Resident Evil 4 Comments by Kristan Reed

EDIT: meh, double post

Blerk, i tried the demo and found the controls to be horrible... not sure whether you were alluding to them being horrible or an example of how GOOD controls can be.. if the latter, then i don't know... that game was unplayable IMO...

o_O

Which platform did you play on? The controls on the PS2 version are spot on. Proper analogue control of your character with the left stick, and no problems with running in the wrong direction if the camera angle changes. It's the only survival horror I've played this generation... no wait... ever... which hasn't made me think 'ooh, if they'd just done 'x' with the controls it'd have been perfect'. If you nip over to the forums and do a search for Obscure you'll find our resident Survival Horror fanboys (and girls) mostly agreeing on this, so it's not just me. :-)

Blerk, the improved controls make a whole lot of a difference. You'll see when you play :-)

BTW This game has an action bias now. Its no longer your slow pace, key/item fetching, limited ammo quest anymore and i'd say i liked the change.

Well I've loved all the other Resi games and I can't wait to get my hands on this. Due any day now by import :)
However I would also be just as excited if a follow up to Eternal Darkness was coming out. Which in my eyes beats the likes of Silent Hill and Project Zero. Yet another example of a great cube game that no one bought.

Agreed, Eternal Darkness might be the best Survival Horror game out there at the moment, at least until this one arrives...

Blerk - would you recommend Obscure then? Particularly if it can be found at the £15/20 mark?

Agreed, Eternal Darkness might be the best Survival Horror game out there at the moment, at least until this one arrives...

ED was very good - I enjoyed it a lot. But it's no Silent Hill / Project Zero.


Blerk - would you recommend Obscure then? Particularly if it can be found at the £15/20 mark?

Undoubtedly - it's very good fun while it lasts. Bear in mind, however, that it doesn't last very long - five to six hours at best.

I paid US $100 for my GC two days ago, plus $10 for a 2-year store warranty. (I could of get a used GC for $90, but the used Xbox I bought last year has given me a lot of dirty disc errors and put me off buying used consoles.) RE 4 was $50 and two 59-block memory cards cost $10 for a total of $170. I also bought a Nyko controller, but I'm taking that back because the analogue sticks are too loose.

So $170 is a lot to pay to play one game, but I have abandoned my idea of getting a new PC to play games on, so that's going to save me over $1,000.

'Garth.de wrote
'Being set in Spain, Pesetas are the currency of choice in RE4...'

Haven't they been using the Euro for a while now?


Heh. Yep, and they definitely used it in the autumn of 20

/points at Capcom

Duuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

Yep, but they don't have crazy villagers in Spain who try and spear you with pitchforks (not many anyway) or *SPOILER * fish the size of houses etc etc. I don't think Resi 4 is meant to be a documentary!

I think it COULD be Widescreen for Europe - or at least, it SHOULD be. When you zoom in on widescreen TV, the visuals are still something special. It would, could and SHOULD work on a true 16:9 - I think those of us who do bypass letterboxing through zoom will admit that at full screen, there is still nothing much to fault graphically - dare I say it, I prefer being zoomed in! (Maybe because my aim gets a lot ****ing better!)

Controls do take a little getting used to. Some will get flustered and miss a lot, some will take to it smoothly and be sniping villager heads off with relative ease. A little practice is all thats needed, and you get it in the form of a very simple early "Sub-Mission". But they do work better now, because the game isn't as slow as previous RE games. Plus it's damned nice to be able to snipe from a distance - long overdue feature IMO.

But seriously, zoomed in RE4 is still a beauty. I'm disappointed it's not in the US version, but then, there are means and methods around it - so not all doom and gloom.

Whats the situation with the rain. There was talk at one point that it was in older versions of RE4 then removed nearer its release date.


It certainly rains... looks nice too.

RE4 - 'Worth buying a GameCube for?'
As opposed to the likes of Wind Waker, Metroid Prime 1+2, Paper Mario, Pikmin 2, Mario Sunshine etc.? Do people still need a reason to buy a GC?

As a Nintendo fan, the fact that the game is also coming out on the PS2 is really annoying - I'd be lying if I said it wasn't - simply because of the fact that RE4 was the one game that had the potential to improve sales of the GameCube, and make people actually consider buying the console. However, now that it is also coming out on the PS2, a lot of people would be content to wait, so sales of the GC version will undoubtedly be affected. At the end of the day, the GC is a great machine (just like the N64 was), and doesn't deserve to fail - if many people realised this then there would be no need for a debate like this. Frankly, if anyone is willing to wait almost a year to play a slightly inferior port, when a GC + RE4 can be bought for peanuts, then...well, you get the point.

Obscure was really, really built for an analogue stick. I can imagine it wouldn't be right at all with a keyboard. :-)

ED was very good - I enjoyed it a lot. But it's no Silent Hill / Project Zero.

I've never liked the Silent Hill series, I've always found them a bit confusing and 'artsy'. A little bit too surreal, if you know what I mean. I prefer the b-movie plots of Resident Evil :) Never heard of Project Zero, though. Classic?

Hmmm, have just seen the GC on Amazon for £70...twitch...

Never heard of Project Zero, though. Classic?

Are you kidding? It's only the scariest game ever made!

Search Eurogamer for reviews, comments, forum posts, etc. It's the badger's nadgers!

"As opposed to the likes of Wind Waker, Metroid Prime 1+2, Paper Mario, Pikmin 2, Mario Sunshine etc.? Do people still need a reason to buy a GC?"


I did, yes. None of those games you mentioned interest me, although now we have a GC my wife likes the look of Pikmin 2.

How does Luigis Mansion fair after all this time, as I remember it looking pretty tasty at the time of release :o)

Luigi's Mansion is excellent, just don't expect it to be scary ;-)

"Hmmm, have just seen the GC on Amazon for £70...twitch... "

Aren't Argos doing the GC for £35 at the moment? They certainly are in my local store.

I believe the PS2 is capable of great things if enough money is thrown at it but I'm sure you'll be waiting a long time to play it. If it is anything like the Code Veronica port then expect it to be inferior to the original.

Now more importantly why don't Capcom sort out a proper networked version of Resi for Europe?

w00t. My copy just arrived. \m/

Only two weeks late :(

Great review guys. I always enjoy the frankness of your reviews.

I loved the refinements of the old system , such as over the shoulder view, this analogue targetting which unlike FPS's (which I have enjoyed many of) has a 'zone' where the camera doesn't pan, feels natural and easy to watch. Many doors can be opened without loading screens, Combining items with the x button is a snap, New inventory and weapon management fast ann intuitive, and the creative freedom in firefights lends it a more personal experience.

But I must say for me, the highlight was the village. Maybe I felt for powerful them, since I cold move faster than everything else. Later, enemies move faster and are more dangerous. By the end, when it became more old school, I was getting so creeped out, I didn't enjoy it as much. I must say I prefer action to horror, but I've always been a fan of Alone in the Darks tank controls. Back then it was a unique blend of action and adventure. I'm glad that its unlike an FPS as it asks you to come up with different strategies in different environments/situations.

Such as running past or around a villager is sometimes a better option than stepping slowly back especially if you hear voices of enemies you can't see. Deciding when to move away from a pack of enemies to reload or to reload on the spot is always something to test your mind.

How did I miss this review until now??

What does this game have to do with Resident Evil, apart from number 4?

It's pretty sad when you find fanboys jumping into the comments of a game which really is something rather special.

Yeah, it's coming out on PS2... in like, a year or so. Why wait? As said, the CVx port was inferior anyway (In more ways than I'd care to mention... HOW COULD CAPCOM KEEP STEVE ALIVE?! Oh wait, Wesker took him... hmm... always thought that Wesker played the other side of the field...) - Capcom's "Extras" aren't much to shout about, nor are their ports to be perfectly honest. You just need to look at their back catagory of ports to realise they don't give a **** - CVx one very rare exception but even there they managed to make it a rather desperate attempt to keep Wesker alive. We all secretly knew Wesker was alive anyway, we didn't need CVx to tell us that...

Capcom do some great games, but their ports are just half-hearted at the best of times. PS2 owners are getting the really shoddy deal, and they don't even realise it! They'll get a pretty-inferior version of the game, and at a time when people will probably be saving for one of the next consoles - thats even considering if it EVER gets released. Remember, a year ago we had RE4 screenies. Nothing for the PS2 port yet, which is an interesting fact.


In summary, RE4 for the PS2 is not an exciting prospect. It will probably LOOK inferior (and comparing their graphical capabilities, cutbacks WILL need to be made for a PS2 port - I laugh when people say the PS2 has more power than the 'Cube... it doesn't guys, I'm not the one living in fantasy fanboy land!), control inferior (Shouldn't be bad, but the controls for the 'Cube felt so well put together, I wonder how they'd work on a PS2 pad), and god help us if Capcom decide to mess with the story. The impact will have worn off, the shine dulled. I won't be getting RE4 on the PS2 - if people are willing to wait, that's their problem.


I don't have a lot of faith in Capcom ports... they may surprise me, but the chances are, they probably won't...

A guess - it will look inferior but have a few hidden extras just to piss everybody off :D

Kind of reminds me of the Speccy vs C64 versions of Elite. I wonder if the PS2 will have tribbles in it?

Blimey Kami calm down mate.. is this your one man crusade to get people to buy a Gamecube!?! I think most of us are fully aware that the PS2 can handle good graphics and the controller works just fine.

"if people are willing to wait, that's their problem."

Problem? what problem.

"In summary, RE4 for the PS2 is not an exciting prospect"

Wrong, it is an exciting prospect indeed for all PS2 owners who don't want to buy another console to play one game because if they wanted a Cube they would have got one by now with it's ridiculously low price.

ANYONE WHO SLAGS OF NINTENDO ARE EITHER FROM EUROPE OR THICK AS PIGSHIT OR JUST FOLLOWING TRENDS AND PROBABLY SUPPORT CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB LIKE A BUNCH OF GLORY HUNTERS (BUT EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THERE ON OPINION OF WHAT THEY LIKE)

BET EVERY PERSON THAT HAS PLAYED A FEW NINTENDO GAMES LOVES AT LEAST ONE AND YOU ARE LYING IF THIS ISNT TRUE

Heh... I have the sudden urge to start drawing pictures of Mario burning Sonic at the stake like back in the good old days again.

The Gamecube is a fantastic console, I don't see how anyone could argue that, and Resi 4 looks the nuts. I couldn't give a fuck if it's coming out on PS2 as well, as past experience has taught us that when a game is multi-format, the PS2 version is ALWAYS the poorest looking one, so I'll be surprised if the PS2 can even match the GC version in terms of visuals alone.

Given all that will Sony have the sauce to release it full price?

This is a superb game - it should be released on GC, PS2, Xbox and the Gizmondo to reach as many people as possible!

I wasn't being funny, just stating some pretty resonable points:

1) Capcom don't give a sh*t about their ports. They really don't. A good look at PS2 Viewtiful Joe will tell you that. At best, they're half-hearted. At worst, when they DO make alterations (CVx) they nigh destroy the game by just messing with it too much. The RE3 PC port an exception - it handled nicely, looked nicer and had some nice extra outfits for Jill, but then - Capcom didn't port that, Eidos did, so doesn't count unfortunately.

2) RE4 on PS2 is not an exciting prospect - yeah, people can wait - but as I said, it's their problem when they whinge it looks dodgy, or when they say they already knew the plot, or when they complain about one of dozens of things which can very easily go wrong in the port. As I said, not to mention by that time there's going to be a lot of new stuff, the next-gen consoles and other bits and pieces - so the hype will have worn off considerably. I hate people saying, "But when I got to the game, I knew what was going to happen! It's not fair..." - of course it's not fair. But if you're holding off for a whole twelve months to play a PORT, then you deserve it IMO. I'd say the same thing for the Doom 3 and Half Life 2 ports. You know whats gonna happen, if you were holding off the ports and complain you know what happens - I can't hold any pity. They had a chance to play it fresh, and to play it the way it was meant to be played, instead they waited for a port. Their fault, not the developers.


But I would welcome an X-Box version, and hell - Capcom should port to the PC as well, and make it a universal title because the game really is that good. It's a great game, deserves a HUGE audience. It's not a one-man crusade, you clearly misread the whole thing. I was saying, if you want to wait for an inferior port - do so, but do so with a warning. I don't really wanna have to look back in a years time and say, "I told you so..." - wanna get the most from a game, play it when it's fresh.


Absolutely NO PITY for ANYONE who holds off for a port - especially when it's going to take at least a year. I'm sorry. Goes all ways for me - no matter the console, no matter the game. If you want to hold off for a port, you have to take the spoilers and possible problems in the end product. It's as simple as that - PS2 fanboys WANT to play RE4, but they don't wanna get a 'Cube to play it on?

Please note, this isn't an attack on those who might not be able to afford to just rush out and get a 'Cube. It's more an attack on fanboyism. They want to play RE4, they should learn to look past that blatant stupidity of the fanboy and appreciate all systems - RE4 is an excellent game. It should be ported, yes, but those waiting will have to accept that by the time they get it, things may have gone rather stale...

"1) Capcom don't give a sh*t about their ports. They really don't. A good look at PS2 Viewtiful Joe will tell you that."

Uh....what? Pretty bloody good port, isn't it?

A chainsaw controller excellent, the Cube still has life left in it, will it be the first third party game to sell over a million! This and the new Zelda will be the best games of 2005 for GameCube

If anyone does want to buy a GameCube, you can get them pretty cheap at Game, they're doing a special offer with a GC, controller, Donkey Konga, Mario Kart Double Dash and a bongo controller, all for only £65. But it's only whilst stocks last. I bought a Cube thinking why did I buy this, wel the reason was I could link my GBA to it. But it's actually really good, with some great games coming out soon. Like Killer7, Baten Kaitos, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Viewtiful Joe 2, Mario Party 6, Star Fox Assault, Donkey Kong 3, Fire Emblem, Geist and the Legend of Zelda. The ONLY down point is that you can't play online, that is a shame, but to be honest it's only a small one!

GC at GAME only £65

Just picked up the game, and while the graphics, sound, atmosphere and plot are excellent, I'm not really enjoying it that much.

It just seems to play far too slow for my liking. I suppose you have to be a fan of the other games in the series to appreciate the change in direction from the old. I do like the interactive cutscnes and the scripted events, such as running the hell away from a huge boulder. But the main crux of the game (the gunplay) works too slow for my liking. But I do realise this is the point, tryuing to make you feel slow and vunerable, but to me it dosen't make me feel vunerable, it just makes me wish I could turn faster and see more than a 45 degree angle.

If you like action themed games, Resident Evil 4 is a good one, but if you're used to your gun play being a bit faster paced, you may not appreciate the games slower pace.

After finishing the truly excellent DMC 3 last week I probably should have bought RE4 today at lunchtime. However I've preordered God of War on US import off Ebay instead. The GOW demo's amazing, and also -- 9.8 score at IGN....wow.

For some reason, despite the high scores, I've suddenly got cold feet about RE4.

Weird.

Any chance of a Euro review update thingy then?

Is it changed from the US version? Why review it again if it's basically the same?

wtf someone thought it was slow paced?


it's one of the best paced, most exciting games i have ever played

This is incredibly hard to find in the shops now.

drumbaby, as someone who likes DMC 3 almost as much as you do, I really recommend you get RE 4. I think it's a better game than DMC 3, and you know I think DMC 3 is a great game.

If you have to buy a gamecube to enjoy it, do so?

Well I'll be. that's exactly what I did.
:-)

Wow, this game is good. Every bit as good as all the hype has suggested and then some. I've been playing it for about two weeks solidly, and I can't believe how it keeps on getting better and better. I'm coming up to 24 hours worth of play just as I'm approaching the final boss... and every minute of it has been superb. So many beautifully realised environments, each different and unique, with almost no textures or props reused. How do they do that? So many different adversaries, each with their own character. So many brilliant touches... great cut scenes, great dialog, even some acceptable acting, wonderful mix of weapons and a clever system of upgrades, encouraging exploration to find treasure (and mass slaughter of baddies to collect coins). Even a really enjoyable shooting gallery mini game. It's just quality from start to finish, and must have taken some talented people years and years of work to put together. So many favourite moments... I'll be disappointed when it's finally over. It's one of the very few games I really want to play again all the way through the minute I've finished.

Well put Harrisiomo, I bought it on launch day and I still play it to this day, which just shows the quality of the game.

I love this game it is so much better than the other resi evil games, it has more puzzles and excitement. I just wish someone would give a clue on how to save ashley as i am totally stuck, so if anyone can help please please please give me a clue on what to do next, thanx in advance.

Best game ever. Seriously.

...still looks good and plays like a dream. Roll on Resi 5!

The controls are amazing because they limit you, just enough to make Leon feel fragile while still allowing you to slaughter herds of enemies. If you haven't played Resident Evil 4 by now you really should.