touch of fear. One other thing that impressed me is the fact that Leon's hair waves in the wind. But something has been bugging me: why does his face keeps static, even though he faces terrible looking enemies? Who knows...
Your beloved man, the merchant, waiting for you to get some money with his always blue torchesThe gameplay addicted me to this game. Seriously. There are many weapons in the game, and to have them all is somewhat challenging. Although the camera gets irritating at times, the battle system compensates it. Every weapon has a laser sight (except the rocket launchers, the mine launchers and the rifles, and these have scopes), and every weapon is upgradeable. The upgrades consist of Firepower, Firing Speed, Reloading Time and Capacity. Gathering money for each level is the greatest challenge in the game. The money is either gotten by selling items (ammo, treasures, herbs, eggs, weapons or weapons' add ons) or by simply gathering them each time an enemy drops it. From enemies you regularly get money. If there isn't money, you'll get nothing. But if there is something that isn't money, then that's ammo. And unless you shoot the atmosphere, you won't be running low on ammo.But none of these things is what I like the most. What I like the most is the merchant. The way he greets you and comments the weapons, it's just fantastic. He also is the key for your survival. Without him, you wouldn't be able to sell treasures, weapons, ammo, etc. But on top of all, you wouldn't be able to buy nor to upgrade your weapons. But, of course, everything has a price, and nothing is cheap for him.
The so called "Bella (Beautiful) Sisters". What exactly is "bella" in them?!Presentation: 10/10 - RE4 presents itself with simple and easily navigated menus, making it easy for the player to find everything. The HUD is extremely simple and functional, as well as the weapons menus, etc.
Graphics: 10/10 - Spectacular. Sincerely. Nothing further to add.
Sound: 10/10 - Even better than the graphics. Unfortunately, the count only goes up to ten.
Gameplay: 9/10 - One of the best aspects in the game. Greatly innovative. However, Leon is a bit move-restricted, and that cost it one point.
Lasting Appeal: 10/10 - You have new weapons, you have the weapons upgrades, you have the treasures to collect, and one of the best games to play again. Want more? Ok, here goes. Besides replaying through the entire game (which is great), you have other games to play, like "Separate Ways", in which you play Ada's role in the game, you have "Ada's Assignement", to play also with Ada and collect the Plaga samples, and plus, you have "The Mercenaries", an arcade minigame in which you can play with Leon, killing Ganados; the more stars, the more characters you unlock to play it again. Have fun.TOTAL SCORE: 49/50 - Do I need to say anything else?
