Absolutly an Amazing Game

User Rating: 10 | BioHazard 4: Wii Edition WII
Resident Evil 4 is generally hailed as one of the best action games ever made--for a reason. Once you pick it up and start playing, you won't want to stop. And its release on the Wii is undoubtedly the best version yet.

For those of you who have never played it before, the game centers around Leon Kennedy, on a mission to rescue the President's daughter, Ashley Graham. But with inhuman creature after creature flung at him, it quickly becomes obvious that these aren't any ordinary kidnappers he's dealing with. It's more or less a side story to the main Resident Evil plotline, so even if you've never played an RE game before in your life, don't worry--you won't get confused.

The game is amazingly fun to play. It does have a couple of "make you jump" moments, but for the most part, it's not really a scary game. It is very gory, however--Leon can die in any number of memorable and horrendous ways, such as having his head cut off by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. It can also be extremely difficult at times. The game throws near endless enemies at you from the beginning, forcing you to adapt to the controls quickly merely to survive. And believe me, you will die. You will die many times. What little scariness the game does have tends to come from being surrounded and fearing for your survival--although, on Normal difficulty it's not as bad as some other notoriously difficult games (coughDMC3cough).

Now, as for the Wii version. If you've played the game before, this is where you'll want to start paying attention.

The Wii controls work amazingly well, and are very intuitive after a few minutes of playing. To shoot, you simply hold B, aim with the Wiimote, and press A to fire. It works incredibly well and allows for previously unknown speed and precision--having played the Wii version, I doubt I could go back to aiming on a traditional controller. Simply wave the Wiimote, and it automatically attacks the nearest target with your knife. (I was skeptical of the auto-target before playing, but it really does work very well.)

Of course, the drawback to the controls themselves being easier to use is that the game itself is also a bit easier as a result, particularly if you've played it before. It's also a bit annoying that when using your rifle--the time at which you really NEED precise aiming--the game makes you aim using the joystick. But, these are merely minor nitpicks in what is otherwise an amazing game.

The Wii version has both the extra content that was included in the PS2 version, and the superior graphics and sound of the Gamecube version. So, if you've never played the game before, this is definitely the version to get. And even if you have played it before, at only $30, it might just be worth picking up again.