Resident Evil 4 changes gaming

(above) A screen shot wouldn't do justice to this picasso of games.


I recently had knee surgery, which had me fairly immobile for quite some time, and I found myself with more free time on my hand than normal. I needed a good game to play while my ligaments healed, and I had long yearned to play the highly touted Resident Evil 4. My brother’s fiancé was kind enough to lend me a game cube, and even give me the game (my family and acquaintances shall remain nameless, due to my recent “Muslim series”). I was home from the hospital for only about an hour or so, when I finally felt cognizant enough to play, but little did I know Resident Evil 4 is more addictive than any drug or shot I had gotten at the hospital. I recently posted my “50 greatest video games” list, but let me assure you that Resident Evil 4 is easily in the top 3, and that not just the pain pills talking. There has only been two other gaming experiences for me that even come close to Resident4; GoldenEye, and Doom 3. After playing a game the caliber, I use caliber loosely because it’s really in a class of it’s own, I look at every other game on my shelf and wonder; why can’t any other title even come close to the level of this game? Resident Evil 4 raises the bar so high that it will take a Herculean effort to even come close to matching its overwhelming excellence. Graphics, sound, story, game-play, variety, mood, and length are all ridiculously better than anything before it. The environments of this masterpiece are so detailed, I could spend hours in any given area, and there is nothing that isn’t authentically depicted down to the very smallest of details. The shear variety of these breathtaking areas, it absolutely mind-blowing. Resident Evil 4 really makes you resent all of the relatively short games, you have played, knowing how much more can be packed onto one these discs. Every unique ands interesting aspect of any game you have played in the past fifteen years has been refined and incorporated into Resident 4. You play as Leon, a character fans of the series are familiar with, sent on a mission in the far reaches of the globe to track down the presidents kidnapped daughter. Leon stumbles upon a strange village where the natives are unexplainably hostile, they are not zombies, but being somewhat intelligent ad human makes them even scarier. The villagers speak Spanish and have no regard for their own safety and they attack Leon with great vigor, and for unknown reasons. This first chapter of the game feels very much like the Resident Evil style we are all accustomed to. There are green herbs, typewriters, and creepy moments of quiet anticipation. After we are immersed into this familiar environment and style, the game quickly rockets into something new, and doesn’t stop changing directions and topping itself until the very end, which come two discs later. The perspective is unique, a first person third person hybrid. It’s sort of over the shoulder, but it really makes you feel like you’re in Leon’s shoes. In addition to the perspective there is a traveling merchant that add a new aspect to the game. You may sell the treasure you collect, but beware some items may be combined and have much more retail value than if sold individually, you can use the money to buy a variety of items and weapons. In addition to the choice of weapons, you may also upgrade you artillery. Each firearm has upgrades for power; reload speed, bullet capacity, rate of fire, and one special upgrade only available if the weapon has been fully upgraded. This offers some interesting choices, because the money you collect is not limitless, you will have to decide which weapons you are most comfortable with, and which will be most useful before you drop a lot of benjermans into them. You may find yourself putting a lot of dough into a handgun only to find a new and better model for sale down the road, although upgraded weapons can be sold back at a pretty fair price. Another interesting aspect of Resident are it’s cut scenes, which are interactive. Through the cut scenes action may occur that will require a prompted hit of a button or two-button combination to save Leon’s life. It really makes things interesting to see the story line develop while also having to stay on your toes at the same time. The button combinations are also different almost every time, so they can’t be memorized. Resident 4 also has some puzzle solving, the puzzles are familiar as they are some of the best from the series past, but re-tooled with a really neat modern twist to them. They can all be solved with a little patience and thought, and are a good homage to the games origins. The game also features some team play reminiscent of the Code Veronica game, and sniper play, as well as some wild shooting rides on some unique vehicles. There are more special elements to this title than I can get into, and I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t experienced this yet, but let me assure you that they are all very gratifying. Very rarely, if ever before, can a game reach peaks in so many different ways as this title does. Resident 4 is creepy and rich with scary environments and anticipation, and it is also a white-knuckle thrill ride with plenty of machine gun fast paced survival. The variety of ways you can use your shots is also astounding, the enemies react to shot placement appropriately and have a variety of death animations. Your shots are placed with your laser sighting, but Leon’s hands aren’t completely steady and in the heat of battle, and in close corridors, it can be tough to get those shots, but all of your shots can be effective in some way. Should you shoot a bad guy in the leg, he will clutch it and be slowed down considerably, this can prove useful when your surrounded by enemies that require a number of shots to be put down for good. You can also knick the enemies hands, and arms, which may cause them to loose their weapons, Should you not be able to keep the hoard from reaching your position, and if your quick on the action prompts, you will be given an opportunity to perform some dodges and kicks, to buy you some more real-estate. The finishing shots are always an important part of an action/survival horror game, and Resident 4 has some of the best. Many games have cool head explosions, and deaths, but they very often wind up being mundane and forgetful by the time the game has ended, because you have seen it so many times. Resident 4 has an unbelievable variety of death styles that will keep you cringing and marveled to the very end. The enemies get so many different types of wounds, and demises that it really keeps this title super cinematic throughout. The sounds of all of these drastic events are every bit as impressive as the sights, the creepy chanting of Spanish religious cultist’s will echo in your ears for weeks. Glass breaking, gunshots, shrieks, and even the sound of walking through a puddle are all so darn real, you will be looking over your shoulder late at night. I could go on about this game for pages, but I could never do it justice, it is so far ahead of what we have been taught to expect from gaming it’s ridiculous. Resident Evil 4 is an experience as much as it is a game, and it will change your expectations completely, I had no idea what these consoles were capable of before this. Resident Evil 4 gets eight stars out of four, and six thumbs up!! If you haven’t played this yet, stop reading this sentence and go get it. Make some coffee, call in sick tomorrow and get ready to be absurdly entertained.

I am begging Nintendo to release more good titles
The Game Cube has shown me glimpses of this type of superiority in the past It never ceases to amaze me the potential of Nintendo, that little tiny box, those little tiny discs can pack a mighty punch. I really think if Nintendo would publish more mature, or even non-Mario based titles, I would most certainly own a game cube. All of the times I have borrowed a cube to play a game, like the last few Resident titles, have left me thinking that the machine is capable of considerably better graphics and sound than either the X-box or play station. If there were just enough good titles to play, it wouldn’t even be close. Resident Evil 4 on Nintendo looks and sounds better, than anything I have seen from the 360 so far, and I am not exaggerating. If only there were enough titles to play, game cube is by far the best graphical machine available.