My full Review on RE4 main game, this does not include my experience with bonus content as I am not done yet.
I must say when I got Resident Evil 4 into my computer and tried playing for the first time the controls just blew me away. This game's biggest flaw is that it is a port directly from the XBOX 360 which hits PC users big time. If you plan to buy this game, plan on spitting out $30 - $90 on a good controller as that is the only sane way to play the game. A good 360 port controller should do the best in the game but I played on a classic D-Pad with SNES type button design and two L's and R's. Note though, that is the bare minimal controller I would play this game with though.
Controls aside, the game places you into the role of Leon, and you have to locate and return the president's daughter. Sounds pretty easy and it looks easy enough in the beginning, until you comes to a mans door to find out some information and are attacked. Suddenly your drivers are killed and the most Zombie-like Non-Zombies, start to pop out of no where as you start to fight your way to find Ashley.
They use a great engine with a rarely used, over-the-shoulder camera, which is usually in the perfect place at the perfect time. You do have to use a cross-hair aiming interface for shooting, which might kill some PC regs until they get used to it. The physics aren't the best, as you can see some just plain silly animations where an enemy will fly out, hit a wall and still go face up on the ground. The game does use the same technology as all the Die Hard games with, "Hit L1 and R1 not" or "Hit B1 to climb" which, not to spoil it has a nice demonstration of how to use that technology with live render and FMV's.
A lot of people have wondered if it is scary and I must say that it is for the first hour. After that, you may have a few places where you are surprised which does happen in the game A LOT. The learning curve on this game was about 2 hours as it took a long time to set up my game pad and figure out exactly how to do what since there is no learning system or first time players guide, in game. The information is in the "manual" but who reads that crap?
Visually it is about a year behind its time but the interactive FMV's pick up on the visuals. At times you really do feel like you are part of a horror movie. The game is extremely fast paced, only took me 15 hours to beat which for a console port, is about right. Now for the story aspect of my rating. I almost never give 10's unless the story is just totally in depth and kicks ass and I have to say this game has done exactly that! Whether you are a long time fan or a newbie just getting into the series, it will let you in with hints of the series history. It actually messes with your emotions with characters you have met earlier or with characters you may have known for 5 mins in the game. It will make you happy at one minute and pissed the next that your best friend died. (That line is not cannon) Also, when you get to play with a second person, you must keep that person safe at all times and must realize that they are not as fit as you and may have to be caught from a drop you just made or will have you piggy back ride your shoulders to get over a ledge.
The game itself is a lot like other action horrors, where you just go and kick undead ass, or at least what is left of their ass. But it does also have a nice variety of puzzles whether it is trying to line lights up in a certain way, or to set a dial in the order of family members dead in a graveyard. It seems that they found the perfect balance and of course the glorious boss battles are held with multiple ways to win, where you might want to use brute force to beat the baddie to a bloody pulp or figure out how to make a piece of machinery do it for you.
The game is very linear and most puzzles are fixed with only one solution. There are a few places in the game that you can choose one path over another and fight different baddies but mostly are the exact same thing in the end. Overall I would be interested to play the game once more but after that I would definitely not look at it for at least a year. Do I think they should port the next game to PC?
Absolutely, and I personally wouldn't change a thing to it, I liked the control scheme, with a game pad and the story was just amazing. The graphics need to catch up big time but other than that it is one Amazing Game.
Overall Score: 9.1 David M.