Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

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SigSauerLover
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Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby SigSauerLover » September 11th, 2015, 6:13 pm

Ah, Resident Evil 4, one of the best things to happen to the gaming industry as a whole. While not my favorite game of all time, I regard it as being the very best. It is one of the most ingeniously designed titles I have ever played. In fact, I play through this game several times a year, and yet I never get bored. Back when it launched in 2005, I didn't have a GameCube. But I rented one just to play this incredible game. I hated the GameCube (still do) but it was all worth it for RE4. Then, the Playstation 2 version came out, and I was at a loss for words. I played through this game TWICE in that year alone. And continued to play for the next 10 years. Welp, here we are, 10 years later (doesn't feel like that long......) and I'm still loving it. Let's dive into the review and explain all the reasons why Resident Evil 4 is the best game of all time.

-Story-

I usually hate video game stories and don't care for them, but this one captivated me. You are Leon Kennedy, yes, the same Leon from Resident Evil 2. You are now a government agent. The presidents daughter has been kidnapped, and now you're in Europe (though never clarified, I assume it's Spain) on a mission to rescue her. The setting is perfect. A mountainside area with farms, villages, and forests. It takes place in the fall as well, which just adds to the intensity. You wander into a farmhouse and get attacked. The police officers that were riding with you are then killed. You proceed into the village, where you are ambushed. You are then informed that a religious cult is behind all of this and they have incredible power. I won't spoil the rest, but trust me it's worth playing just for the incredible story alone.

-Graphics-

The graphics in RE4, at the time were breathtaking. And to this day, they are still breathtaking. The weathered walls in buildings, the fire effects (which are amazing), and the castle interiors (which are incredibly gorgeous) all scream quality. The variety in scenery is amazing too. You'll explore forests, villages, a castle, and island, a mine, a ravine, a warzone, and many others. It's really quite incredible how much beautiful scenery is packed into the game. Hell, I haven't seen this much variety in scenery since HALF-LIFE 2! The different scenes and locations don't overstay their welcome either. As they're usually brief enough not to get old, but not short enough that you won't have time to appreciate them. The designs of the enemies are incredible as well, they're legitimately frightening! The ONLY downside in the visuals would be that you tend to face the same crowds of enemies over and over.

-Sound-

The Music in this game fits the scenarios perfectly. Every piece is designed incredibly well for the situation. And never fails to be fitting. The infiltration track playing while sneaking through the castle interiors is incredible, and serenity......let's take some time to talk about serenity. Serenity, is, without a doubt, the greatest video game music I've ever heard. So great I'm going to include it in the end of the review. It only plays when no other enemies can get you. Usually where a merchant or save point is. It's so calming and beautiful. I even listen to it during the winter sometimes. Basically, it's a masterpiece. The sound effects are incredible too. As a gun guru, I love the sound of a firearm going off. And the sound of the Punisher and Blacktail just have a pop that feels insanely satisfying. The voice acting is also incredibly good (especially compared to the last 3 games in the franchise), giving off an incredibly convincing story.

The sound design is brilliant and is not to be under-estimated. It makes the entire experience that much better.

-Gameplay- By far the best part of this game is the incredible gameplay. It's a massive improvement over the first 3 games. People defend the broken controls of the first 3, claiming "they add to the intensity". No, broken controls, even if they are meant to be broken, are still broken controls. I hated the games back in the day because of their broken controls. This game still has tank controls, but it's far smoother. The shooting is fine tuned. You can not shoot while moving, but you usually don't have to anyway. The controls for shooting are VERY good, which helps with the shooting galleries (more on those later). Sometimes, you'll have to look after escorting Ashley. You can have her follow you, or leave her behind. Be careful, if you leave her behind, she's liable to get kidnapped. Thankfully in some sections, you can make her hide. Sometimes she'll perform actions while you defend her, which is tense. And in one small portion, you can even control her helpless ass (SCREW THAT MOTHER-[Expletive] SLIDER PUZZLE) and get through a small portion of the game. Along the way, you'll meet a merchant. He can sell, buy, and upgrade guns. One gun may be obtained for free if you complete a side quest. He also sells treasure maps, which help you find goodies. These can be sold to him. Many treasures are combine able for an even higher price, so don't be too quick to sell! His weapon upgrades also come in handy. He also hosts shooting galleries. Where you shoot targets to earn bottle caps. If you complete rows and the collection of bottle caps, you earn money. This helps you in the game. The bosses are too easy. It seems as long as you have a rocket launcher in your inventory at all times you can take on any boss. But the presentation more than makes up for this, as they are truly terrifying. And the vehicles you control throughout the game (which unlike other games like Crash Bandicoot: Warped, are NOT intrusive) control extremely well.

Overall, the gameplay is fantastic, and the best part of this game.

-The Verdict-

Resident Evil 4 is the best game ever made. It's controls, it's sound, it's gameplay, and it's story make for an engaging, satisfying experience. I highly recommend picking it up. It is VERY affordable nowadays.

A+

SigSauerLover
Posts: 167
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 5:51 pm

Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby SigSauerLover » September 11th, 2015, 10:45 pm


Tron
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Joined: April 9th, 2015, 8:02 pm

Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby Tron » September 12th, 2015, 10:02 am

I agree that Resident Evil 4 is an A+ game. I had a PS2 & fell in love with it. I just recently got it on the GameCube. It seems like the GameCube version has even more enemies in it? It's been years since I played the PS2 version so my memory may be off. Are the graphics the same? I seem less impressed on the GameCube visuals, but that just may be do to age & how it's 2 generations behind now. There's also an Ada mode that's not on the GameCube version. Other than that the games seem the same. Oh yeah, the Fedora & Knight outfits don't seem to be on the Cube either.

I beat the game on normal twice now on the cube. I'm playing my third time on professional. Such an awesome game. I use different weapons on my playthroughs & take on enemies in different ways to spice things up.

SigSauerLover
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Joined: April 8th, 2015, 5:51 pm

Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby SigSauerLover » September 12th, 2015, 1:45 pm

The graphics are a tad more detailed on the Gamecube, and look a bit cleaner. There are more enemies as well.

The Cube version is probably the worst way to play the game, as it's on nearly every platform I can think of now.

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Rookie1
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Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby Rookie1 » September 13th, 2015, 10:06 am

I picked this up for the Wii after being told how great it was for that system. Being a fan of the series, I gave it a shot, and I hated it!

Im not sure if its the Wii version, or just the game itself. My biggest issue was the camera angles and the fact that I sill couldnt move and shoot at the same time. I would take aim at an approaching enemy, and then something would come up from behind me that I couldnt see, and chew on my neck.

This worked for RE 1/2/3 as the enemies were slow and in low numbers. It added to the suspense of the game, making it scary. In 4, however, the enemies were quick and in larger numbers. So not being able to move while shooting just made things tedious.

Visually it looked great, but the gameplay mechanics were dated and made the game unenjoyable for me.

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ptdebate
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Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby ptdebate » September 13th, 2015, 1:08 pm

SigSauerLover wrote:The graphics are a tad more detailed on the Gamecube, and look a bit cleaner. There are more enemies as well.

The Cube version is probably the worst way to play the game, as it's on nearly every platform I can think of now.


I'm not sure I understand. You're saying the Cube version has better graphics right? How is it the worst way to play the game?

SigSauerLover
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Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby SigSauerLover » September 13th, 2015, 2:37 pm

Missing weapons, missing modes, controls aren't that great, and multiple disks.

All the other versions don't require that.

Tron
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Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby Tron » September 13th, 2015, 9:32 pm

SigSauerLover wrote:Missing weapons, missing modes, controls aren't that great, and multiple disks.

All the other versions don't require that.


If you can only have one version then PS2 beats Gamecube, but if you love the game it's neat seeing what's on the Cube as well. The extra enemies on the Cube makes it feel harder at times. There have been a couple of times when I was sure I had cleared the area & then another wave of enemies came in. Pretty awesome. I also think the knife sucks on the Cube. I liked using the knife before on the PS2 to save bullets, but on the cube the knife feels much weaker. I don't like that difference on the cube, but I do like seeing how there are differences, better or worse.

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BlasteroidAli
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Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby BlasteroidAli » September 19th, 2015, 2:34 pm

That is where the rot set in. It was a good series before this game. Then it was okay. C+

SigSauerLover
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Joined: April 8th, 2015, 5:51 pm

Re: Resident Evil 4 - (PS2) - A+

Postby SigSauerLover » September 19th, 2015, 3:17 pm

I'd still rather play this game rather than a broken dated mess like the past 3 games.


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