Resident Evil 4

[RyanXWing]

I think I liked RE4 so much because I sucked at the others. and I like fast paced action.

 

[ReiGn]

Code: Veronica > RE4 IMO.

 

[aang8405]

hello

I agree, i was pretty negative about Re4. It deserves lotsa credit for the amount that went into it. But i can't deny i was happy to hear an alternate opinion which had some fairly valid points. I already mentioned that gameplay in RE4 was an easy win in comparison with the others, and i think i described it as satisfactory repetition or something. But it was really easy for me to finish, despite me being a fairly infrequent gamer. The zombies werent smart, and there was far too much room to dodge them considering this factor. Zombies were slow and dumb previously, but they were harder to avoid, and there was usually a horrid shock sensation when one managed to grab and bite you. I didnt get nearly as scared in this episode...actually im lying...there were tense parts, but not as much eerie suspense. The previous REs provided a vibe suggesting complete chaos and isolation, and a haunting atmosphere. The enemies in RE4 were far more organised and as a result less creepy. They felt pain and fear, though to a very small degree. Zombies didn't. RE5 seems to have hit the right spot here, cos the enemies seem both smart and zombie-ish (like the movie 28 days later). That to me sounds terrifying.
If none of the REs had a storyline (i'll confess, i only liked RE1 and RE2s ones) i would probably buy RE4 (well duh, the others are seriously outdated). But i looove the previous storyline, so i was a bit disappointed. I liked RE4, but the constant positive reviews sayin the same old shite over and over and over again get just a lit-tle boring. So i admired Faunus ('Pan' at the time) for havin the guts to challenge these repetitive views with somethin a little more original. Hey, debates are a lot of fun too, cos no one can ever argue themselves to be factually correct, even if you try to support it with popular opinion. lol im sounding like a bloo-y philosophy teacher. But honestly, if everyone agrees with everyone on these review forums they tend to get kinda boring. I enjoyed RE4 enough, but i also enjoy picking holes in it. Especially as its a popular and successful game - it causes an even bigger stir :sly

 

[Shadow1psc2k]

RE 4 was a great games. It had shortcommings, but none that warranted Pan's review, that's just pissed off RE fanboy mad at the genre shaking things up.

 

[RyanXWing]

From what I've seen he was right in all his criticism

 

[Revelade]

Seems this forum died a while ago, but ill have the last say for now...

I'm sort of torn between feelings about this game. But overall i reckon ill support Pan on this one. I'd only started playing this game the second time round a few hours ago before reaching this forum and i gotta say, a lot of Pan's pts looked spot on to me.
What made this game for me were the amazing graphics, range of weapons, variety of environments and satisfying sounds (e.g. SPLAT ). However, this game was a bit of a wake up call for me. I always saw myself as a hard core fan of this series since playing RE2 (THE all time classic). The others following it were alright, and i played through them to remain up to date with the addictively absorbing plot and affirm my status as a true RE fan. However, after this playing through this game i realised i was mainly a hard core fan of...RE2.
This game had it all. Graphics (for its time), storyline (full of shocks, twists and great character development) and soundtrack (from the haunting music of the police station hall to the oh-so-exciting self-destruct countdown climax). Its gameplay, i admit was not as fast paced and satisfying as RE4. But, as Pan stated, RE4 was not overly various in terms of enemies - most were pretty much recycled (big, small, bearded, hooded).
And the storyline - the part that drew me in most into the series- was eliminated completely more or less. How about the satisfaction you used to get when you picked up a file in the past REs? Cos you knew their was more detail on the conspiracies going on. Something new was being discovered. The files in this RE4, on the other hand, were REALLY boring to read - "stop the american", "get the girl" "stop the american" "take over the world" "stop the american". The biggest (though rather dull) twists in this were that Luis was somewhat responsible for the current disaster and that Ada was working for "GASP" Wesker?! Even coming up with the president's daughter actually being sherry (though a bit weak and predictable) could be more effective for shock value. Even Krauser (who i thought may have been Nicholai or Carlos or ANYONE- anyone linked to the past!) turned out to be yet ANOTHER nobody in the short list of rather uninspired characters. Just about every cut scene in RE2 revealed something interesting, even if it did only involve the repetitive waving of a character's hands to express a point. About 90% of the cutscenes in RE4 involved Leon doing more or less some sort of extraordinary flip or mentioning the word "s***t" as he faced another major obstacle. I.e. RE4'S cutscenes were more impressive than interesting.
I myself am not much of a hard core gamer (but i often get hooked on a good storyline)- In RE4's case i like it cos it was very manageble to finish without much thought involved ( and this compensated for the attrocious storyline), whilst RE Remake, though better in terms of storyline, was more difficult than fun IMO.
But RE4 was also very repetitive. The scenery and different character skins simply attempted to hide this. However, the variation in the boss battles was quite enjoyable.

IMO, satisfactory repetition is a good way to describe RE4. Many different and fun ways to kill roughly the same sorts of enemies; one door leading to another to another in one environment, and eventually a door leading to yet another different and good-looking environment.

I reckon this game was good, but a little (yes, just a little) overhyped. It seems a lot of people simply just agreed with their expectations ("Capcom spent 4 years developing this- i waited so long for this game- it has to be good") and the popular opinions ("believe the hype!") of the game.

Pan's review was a breath of fresh air IMO, cos he was not afraid to highlight some very valid points that didnt just involve typical statements like"great graphics" ; "you can now aim at enemy bodyparts" "enemies are 'smarter' " "BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!"

Actual gameplay probably wasnt one of the previous RE's strong points (stiff control, simple shooting system, slow-moderate action) but the experience was. It took about 4 times longer to finish RE4 than it did RE2, and yet in all honesty i only remember having had jumped about twice in RE4 (the claw dude in the cell, and the freaky hissing infrared thingy) as opposed to at least about 15 in Re2.

Gameplay in RE4 is an easy win when compared to the others, But deep down it's clear something is missing when you play through the game, namely plot and creepiness or simply: RESIDENT EVIL. Capcom bragged about changing a lot of stuff to revolutionise the series but did they have to virtually EVERYTHING and STILL call it resident evil? I LOOOOOVED Devil MAy Cry, but had it been called Resident Evil 4/5 starring Steve Burnside with superpowers and Jill Valentine as his side kick and with the Devil May Cry plot, not happy would i be. This is almost what they did with RE4. No umbrella,no zombies, not even referring to the t-virus as a possible ingredient for these new crazy controlling parasites, no link to the past whatsoever. Except Leon, Ada, and a teeny bit of Wesker...and of course, unrightfully, the title.

This is a game suited for gamers in general (duh, i suppose). Not exclusively RE fans (unlike previous REs), which i suppose is a good thing. But since i hang out for the story and creepy experience in RE games (as im sure many RE fans do) a little more than the gameplay, RE4 left me quite disappointed. It seems better as an arcade game to me.

There's probably stacks of holes you could pick at in my argument but, oh well, feel free. Clearly this game is huge (as well as favoured by both regular gamers and RE gamers alike)- obviously you dont need to convince me to that -there are PLENTY of reviews that support this. But it's good to find one (like Pan's) so refreshingly different and yet plausible from all the typical others

Quite a whinger arent i? Had 3 exams today so ive gone quite mad, as you no doubt figured out!

I'd read more of this if you would seperate the BLOBS of words...

Anyway, after beating the game today (2nd time), I decided to lean on the side of Pan. The gameplay was repetitive, and it was more or less kill, next room, kill, push button, next room, kill, etc.

Of course there are bosses and these are the fun parts. I really liked the cutscene with Krauser, since it broke the repetitive kill, door, kill pattern.

Despite having more guns... I'd still say it's repetitive. Some parts were okay, like the 3 beasts (snake, eagle, panther), but others were annoying.

Elaborating on this, remember the first time you saw a regenerator? Yes, he was on the bed, but right when you get the card key, THEN he wakes up, so typical.

Remember that part when you find the transmittor you placed on ashley in a puddle of water? You then go through a maze like structure where you have to push buttons and escape to the next room before the section you are in falls into a bottomless pit...

But right when the thing falls, and the monster in it, the monster (surprise, surprise) climbs back up to get you (this is Capcom, it can't end that fast).

So though the initial impressions were overwhelming (great graphics, music, control), it just gets very repetitive. And doing the kill, door, kill, button pattern for 20 hours just makes me not want to beat it a third time. And as for mercenaries, it's pretty much the same thing, except no doors (yay!).

Ada is a joke, really. You have monsters with claws and stuff and she only wears a long gown. With this gown, she can do jumps, flips, etc. on high heels?!?! O wait, then again, how does she get into those clothes in Assignment Ada? O well...

Saddler is also a joke. When you fight him at the end of the game, watch the cutscene carefully. Exactly HOW THE HELL does he fit all those claws, eyeballs and tentacles into that small head of his?

Seriously, none of this makes sense.

I mean I really would have enjoyed this game, despite it's repetitiveness, IF the story had actually been decent and if I could respect the characters.

So, the $70 I spent on the collectors edition was a waste. As for maybe $20, or maybe even $30, this game would have been okay.