I have been playing games for a very long time. I have played games from just about every genre and from just about every developer. Every great once in awhile I come across a game that truly earns the title of an instant classic; Resident Evil 4 is one of those rare instant classics.
If you are a fan of the Resident Evil series you already know that although each game stands independently of itself, that they are all interlinked together. Resident Evil 4 reunites the player with Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil 2. Leon is now a federal agent and is charged with finding The President's missing daughter. Resident Evil 4 places Leon in a random country in Europe that is as creepy as it is desolate. With my policy of not ruining the story I will just let you know that everyone can expect the same creepy monsters and familiar twists in the plot.
The biggest and most important change you will notice (assuming you have played a Resident Evil game before) is the different camera angle. Resident Evil 4 has done away with the fixed camera angles that would inevitable lead to attacks from unseen enemies and deaths due to poor visibility. Leon works his way thorough Resident Evil 4 with the camera in tow over his right shoulder. I must say that the over the shoulder gameplay does wonders for the Resident Evil franchise. The next thing I really noticed about Resident Evil 4 was the improvements to the enemy AI. Gone are the days of slow crawling zombies; they have been replaced with more mobile enemies that will not only run but also attempt to dodge your shots. When I collected my first item and added it to my inventory I realized that I had something special sitting in my Game Cube. When I first accessed the inventory screen I realized that Leon came equipped with his very own suitcase which acts as the games inventory system. No longer would I have to spend countless hours running back and forth between objectives and inventory chests that were scattered throughout the previous Resident Evil games. Although the inventory is still limited you can now carry as many items as you can mange to stuff into the suitcase. Even better you can even purchase larger suitcases to carry more items; and yes I did say purchase. As much as I liked opening a locker and finding a shotgun, Resident Evil 4 has almost completely done away with discovering weapons and now instead features a merchant that you may buy items from and sell items to. Being able to buy and also upgrade weapons at your leisure adds a little bit more strategy to the game. Instead of randomly finding the Desert Eagle covered in blood sitting on a keyboard I can now choose to purchase it or not purchase it. Although there are plenty of changes to the series some of the old great features remain. Resident Evil 4 is accompanied with some of the best boss fights in the series. Not only are the boss fights some of the best in the series but you can also use your environments and different button combos (similar to God of War) in order to assist you.
This is typically where I start to rant about how the game falls short, where the flaws are or any personal issues I have with it. I usually enjoy venting my frustrations but this time I take great joy in saying that there is nothing about this game that I can complain about. Since Capcom has improved upon everything that used to hold the series back, I can honestly say that I don't have one single complaint about this game.
I can confidently say that Resident Evil 4 is in my top 5 games of all time. It's not rare for a series to go through significant changes to the format; however it is rare for them to succeed the way in which Capcom has with Resident Evil 4. If you are a fan of video games regardless of what genre you enjoy you absolutely must try Resident Evil 4.
Discover 10 timeless video games from the past that remain absolutely playable today. From Chrono Trigger to DOOM, these classics have aged like fine wine!
Hot damn that's a good list. The only one i never played is AOE2 and i never finshed Chrono Trigger but it was damn good.
Speaking of what's old but holds up amazingly well and plays like a dream.. i played Symphony of the Night for the first time in 2019.. yep that's right. It became one of my favourite games of all time that i replay almost every year. I couldn't believe how good it was. That is almost impossible for me with newer games let alone older ones. Truly a special gem.
The only one I’d disagree with is doom. It shows its age badly I think. After 5 minutes of play these days you put it down.
The classic Resident Evil 4 GameCube release, the title that redfined the hugely popular series, debuted 20 years ago today.
Bought it the day it came out. Probably the most graphically impressive GameCube game.
It looks great but it's also pre-rendered backgrounds in tight, enclosed spaces. From a technical perspective RE4 is more impressive.
I'd say Resident Evil Zero which was canned on the Nintendo 64 and ported to the GameCube.
I still give it up to Factor 5 with Rogue Squadron 2 and 3. Those games look amazing still today. They squeezed a lot out of that box.
RE4 was no slouch either though.
I think I'd give it to Metroid Prime and Echoes. 60fps with all those particle effects, and Samus' reflections.
The Remaster on Switch and Trilogy version on Wii are actually missing certain graphical effects.
The most influential game of all time. Along with the movie Aliens, it has shaped the industry.
Capcom, the developers of The Resident Evil 4 Remake, has confirmed an excellent remake of Resident Evil 4 will be made available for iPhone 15 Pro, iPad, and Mac on December 20. In addition, all three platforms will support Universal Purchase and cross-progression.
I hate touch screen controls. My kids are masters at it because they use iPads at school and home but even they like to use a controller when playing games at home.
I say 9.8, best game of last gen (w/ SOTC). Definitly the best GC game. If you own a GC and don`t have this game, you should be kicked in the crotch.
Nice review and yes this game is near perfection and is a top of the list game on the GC. lol Dora yes they should be kicked there ;)
So many changes for the better to be unnoticed and even the Wii version is a rocking good time.