Resident Evil 4... one of the most well respected and loved games in history, and my fifth Resident Evil game this year. Ultimately I'm not sure this holds up as "One of the Greats" so to speak, but I did really really enjoy it.
The game starts and we return as our favorite Rookie Cop, Leon S Kennedy. You are now a special agent, and you are on a secret mission - Rescue the President's Daughter!! Silly premise, but there is a bigger sin here: Umbrella. This was pointed out by one Michael Huber of Easy Allies, but each Resident Evil prior to this (1 2 and 3) end very specifically on a note of each protagonist being prepared and ready to take the fight directly to Umbrella for what their actions unleashed in Raccoon city. However, in the OPENING TEXT of 4 we learn that Umbrella was just dissolved by UN action and they're all pretty much just in jail at this point. So the Big Bad Corporation we've been psyched up to go after THREE times is just gone now? And we don't even get to see it happen?? Crazy! Anyway, it dumps us into this stupid plot, but it knows it is dumb and it leans REAL hard into it. I think that's kind of the best I can say for it - the game knows what it is, a silly bond movie with zombies, and it at least does it well. Giant bad guy statues that chase you, slow-mo knife fights between old comrades, etc etc. There are only a few main characters, Ashley and Luis are the main two who interact with Leon in a meaningful way (Ada and Leon just do the same basic song and dance from 2) and I quite liked both of them. I was saddened and a bit shocked by Luis's death, I figured it would come much later or not at all. Ashley isn't QUITE as annoying as I thought she would be, and there are very large sections of the game where she is not present for you to have to worry about her which was nice. Escort quests are pretty much always garbage.
Gameplay wise, this game is a RADICAL departure from 1-2-3. Gone is the isometric fixed camera and guns that auto aim for you, gone are the small number of enemies and smaller environments, hello to over the shoulder action! The shooting in the game is very good, because it gives some sense of "you are a real person holding a gun, your aim isn't perfect", but not enough to upset you too much I think. All of the guns have a laser sight that helps you due to the camera angle being fairly wide (which is great for spotting enemies sneaking up on you), which also helps you spot environmental cues for where to shoot. The array of guns is nice, and I always appreciate a good shotgun. In a way its good to have the merchant there (Hello STRAAANGAA), but in another way the weapon selection feels a bit more limited with the inventory management sections, because you invest in the guns you like and now there's no reason to get any other ones? I upgraded the Red9 and Striker all the way, and those bad boys carried me through the game.
There's a robust unlocking and NG+ features which I'm strongly tempted to do, plus there's a DLC chunk called "Separate Ways" starring Ada that I'm strongly contemplating. It is certainly a game that is meant to be run through several times, but I'm not sure I have the time to do it this year.
On an ending note, you can tell the makers of this game played a LOT of Metal Gear Solid. The 'codec' calls, the cutscenes with Awesome Action, a focus on getting to know the antagonists a bit more, some of the hokey dialogue.. Like damn, does Kojima have a lawsuit ready?
The game starts and we return as our favorite Rookie Cop, Leon S Kennedy. You are now a special agent, and you are on a secret mission - Rescue the President's Daughter!! Silly premise, but there is a bigger sin here: Umbrella. This was pointed out by one Michael Huber of Easy Allies, but each Resident Evil prior to this (1 2 and 3) end very specifically on a note of each protagonist being prepared and ready to take the fight directly to Umbrella for what their actions unleashed in Raccoon city. However, in the OPENING TEXT of 4 we learn that Umbrella was just dissolved by UN action and they're all pretty much just in jail at this point. So the Big Bad Corporation we've been psyched up to go after THREE times is just gone now? And we don't even get to see it happen?? Crazy! Anyway, it dumps us into this stupid plot, but it knows it is dumb and it leans REAL hard into it. I think that's kind of the best I can say for it - the game knows what it is, a silly bond movie with zombies, and it at least does it well. Giant bad guy statues that chase you, slow-mo knife fights between old comrades, etc etc. There are only a few main characters, Ashley and Luis are the main two who interact with Leon in a meaningful way (Ada and Leon just do the same basic song and dance from 2) and I quite liked both of them. I was saddened and a bit shocked by Luis's death, I figured it would come much later or not at all. Ashley isn't QUITE as annoying as I thought she would be, and there are very large sections of the game where she is not present for you to have to worry about her which was nice. Escort quests are pretty much always garbage.
Gameplay wise, this game is a RADICAL departure from 1-2-3. Gone is the isometric fixed camera and guns that auto aim for you, gone are the small number of enemies and smaller environments, hello to over the shoulder action! The shooting in the game is very good, because it gives some sense of "you are a real person holding a gun, your aim isn't perfect", but not enough to upset you too much I think. All of the guns have a laser sight that helps you due to the camera angle being fairly wide (which is great for spotting enemies sneaking up on you), which also helps you spot environmental cues for where to shoot. The array of guns is nice, and I always appreciate a good shotgun. In a way its good to have the merchant there (Hello STRAAANGAA), but in another way the weapon selection feels a bit more limited with the inventory management sections, because you invest in the guns you like and now there's no reason to get any other ones? I upgraded the Red9 and Striker all the way, and those bad boys carried me through the game.
There's a robust unlocking and NG+ features which I'm strongly tempted to do, plus there's a DLC chunk called "Separate Ways" starring Ada that I'm strongly contemplating. It is certainly a game that is meant to be run through several times, but I'm not sure I have the time to do it this year.
On an ending note, you can tell the makers of this game played a LOT of Metal Gear Solid. The 'codec' calls, the cutscenes with Awesome Action, a focus on getting to know the antagonists a bit more, some of the hokey dialogue.. Like damn, does Kojima have a lawsuit ready?