I've come to realize that "open world" is a euphemism for "walking and map reading." It's incredible how 15 years into the technology, open world still feels just as vastly empty as it did over a decade ago. Open world game mechanics include "pushing forward on your joystick," "opening the map every two seconds," and "doing virtually nothing for 100 hours of game time."
There is no reason to buy this game. Grab the original. Updated resolutions and graphics might be great for a movie, but they do little to change the quality of a game. There's nothing improved in this version, nothing new worth seeing, and it's a fool's errand to pay full-price for a game you can grab for $20 in a bargain bin.
@mechzahnraziel: If they haven't, it is a good sign it's not a 10/10 game. I've never met a gamer who would turn down a 10/10 game. Those are the games all gamers love.
@probable: I played through the original RE4 before I played through this game. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of it, flaws and all.
I played through this, and after the initial "wow better graphics" wore off, I found some entire chapters of this game to be a grind, some of the classic moments from the original were absolutely mauled and unfulfilling, and I did not have that "enjoyed every single moment of it" feeling. In fact, it felt kind of like a cash grab.
If you want to play through a "10" Resident Evil 4 game, grab the original. Nothing in this game improves on the original, and in fact they destroy a few key moments gamers will remember from that classic. There's nothing essential about playing through an inferior version of your favorite game just because it's "new."
@Pierce_Sparrow: I agree that some games should receive a 10 despite their flaws. This particular game though - this remake - does not have that indescribable quality and excitement that gamers generally feel after getting through an "essential" game.
I enjoyed my replay through of the original Resident Evil 4 much more than grinding through the new areas of the remake. It's just not a 10.
@boodger: In that case, it's an even bigger reviewer error. If 10 means essential, this game is not.
The first game should be re-experienced. But there are parts added to this game that make it less powerful and a few areas that are grinds, not game. The first RE4 was straight through tension and gameplay. They really blundered a few chapters on this one and killed the Regenerator scene so bad I almost quit playing after I saw it.
If you want to experience an essential game, buy the original RE4. It's as close to perfect as you will ever get in its genre, and it's far more necessary than this game. They messed up the flow and gameplay of the original in several key areas, so it's not even the same game.
Unless you just want to experience prettier regenerators, there's nothing essential about the remake.
@j3diknightdave: I would call the first RE4 the most perfect game I've ever played. Right tension. Right guns. Right empowerment. Mainly the right guns.
They added some really tedious things to this game that prevented a 10. The reviewer should have acknowledged that. They blundered the Regenerator scene so bad that I almost quit playing after that.
The point is, if this had been the real original RE4, I might not have bothered finishing it.
The original was a 10. The remake is an 8. I could always tell when something was "new" because it became tedious. They even managed to just completely maul the one defining moment in the game: when the regenerator first came out. Leon blurts out some inane vulgarity, and you can't even hear the music crank up.
They had one job there. And couldn't even let the thing speak for itself. That scene was terrifying. Not the time for a Leon one-liner.
Anyway, it's definitely an 8, but don't go into this expecting RE4. There are new things that will turn it into an 8, not 10.
@espoac: Resident Evil is never supposed to be serious. It's about the gameplay, and let's face it, the guns. But I am a big fan of camp.
One thing I hate about modern games is how seriously they take themselves. That's something old-school games never did. Even when there was something "serious" they managed to throw a corny one-liner in to keep things in perspective. It's all about fun, not groundbreaking experiences.
People love this game for the guns, though, if that makes more sense.
@twelveoucer: I couldn't believe how cheap it looked. Resident Evil 4, you could tell that they gave that game their all. They haven't done anything with all the money they made with that since. How hard would it have been to:
(1) Make it third-person (or at least have an option for it)
(2) Create guns that look like they're from the 2020s instead of Resident Evil 3
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