Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Capcom's Resident Evil 4 was a groundbreaking game in both the survival horror and action genres.Upon initial release, Resident Evil 4 had positive acclaim towards it's innovative gameplay, interesting story, and great level-design.Mainly, the gameplay elements that were much phrased, due to them being new at that time.So, how does Leon's creepy adventure hold up today?
Story- After the events of Resident Evil 2, the Umbrella Corporation is finished.The government have cut all communications with the company, resulting in it's decline.Six years later, protagonist Leon S. Kennedy is tasked with rescuing Ashley Graham, the U.S president's daughter, whom is located in a remote village in Europe.Throughout his journey, Leon will go through many mutated creatures and harmful villagers, as well as meeting an old "friend".
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Resident Evil 4's story is interesting
and has some great plot-twists. |
Gameplay- Resident Evil 4 plays as a third-person shooter while still keeping some of the series' core elements.New additions include an over-the-shoulder aiming when using a weapon and laser sight, which allows for more accurate shots.Unlike it's predecessors, these new elements in gameplay are huge.Not only they add a new depth in gameplay, but have influenced many games to follow, showing how greatly RE4 refined the Resident Evil series.
Other new feature are the inclusion of quick time events, which are mainly incorporated in boss battles.Furthermore, Leon can further interact with his environments.For example, ladders can be knocked down (which is helpful against large hordes of enemies) and jumping out of windows (which has a pretty cool animation).
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RE4's was a step forward, thanks
to it's new gameplay mechanics. |
A major addition to RE4 is the merchant.The merchant appears in many locations throughout the game and will provide health sprays, treasures, weapons, and even upgrade Leon's weapons; all of which are stored in the attache case.The attache case serves as an inventory, where any obtained good and ammunition are stored.However, at first it will have a limited space, requiring you to make the most of the given space.Fortunately, the case can be expanded, allowing for more room.
Making things a bit interesting, there is a shooting mini-game later on, where you must shoot all targets and obtain high score.Your reward however, are bottle caps, which are modeled after the game's characters, and are a fun distraction.
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Leon is probably thinking
about his hair. |
Visuals & Sound- RE4 was one of the best looking game of it's generation, it even holds up well in today's standards.Both of it's artistic and technical styles are great.Environments are filled with detail, especially with effects such as rain, which creates a dynamic atmosphere.Creature designs are fantastic (the creatures themselves are gross, though) and gameplay animations are neat.
The motion-captured cutscenes are fluid, especially the detailed facial expressions.Particle effects such as shooting villagers in the head will cause their head to explode with blood, as well as shooting them from a distance, and most goriest of them all, is when Leon's head gets either eaten by a mutated villager or gets sliced off by a chainsaw.
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| Gory chainsaw fatality! |
Sound design in RE4 is well-done.The voice acting is better than the series' previous installments.The voice actors give a believable and great performance, Leon stands out the most.Other sound effects such as firing a weapon, the villagers growl and scream, and the eerie sound of the mutated creatures just shows how much effort Capcom have put in RE4.Best of all, is the tense soundtrack, which has lots of nice tracks that fits well with the environments.
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The visuals are filled with detail and
the creepy soundtrack adds tension. |
Overall- Resident Evil 4 stands among Capcom's finest titles to date.The major additions in gameplay and survival elements changed the Resident Evil series and it's sad that it's successors fail to reach RE4's ambition.For action and horror fans, Resident Evil 4 is an engaging experience, period.
OUTSTANDING & AMAZING
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