The slow pace, stop and start action of the original Resident Evil 4 has not been replicated here, however it brings its own unique flavour to the mix that has been excellently pulled off.

Being able to pull off stunts like dual wielding a pistol and a shotgun feels oddly at home in RE4, and adds an arcadey spice to the experience that had me hooked from start to finish. Giving Leon both full 360 degree movement and sprinting makes duking it out with the ganados much easier, and reloading has few stakes compared to other VR shooters as Leon will automatically empty the previous magazine when you pick up a new one, and just like the original, no bullets are lost by reloading an almost full gun.

Bonus modes such as Mercenaries and the Ada Wong campaign are, at the time of this review, not in this version of the game. It's unfortunate that this is the case as the speedier nature and arcadey feel would make Mercenaries in particular feel right at home.

Visually, the game has seen updates, however it's somewhat hard to really tell as textures are still low resolution, and the frequent loading zones are still present. However load times are short and the limited graphics means there's no framerate issues to be found. There's a hefty load time when you first start up the game but after that it's smooth sailing.

The story has been kept mostly intact. Leon's zingers and oneliners are still present, however almost any flirty dialogue has been removed from the game outright. The radio conversations have been turned into a semi-interactive element along with a few interactions previously only done by pressing a button or a QTE. This makes certain cutscenes still being present or presented in the theatre view feel out of place. Showcasing the area up ahead in a flat theatre view feels out of place when I can see it for myself in VR a few seconds later.

Overall, this is not the RE4 that you're acquainted with. While it keeps practically every mechanic, the reworking of the game in VR makes it feel much faster paced, much more arcadey, and much more unique than previous ports of this classic shooter.

Resident Evil 4 on the wii provides an extra layer of catharsis to the already rock solid RE4 experience.

While not a total reimagining of the game, the motion controls do enough to change the experience. Motion controlled aiming allows for quicker reflexes while in combat, but also more tense and stressful situations when you're overwhelmed. Leon's built-in sway when aiming is still present, but somewhat less noticeable as it blends in with your own sway from holding the wiimote.
Unlike other versions of the game, you will always have a reticle on screen, meaning you can preemptively aim at a foe before holding down the B button to enter the shooting stance. While this can make the game somewhat easier than playing on controller, it feels natural and the transition is smooth.
Swiping the wiimote while not in the shooting stance will make Leon automatically target and slash at the closest thing to him with his knife, whether that's the boxes scattered throughout the game, or an enemy right by him. Another convenience feature that, to an extent, makes the game easier, as Leon targets the objects and enemies faster than the player would by holding the knife button and aiming at what they want to attack.

The Wii Edition of RE4 sacrifices minor challenge by providing unique motion control features not present in other versions. And while this may be disappointing to more hardcore fans of the game, it's a welcome change of pace from the traditional controller gameplay.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the pain in the butt.

Max Payne 3 attempts to tell a dark and depressing story, and it succeeds, but it's not especially engaging to play through, as Max has no real stakes in the story aside from being a hired grunt. When Max doesn't care, I don't care. He's also no longer a wisecracking jackass, instead being replaced with a foulmouthed, pessimistic asshole that spends the majority of the runtime complaining or talking about how he should've died ages ago.
Max takes about half or a quarter of a second to start moving from a standstill, and he'll occasionally not even shoot the gun when you left click for seemingly no real reason at all.
These are just two annoyances with the controls that you'll have to get used to if you desire to play through this game. Max takes damage incredibly fast in this game and avoiding damage seems nigh impossible.
The game seemingly wants you to play with a bizarre mix of run n gun and cover based shooting, but most of the time your best bet is to hide behind cover and only shoot when you have an opening which, needless to say, isn't fun.
Unlike the past two games, Max can only carry 3 guns at a time. 2 small firearms and a large one. However the game will arbitrarily take away the large firearm from you at certain points. You can dual wield the small firearms but you lose the large firearm when you do so. Out of the large guns, the only ones worth picking up are the rifles and SMGs, shotguns are beyond awful in this game because of how the levels are built and enemy encounters are designed.
Level design is messy. Too many claustrophobic arenas where moving out of cover will get you killed faster than you can react to the gunshots fired. But there are also far too many open spaces near the end of the game with limited cover from enemy fire, forcing you to shoot enemies from a distance to avoid dying. The game will refuse you the liberty of getting your bearings before funneling you towards the next objective, going so far as to game over you if you stop and smell the roses for too long, as they want you to progress into the next "cool" scripted setpiece.
This constant shoving and nudging of the player, with the only breaks being cutscenes with obnoxious visual effects and dull characters being depressed makes for a tiring experience.

Wallowing in constant misery is this games forte.
And unfortunately, that doesn't make for a particularly pleasant game.

A surprisingly excellent sequel to one of my favourite games ever.
The lack of an item menu and puzzle solving in general was unfortunate, but the charming writing and characters, the tightened up platforming, and shockingly more involved combat systems mostly made up for it.
The worlds are, at least aesthetically, as creative as ever, while unfortunately sticking too close to the platforming side with little spectacle or variety in their mechanics.
Double Fine pulled through with a sequel that manages to feel true to the original game from 16 years ago with only a few hiccups, and it's reignited my interest in this franchise something fierce.