Resident Evil 4

Written by Adam Woolcott  on August 17, 2005

First Impressions: The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre!

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Rarely does a game of the year caliber title release in the first few days of a calendar year, but Capcom's Resident Evil 4 did just that on the GameCube when it released this past January. Practically unanimously acclaimed by all, RE4 rescued a stagnant, dying 32-bit franchise by mixing things up and completely redoing the concept of a Resident Evil game. And now, despite long-standing claims to the contrary, RE4 is returning to the platform that gave it life Ц PlayStation, opening up this heralded game to millions more gamers who don't have a GCN in their possession. Though the game certainly takes a bit of a hit in the visuals department Ц an obvious and unavoidable flaw given the age of the PlayStation 2, it will pack the same gameplay excitement, along with plenty of new additions, giving RE4 a more 'director's cut' feel rather than just a straight port with a visual downgrade. In short, if you missed this classic on the Cube, this is your next chance to experience one of the best games of 2005 for yourself.

If you've been living under a large boulder, Resident Evil 4 takes place in a small Spanish village, where US Agent Leon Kennedy (hero of Resident Evil 2 and all around badass) is sent to rescue a very important hostage Ц Ashley Graham, the daughter of the President. Sure, sure, it sounds like something out of a 1980's beat 'em up, but because this is Resident Evil, things are slightly more skewed. Don't expect to find Umbrella and zombies floating around; the game makes sure to tell you that Umbrella has been exposed and destroyed due to their heinous actions over the years. Instead, things get more sinister. When Leon arrives in this small village, he finds out the locals are somewhat...hostile towards him. Not just hostile, but outright attacking him with axes, shovels, chainsaws, molotovs...you name it. It goes beyond that, but it would spoil the bizarre, twisty storyline. Along the way, Leon encouters one familiar face Ц Ada Wong, the on-again-off-again hero/villain of RE2, who plays yet another ambiguous role Ц is she friend or foe? At the very least we know she's hot, as she's gotten quite the sexification in the last 6 years since Resident Evil 2 came out. But that's about all you can know until you dig deeper into the story. Unlike other RE games, there's no intentional attempt at being 'scary' (though I argue none of the RE game have been scary, just full of uneasy atmosphere), instead RE4 is all about intensity. By the time you're done with the game, you'll be fully exhausted at what's gone on in the 20 some odd hours it takes to complete it.

For Resident Evil 4, Capcom has really changed how the game plays Ц the much-needed shot in the arm the dying franchise needed. The much-criticized controls have mostly remained, but instead, they're put behind a new camera and a far more action-oriented pace. The over the shoulder camera allows for more vision of what's in front of you, at the expense of what's behind. But the game is smartly programmed to reduce these instances. There's no item boxes or anything like that, instead you rely on Leon's special briefcase that can be expanded by buying larger ones from the mysterious merchant that pops up from time to time in convenient places, usually near a typewriter savepoint. The merchant plays a large role, as you buy and upgrade Leon's gigantic arsenal through him Ц though some weapons you find lying around, others are purchased with the money taken from dead villagers and selling valuables you find here and there. For the PS2, there's a pair of new weapons known thus far Ц a Plagas Laser Removal weapon that does exaclty what it's named, and a chainsaw to get some revenge on the chainsaw toting enemies, also known as one hit killers.

The new weapons are one of a few new additions to the PS2 version Ц there likely will be an Easy mode for those who found the somewhat challenging Normal mode too much, and apparently Ada has a larger presence thanks to added cutscenes. Otherwise you're going to get the exact same game the Cube got; so expect not so much a game of scares (or mere attempted scares), but instead constant intensity with enemies flowing towards you at all times. You grow to appreciate the quiet moments, until of course, something even more sinister comes along, like those damn Regenerators (who obviously took a page from Xenosaga's Albedo). Longer and more difficult than most past RE games, Resident Evil 4 is not the RE you've come to expect, and because of this completely redefined its genre and saved itself from being one of those old franchises that died off because of Capcom's infamous milking. Other than the graphics hit, and though it's actually looking a lot better than most of us expected, it never will touch the beauty and artistic merit of the Cube version. But this is not a game to stop and gaze at, not with enemies from all corners looking to send Leon packing... permanently.