Resident Evil 4

A few weeks ago I bought a demo disc
for Resident Evil 4 off of eBay. People who pre-ordered RE4 received
this disc which has about thirty minutes to an hour of gameplay.
Here is my very tiny review based on what I played.

First off,
yes - the game is amazing. Everything from the E3 videos fits in
perfectly, the running, shooting, item collecting, and the killing -
its a breath of fresh air into a dieing series. The game starts off
with you, Leon, being dropped off into a back-water town somewhere in
Europe. Your basic equipment is a handgun and knife

• along with a bottle of first aid spray. Any fan of the RE

series will feel at home right away. The controls are very tight and
responsive. Moving around feels great and shooting villagers is both
fun and challenging. I swear, I got stabbed six times by guys with
pitch forks before I started blowing up some heads.

Yes, the
game is beautiful. The game really pushes the Gamecubes hardware and
shows that the little console is just as powerful as its competition.
Hopefully people will start to recognize the Gamecube as a great
machine for all types of gaming - not just some family-targeted
Nintendo console. The game draws you in with its fantastic visuals,
ambient sound effects, and eerie mood set
by the fog and the odd emptiness of the village. Don't worry though,
you won't be alone for long. The environments are much more rich in
detail now. Say goodbye to the pre-rendered scenes of past resident
evil games and say hello to full 3D environments with great foliage
and construction.

The camera is great, although somewhat slow
at times. Swinging around to shoot someone who is trying to stab you
in the back can sometimes lead to you getting a pitchfork in your
noggin. However this problem may have just been me, and probably
could have been fixed by tweaking some sensitivity
settings. But don't worry - the camera is still solid, it just takes
a bit of getting use to.

Item collecting is somewhat similar
to other RE games, but this time it is a bit more interactive. Items
such as handgun bullets, grenades, herbs and others are sometimes
sealed away behind glass cabinets or inside
of wooden crates which will require you to break the barrier between
you and your spoils. RE4 is also much more interactive this time
around. No longer are you thrown into pre-rendered environments
and forced to track down the sparkling key to open the door with a
carving of a sword embedded into it. Now you need to go into houses,
look around the village, and sometimes even blow away the villagers
themselves to revel a small reward. The action button that you see in
some games is also in play here. When available,
you can use your action button to knock down ladders, push shelves to
block doors, jump out windows for a quick escape or give an enemy a
quick kick to the face when he is invading your personal space. I am
just hitting the tip of the iceberg here
too - since this was a demo I wasn't
treated to the full array of ways that this feature can be used. The AI is great. Enemy's try to
distract you while others sneak up behind you. When spotted by a
villager he will call out to the others, alerting them of your
presence and starting the party. Enemy's will dodge out of the way of
your laser emitted from your pistol and will rush towards you in an
attempt to grab you by the neck or take a nick chunk of flesh from
your body.

Finally, the gameplay, enemy's, and arsenal. The
gameplay was great. Since this was quite a short demo I was only
given the simple move-and-shoot gameplay, but the gameplay wasn't too
linear. Instead of waiting for all of the enemy's
to storm into my field of vision, only to be blown away, I could take
refuge inside of an abandoned house, barricade
the door, and run upstairs only to find that the villagers have other
ways of getting into the house. Lets just say that they aren't quite
ethical nor are they safe. I only got to see a few enemy's.
When I say 'a few', I mean different models. I was only treated to
two enemy's in the demo which were the
normal pick fork, axe, and crop-cutting
bladed villagers. I was also treated to the gimp with a chainsaw
enemy, which will quickly free you from that pesky head of yours with
his fast-powered blade of death.

I still need to explore the demo to
find all of the hidden weapons. While playing for the short time I
did I found a hand-grenade and a shotgun - along with my pistol and
knife that makes four weapons. Although I
am quite sure there are a few more weapons lying dormant inside of
wooden crates, bedrooms, or anywhere else these villagers stash their
stock of man-made mayhem devices. The basic pistol can dispatch
enemy's in a few shots while the shotgun can quickly put the enemy to
rest. The hand-grenade is great for clearing up piles of enemy's and
I didn't have a chance to test out the knife ? although I
will.

Thats it. A tiny review, written by me, about a short
demo for Resident Evil 4. The game is showing a lot of promise and I
will definitely be picking up a copy when
it comes out on the 11th. Until then, twiddle your thumbs and perfect
your aim - you'll need it.

Man, a double post within one post, that takes talent!

Edit: Oof, you got me. :sad:

Fixed, sorry about that :smile: .

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting KungFuSquirrel</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Man, a double post within one post, that takes talent!

</DIV></DIV>

damn, I'd love to have witnessed such skill at work too :heee:
just in case i failed to express myself clearly enough.. i am very glad you have returned vash.. i missed your wit.

My wit should be boxed and sold.

:eek: Sounds great!

I am a BIG fan of the RE series, and I love the games. I never really got into RE: Code Veronica (Or CV X for that matter), but I do like the others (0-3). I can't wait for this to come out now.

As for the movies, well...

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Vash</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>My wit should be boxed and sold.
</DIV></DIV>
my thoughts exactly.

I thought the video of the demo's boss battle looked kinda cool, though I think I prefer BG&E's take on that sort of battle. :wink:

Anyway, I've never been much of an RE fan, but I might have to check this one out...

Sounds promising. The enemies sound too smart though. Dodging the laser
and using chainsaws doesn't sound very zombie like. Will this game come
for the PS2 as well?

I got Resident Evil: Outbreak on Monday. WOOTEH! 5 st@rs for t3h Online play!

note: Wtf happened to "stars"?

Did the online mode work for you? You live in the US, right? They
removed the online mode from the european version :sad: . An online game
without an online mode, that just sucks :sad: .

Sounds promising. The enemies sound too smart though. Dodging the laser
and using chainsaws doesn't sound very zombie like. Will this game come
for the PS2 as well?

I think the whole point is that they're not zombies, just crazy mad
people with chainsaws and various spikey things. And the Ps2 version
was announced pretty recently, though I don't know if it will come out
at the same time as the GC one.

I've been looking forward to this one for a while as like you said, RE games have been slowly decreasing in quality. Last one I bought was Resident Evil Zero and I got killed by a giant scorpion and never touched it again. I find the pace a little too slow and the drip-feeding of bullets annoying.

It worked well for the first two RE games but after that it just detracted from the atmosphere.

I've got to buy myself a set of DK bongos first though, so RE4 might have to wait a month or so :smile:

I recommend
you buy RE4. I agree whole heartedly with you Adam. The RE series was
getting rather repetitive in its later
years and the series was heading towards an imminent death. Although
with RE4 we may see the dawn of a new era in survival horror.

As
for the dodging lasers comment, they don't dodge immediately.
The AI has them either throwing their weapons at you or moving
slow/running toward you. They will dodge out of the way if you have
your laser-pointer on them for a suspend amount of time. And no, they
are not zombies. Not much of the story is known yet, although we do
know that they aren't zombies.

Is there some kind of virus involved in this, like in the previous
games? Perhaps it is another type of virus, that turns them into these,
a little more intelligent, new creatures. If I remember right so far
there's been two different viruses in the series. G- and T-virus.
Something new could always be fun, as long as they don't take a too
large step away from the other games.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting OtZman</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Is there some kind of virus involved in this, like in the previous games? Perhaps it is another type of virus, that turns them into these, a little more intelligent, new creatures. If I remember right so far there's been two different viruses in the series. G- and T-virus. Something new could always be fun, as long as they don't take a too large step away from the other games.
</DIV></DIV>

From what I read in a mag otz, I you play as Leon and you are supposedly infected. And yes Otz, I'm U.S. RE:O player :wink:
Vash, how's the gore factor in RE:4? After Re2, the series got kinda... ESRB safe :biggrin:

Popping heads, leons head getting sliced off, and more. I am sure Capcom didn't intend to tone it down at all, which is good :biggrin: .

G.Ballblue, I have also heard that Leon is supposedly infected. But who knows. I also heard that it wasn't a virus but a (POSSIBLE SPOILER...MAYBE?) curse affecting the villagers.

All will be revealed in time I suppose.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Vash</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>My wit should be boxed and sold.
</DIV></DIV>
I'd buy it.

Same but i too read a whole page about it in a mag and i was going to type it but its loads to type :sad:

The reason its coming to PS2 is because at first it was bought and was only on gamecube but then the deal didnt last forever so they sold it to PS2 as well :biggrin:

Shame though as a lot of people would buy gamecube for it :wink:

I have only seen videos and the gameplay looks good (i saw a pic of some frieks in robes with theose wooden bits on fire in their hands and leon had a rocket launcher in his hand :biggrin: the leader was in the middle

The last guy or leader looks normal except for the slight pirate eye :wink:

wtf i was going to submit a video and host it on www.websamba.com but its been hacked by some chinese guy omg omg OMG

You probably shouldn't type things if you cannot do it legibly and don't have a f**king clue as to what your saying, Habboi.

They are porting Resident Evil 4 to the Playstation 2 because of sales.
No matter how great the Gamecube is there are many more Playstation 2
systems sold, and I don't care how ethical you think Capcom is - money
talks.

<DIV class=quote style="WIDTH: 90%; HEIGHT: 99px">
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting habboi</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
The last guy or leader looks normal except for the slight pirate eye

</DIV></DIV>
They always look normal at first (or they get alot nastier, rather).

Umm shutup vash i know your dead and all but dont think your a god here :razz:

Anyway i get this off magazines that i can afford unlike you

Yeah, I call myself a god all the time. I am a self-absorbent ass, I am.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Vash</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Yeah, I call myself a god all the time. I am a self-absorbent ass, I am.
</DIV></DIV>
"Vash Depends"
"Vash Huggies"
or just plain
"Vash Talcum Powder"?

in any case, your self drying ability will come in handy when you get a mite older :biggrin:

Now with 50% more absorbency that a Tampax tampon!

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Vash</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Now with 50% more absorbency that a Tampax tampon!
</DIV></DIV>
Vash, the "Slash Stash"

I think the remake on GC and Zero breathed new life into the series.

I hated RE before I played those versions (which are very good).

I've actually looked forward to 4 (Which is odd, but apparently well placed)