Resident Evil. The well-reguarded Godfather of modern day survival/horror. A series that was once, at it's peak, possibly the most popular action/adventure game around. In 1996, the very first Resident Evil both stunned and amazed gamers with shocking violence, gorgeous graphics, sound gameplay, and a totally new way of experiencing video games. Then Capcom released Resident Evil 2, in the first quarter of 1998, which took everything people loved about the first, and magnified it, making a blockbuster title that gained a ton of Resident Evil fans in the process. From then on, there weren't any Resident Evil games to quite match the originality presented in 2. Fans began to look at other series, such as Silent Hill, for a quality survival/horror experience. With games such as Dead Aim, and Outbreak, Resident Evil seemed like a thing of the past. Then Capcom announced Resident Evil 4 in the first half of 2004. The game was going to no longer feature zombies, but instead, some type of strange possessed villigers. There was no longer going to be "guess and shoot," but a user-controlled laser sight for shooting. And Leon would be on an entirely new mission, void of the UMBRELLA corp., and he would not be grounded to one central location. Immediatly upon the first released screenshots, the game was huge. Die-hard Resident Evil fans equally amazed and stunned, in just about every faction possible. You are Leon S. Kennedy, former rookie police officer in the small town of Racoon City. After escaping from the zombie-infested Racoon City, he began working for a top secret agency under the United State's Presient's control. Six years after the Racoon City incident, Leon was sent to find the President's missing daughter, Ashley. He was taken to a remote villiage in Europe, in which Leon soon discovered was no ordinary rural area. The villigers were apparently being under mind control, as they only had one motive, to kill Leon Kennedy by any means neccisary. Under slight guidance of notes and letters, Leon begins to make his way around the area, gathering any clues he possibly can. He soon finds more than a few distrubing things going on, and more than enough action to keep you on your toes. With a ridiculous amount of enemies, you must control the laser sight to have any chance of survival. The laser sight is probably my favorite addition, along side the setting, and really helped make the game such a blast. Doing away with the classic fixed camera, you'll be viewing from about 1 foot behind Leon. Some would argue that it is a little too close, and I'd tend to agree with them, but I couldn't plea that it detracts from the core model. Even with positive changes, sheer playability is the biggest factor of why RE4 is so great. It doesn't matter what is going on, you always have to stay alert if you don't want to be killed. Every boss fight was different, and there was just about always a variable to keep the battles fresh and intuitive. In light of the all the possessed shooting, the game will also throw some surprizes at you, which really brings the gameplay over-the-top. With such a wide (or narrow) terrain, multiple weapons (and uses), you'll have more than enough factors to keep each action sequence engaging. I wish word could describe how immaculate the overall spectrum of action and adventure really is, but I'd only be kidding myself. Resident Evil 4 is the epitimy of what all action/adventure games could and should be, in this generation of console gaming. Even with such fantastic gameplay, you're probably still curious as to why the game has recieved such an superb score. I shall present to you, graphics and sound. You can almost smell the dark aura coming out of your Nintendo GameCube. The characters are beatiful, you can see that quite easily. What you may not be aware of, is just how well the colors match the setting and overall feel surrendered throughout the whole experience. Unfortionatly, some background textures lack refinement, and end up looking bland. In spite of this, almost every detail appears just as it should: pure melancholy fiction, depicted of dim, glum, gloomy surroundings and villians. This couldn't be assisted any better by an obsurce, mellow, and flowing soundtrack. You probably won't even notice the music is there, and that is a wonderful testiment to how smoothly the tones fit into the conscious space of your visual perception. The sound effects are also a plus, although they are not quite as well done as the musical soundtrack, hearing possessed bodies' mururs, knife stabs, and heads being blown off all help bring you into the world of Resident Evil 4. Throughout the whole game, you'll find yourself quite eager to see what's up ahead, and I will personally guarentee you won't be let down. Both the story, and the different elements of gameplay, combined with erie-tactular graphics and spook-arrific sound, make the entire experience for video game joy to near perfection. The fine creators of this modern-marvel of survival/horror also added some fine easter eggs to enjoy upon completion, which is a nice bedtime snack after such a long binge. I will go out on a limb to say that you couldn't ask for more. Resident Evil 4 is one of Leon Kennedy's worst nightmares, and one of any action/adventure fans' most memorable dreams.
The Resident Evil franchise has always been hailed and criticized by fans and critics alike. Ever since their debut on the Playstation almost 10 years ago, the Resident Evil games have always sported amazing visuals and ... Read Full Review
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