[gamecube] Resident Evil 4

[.saint]

january 11th 2005! this game hits the shelves...

if you are a resident evil fan check out these clips. its sure to make the wait till the 11th take forever: http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=1099

Capcom has reworked one of their best gaming franchises into what may be the best survival horror title yet!!

taken from the web:
It's really not debatable whether or not the Resident Evil franchise needed a face lift. The pre-rendered backgrounds as well as the controls were all right, but for a series that's almost ten years old, Capcom needed to make some changes, which is exactly what they did. Resident Evil 4 doesn't look like its predecessors because almost everything's different. It's survival horror for the new millennium, and we have hands-on.

The first feature that jumped out at us was the game's gorgeous visuals. While Capcom did marvelous things with pre-rendered backgrounds in Resident Evil 0, it's a welcome sight to see those visuals make the jump into the third dimension, and believe us, they look just as marvelous. Grass, fire, wood and skin textures, as well as shattered glass and particle effects are beautifully realized through the GameCube hardware, and they come together to make the environment Leon's interacting with all the more frightening. The South American village looks more like a stereotypical image of the southern states, but that doesn't mean it's less terrifying. Run-down shacks, dead grass, and random bear traps gave us an uneasy feeling, and we had yet to interact with the town's villagers! Speaking of which, they're far creepier than any zombies (which are supposedly absent in this game) because they carry a human element. Incredibly lifelike, they'll hunt you to their deaths (or to yours.), but more on that later.

After we managed to stop drooling over RE4's graphics, it was onto the controls, which many of you think was the series' Achilles heel. Now we never had a problem with them, but for those of you who cursed the previous control schemes, you'll be happy to know that RE4 is an entirely different animal. Featuring a behind the back perspective (Leon's always on the left side of the screen) and single stick analog control, Leon's very easy to maneuver. However, we found it difficult running away in tense situations because we couldn't locate the quick turnaround button, if there even is one. Also, if enemies attack from his left, Leon's pretty much screwed because you can't see them coming.

While the game controls somewhat differently, there are still some traces of the old scheme. For example, in order to shoot, you still need to raise the gun using the right trigger, but you won't be limited to using up and down on the directional pad to aim. Using the C-stick, you can manually aim Leon's weapon to wherever you please, which is a huge step forward in the series. It allows you to fire at enemies on higher ground, as well as target specific body parts. Resident Evil 4 features fantastic hit detection, so if you shoot a villager in the leg he'll hop around, and if you bust a cap in his eye he'll cover his face and back away. Of course, the best is finding that sweet spot in the face that'll cause the entire head to explode in an arterial spray of blood and gore.

So the graphics and the controls are all well and good, but they don't mean anything if the game isn't fun to play, which thankfully, it is! RE4 is just as terrifying as its prequels if not more so. The villagers feature advanced A.I. that enables them to spot you from higher ground and begin a relentless pursuit. For example, we turned a bend and spotted three of them conversing atop a mountain. As we were trying to aim for their heads (the handgun features a nifty laser sight) they saw us, jumped, then ran down the path and out of frame. It was the kind of experience that made us exclaim, "Oh s#&*!" We had to hide quickly, because while they were unarmed when we first saw them, they came brandishing knives, pitchforks, scythes, chainsaws, and axes, and they rarely come alone. At one point, we were backing down from six of them, and they don't always run at you. They stay in a group and slowly stalk Leon through the entire woods, and if he stays motionless for too long they chuck their weapons at him, but thankfully, there's a counter move. New to the series, Leon can now shoot things out of the air, so if you aim just right, you'll be able to stop projectiles.

In past Resident Evil titles, we would've handled slippery situations with a quick escape, something that you can still do in RE4, just not in the same way. The enemies can run, so dashing into a shack becomes a more nail-biting experience because they will follow you, (and come in), so Capcom threw action buttons into the gameplay that enable Leon to get the hell out of there in a hurry. The one we encountered was a window dive. Trapped on the second floor (with a horde or angry knife-wielding scum downstairs), we approached a window, pressed "A" (the game tells you when to press the button when you near one of these), and Leon dove through the glass to safety. The sequence looked great, and it's a cool way to give the enemy the slip, but don't think they're so stupid that they assume you're still upstairs. If you don't get the hell out of there they'll eventually come out of the cabin and chase after you.

Naturally, if you wanted to engage these weirdoes you could just blast them, but this isn't an arcade shooter, so it's better to conserve ammo whenever you can. Also, the handgun we started with doesn't shoot quick enough to repel six attackers. They'll keep coming despite the fact that their good pal in front just got his head blown off.

In addition to the above-listed gameplay upgrades, Leon also has electronic binoculars that enable him to spy on his enemies. The first chilling scene that the game prompts you to use them finds the strange townsfolk piling hay upon a fire that's roasting an unlucky soul with a spike through his chest. It's the game's equivalent to the zombie biting Kenneth's head off in the first RE, though not as scary.

With all of these new editions, the game still feels like classic Resident Evil. While things have been improved, there was no mistaking what game we were playing. We came across a typewriter, suggesting that's how games will be saved, we picked up an herb, the game still has inventory slots (though Leon has a whopping twelve), and even though the zombies have been replaced by demented townsfolk, the RE4 trailer at Nintendo's press conference revealed that there will be monsters of all shapes and sizes to slaughter (a giant ogre-like creature and some bizarre hooded freaks being the highlights). There's just enough of the old blended together with the new to make a perfect marriage.

Going into E3, we had a lot of expectations for Capcom's Resident Evil 4. After spending a considerable amount of time playing it, not only were those expectations met, but now we're frothing at the mouth in anticipation. Come this fall, you'll see exactly what we mean. You're about to re-enter the world of survival horror. Good luck.

[_drew]

i got a demo disk in some gaming mag at work.. they had a demo vid of this game,,

looks amazing.

[BRYCE]

I played this game today... all i can say is that is fuckin incredible. Its so much better than the other that came before it. Like in that thing John posted its so differnt, in a good way. You can explore the world so much better with the non-fixed backgrounds. The graphics are so sweet too. Its been along time since i played a horror-survial and i this is by far the best yet.

[.saint]

i just bout this game today... ill tell you what.. i got goosebumps and the game is fucking HARD. it seems like the zombie as smart as shit.. you push a ladder over they pick the thing back up or find a new way to get to where you are at... they fucking throw shit at you like dynamite and axes this game is intense!

[_drew]

is this only going to be released for gamecube?

[BRYCE]

prolly

[domoMKIV]

it will be out for other systems.....

but not until the end of this year.


i beat the game 3 times through...chicago typewriter owns all. UNDEFEATABLE with it.