Gameplay: 10
Sound: 10
Value: 9
Reviewer's Tilt: 10
Overall: 9.9
Players: 1
CAPCOM
Gamecube
Reviewed by Chris
The bad: No true 16:9 support, inventory management may aggravate RE newbs
Verdict: Capcom has nailed it once again. This is the best video game to come out in years.
Wow. What else needs to be said? Not only is Resident Evil 4 the best game to come out in oh so long, it's also the best game on Nintendo's little console. That may not sound like much but remember: This is the console with Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Zelda: The Wind Waker. Capcom's latest entry in this once-aging survival horror series has trumped all previous accomplishments in the series and has truly resurrected it.
Let's begin with the improvements: Ink ribbons? Gone, now you can save as many times as you want to on the game's typewriters scattered throughout the area. What about that strange inventory system? That is gone too; now you can move and rotate items in attache' cases that can be upgraded in size. It should be noted that there are no zombies in this game, ever. Instead, you have very fast, intelligent and deadly villagers infected with a virus that make the past Resident Evil games' enemies look like a joke. You'll encounter creatures that are truly creepy in design�blind prisoners with Wolverine-like claws, a salamander that's larger than a house, pitchfork-wielding psychos and more. To say that Capcom's creatures are creepy would be a pretty big understatement; much of this game is truly the stuff of nightmares.
The story of the game is a complete departure from previous entries in the Resident Evil series. Instead of combating Raccoon City residents who are infected with the evil T-Virus, you find yourself in a village in Spain on a mission to rescue the president's kidnapped daughter. The cast consists of familiar faces. You play as Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil 2; also included is Ada Wong, as well as a few references to Albert Wesker, the antagonist from the original game.
Resident Evil 4 begins with a bang. Right off the bat, Capcom throws you into this village chock full of crazy and very angry citizens. You quickly learn that headshots mean nothing in this game most of the time, right as you shoot a baddie in the face just to see him shake it off and run at you with an ax. You'll discover quickly that the angry Spanish villagers are just fodder compared to the game's later enemies, which are even stronger and more sinister than you can imagine.
The game is played in a third person, over-the-shoulder perspective. Every weapon in the game is aimed manually with laser sights or a scope. This style of gameplay rewards precise shooting with location-based damage. You can shoot an enemy in the face to stun him, and then finish him off with a succeeding roundhouse kick. Shoot a crazy Ganado in the arm to make him drop his weapon, or should he choose to throw an axe at you, you can shoot that right out of the sky. These kinds of actions seem like they would be difficult to pull off, but the game's intuitive controls make such actions a breeze.
Resident Evil 4's gameplay variety is astonishing. There are sequences in the game where you'll be dodging boulders, using a thermal scope to find one particularly terrifying enemy's weak points, or upgrading your weapons for heightened performance thanks to the game's ingenious monetary system. There are even a few shooting galleries in the game ala Perfect Dark. To say that this game has a lot to offer would be a drastic understatement. Simply writing about it in a review doesn't do much justice. I've deliberately left out some details about the game because it wouldn't be fair for me to give away all the juicy stuff. You should go out and experience this content for yourself.