[Suairyu]

The game peaks in the first act, in the village. The siege in the farmhouse with Louis is sublime. Definitely could have done with more of that through-out, as it never quite reaches those highs again.

Still a fantastic game.

[ElFly]

Thread fails to deliver horizontal scroll inducing screenshots.

[plagiarize]

The game peaks in the first act, in the village. The siege in the farmhouse with Louis is sublime. Definitely could have done with more of that through-out, as it never quite reaches those highs again. Still a fantastic game.

i've never really considered which *part* of RE4 is my favourite. i think, of the three main areas, i like the Castle best. it has the closest to classic RE atmosphere, has some of the craziest moments, has the hilarious Leon vs Salazar theatre bitch talking, and just generally feels closest to my idea of 'horrific'.

my favourite segment though is probably the first encounters with the regenerators through to the first encounter with an iron maiden, closely followed by the cabin stand off.

[Shotgun Kiss]

i think there is something to be said for how the game was meant to be played though, if you get what i mean. like, theres a difference between a film shot in 3D and one that was converted into 3D after the fact. i recommend people first play through RE4 with a pad, whatever they do after that is fine, but the game is balanced for a pad and the Wiimote breaks certain things (like upgrading accuracy stats on anything but rifles). it's fair for anyone to prefer one way over the other, but you aren't playing it the way it was intended if your first play through is with the Wiimote. if you don't care about that, fine... but i think 'each to their own' isn't quite what we're trying to get across. if the Wii version had been rebalanced for the pointer aiming, i'd say each to their own... but it wasn't. the guns are meant to start out less accurate. that isn't a matter of opinion.

You know why I don't need to validate my opinion with mentalities like "it's how the game was meant to played" (as if you need to be told how to have fun by game designers)?

Because it's an opinion, and therefore doesn't need validating.

If you find the statement "to each their own" so wildly offensive that you need to formulate an argument against it, then you really need to ask yourself if you're contributing anything to this thread, as opposed to just telling people they're wrong for not liking what you like.

[Ein Bear]

Your right hand comes off?

[Utako]

Holy crepes, how can this thread exist without screens?

[Phonomezer]

Resident Evil 4, in any of it's versions/ports is the greatest game of all time.

Played it for the first time last year and no, it isn't.

Great game but overhyped to the extreme.

[Valnen]

There are Hi-Res Texture packs available for it too that really blow the console releases out of the water. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...4#post36318016

Yet the Dolphin bugs make it worthless. He says the music cuts out. Would rather play a version that actually works.

[plagiarize]

You know why I don't need to validate my opinion with mentalities like "it's how the game was meant to played" (as if you need to be told how to have fun by game designers)? Because it's an opinion, and therefore doesn't need validating. If you find the statement "to each their own" so wildly offensive that you need to formulate an argument against it, then you really need to ask yourself what you're contributing to the discussion.

i don't find it remotely offensive. i'm just saying that i think it's fair to say something like this is not just a matter of which control method is more accurate or fun, as we also have the intent of the game developers to consider.

i don't think you need to validate your opinion at all. i'm just saying there's more to the discussion than raw opinion. that doesn't mean you can't have your opinion.

i just think 'each to their own' is a bit too reductive in a case like this. whether i prefer 3D or not, i will see a film intended to be seen in 3D in 3D and a film intended to be seen in 2D but post converted into 3D in 2D, because i don't just consider my own opinion in these matters, i also take into account the creators intent, because for some of us, it isn't just a matter of our own personal preferences.

do you know why i wouldn't recommend anyone to pick up RE:Darkside Chronicles to play it with a pad on PS3? same damn reason. it's not about validating my controller preferences at all.

[ATF487]

I understand the fact that the Wii controls altered the game, but I can't say it "broke" it when it becomes more fun afterwards. Yes, it's easier, but also less frustrating.

[Exeunt]

I played Resident Evil 4 (Wii Edition) earlier this year and I was absolutely blown away by how well it lived up to the hype seven years later. I played on a regular Wii so the image quality wasn't anything to write home about but I still saw a really nice-looking game underneath the SD zoomed-in widescreen mess. I know a lot of posters have said that the Wii controls make the game too easy but as a first-timer going through the game having been introduced to Wii shooter controls through Metroid Prime 3, it was just really fun to control and the difficulty seemed appropriate throughout.

The village was easily my favourite part of the game; the initial confrontation with all the villagers and Dr. Salvador was tough but a great way to establish a sense of danger. The Del Lago fight was also probably my favourite in the game even though it didn't use the traditional shooting mechanics—it was just plain fun and a great sequence early on in the game. The castle was fantastic even though I don't think it reached the same highs as the village, and the island was definitely up to par during the indoor parts with the Regenerators but a little less engaging when fighting the soldiers. There are lots of great moments in the game that have probably been brought up over and over so I won't dwell on them, but it certainly wowed me time and time again.

Outside the script—which had its own special charm—the game feels really polished and I can believe that the developers squeezed all they could out of the GameCube hardware. The little touches like the sound and animation of an exploding head and the creepy Spanish chanting go a long way towards making the experience satisfying and engaging for me and and the music really enhances the mood. I haven't played any of the other Resident Evil titles beyond the Revelaitons demo but the game was really intense and I felt a definite sense of dread while moving forward. Maybe it's not "survival horror" in the traditional sense (not that I would really know) but I still found it to be a gripping and satisfying experience. I still dread anything with a chainsaw, the dogs, the "right hand," and the Regenerators.

[JumpingTheGun]

Played it for the first time last year and no, it isn't. Great game but overhyped to the extreme.

Probably because you played it for the first time last year. Had you played it when it released seven years ago I'm willing to bet your opinion would be drastically different.

[Murrah]

Probably because you played it for the first time last year. Had you played it when it released seven years ago I'm willing to bet your opinion would be drastically different.

I dunno, I only played it for the first time a year and a half ago and it's probably my pick for best game of all time. Poster above you only played it last year and loved it too

[JumpingTheGun]

Yeah. What I was thinking is that maybe the people that don't like it now possibly would've liked it a whole lot more if they had played it upon its initial release.

[Exeunt]

I'd go so far as to say this game is one of my all-time favourites after just playing it in January, but I will admit that I haven't played a lot of shooters in my time—that might factor into my positive response. No survival horror either, but I'll just stick with "shooter" for this post since I guess the "survival horror" aspect of the game is argued.

Phonomezer might have played a lot of shooters that came out after Resident Evil 4 that were influenced by the title (I think Epic has gone on record saying Gears was heavily inspired by Resident Evil 4's mechanics for example) or more shooters in general. I basically haven't owned any games in which shooting is the primary mechanic outside the Metroid Prime series which is frequently argued to be more "First Person Adventure" than "First Person Shooter." So not having a lot of experience with shooters or horror games or anything of the sort left me with basically a blank slate with which to enjoy the game no matter when it was released. If someone hypothetically played the game seven years later with a whole bunch of similar experiences under his or her belt, I might understand how maybe it doesn't seem as impressive.

[gnarlyxcharlie]

As much as I hate that it abandoned the old RE, everytime I play it I have so much fun. I've beaten it almost ten times, doing a professional run right now, it never gets old.

Except for the island, some of that area is terrible

[Yasae]

Probably because you played it for the first time last year. Had you played it when it released seven years ago I'm willing to bet your opinion would be drastically different.

I played it seven years ago and my opinion isn't that much different.

You can say it's a great action game and that's fine, but I hate it because it's an action game. Were my expectations unrealistic? Was RE4 not a humongous leap in gameplay styles?

[Curufinwe]

do you know why i wouldn't recommend anyone to pick up RE:Darkside Chronicles to play it with a pad on PS3? same damn reason. it's not about validating my controller preferences at all.

Apparently playing Umbrella Chronicles with a pad makes the game much easier because the Move aiming is so skittish.

[Oscilet]

I think Resident Evil 4 is going to become a lot like Final Fantasy VII in the sense that most people considered it amazing when it first came out. But as time passes, many parts of what made it so good will age/become outdone, and newer players will scratch their head as to why it was so revered in the first place.

[plagiarize]

As much as I hate that it abandoned the old RE, everytime I play it I have so much fun. I've beaten it almost ten times, doing a professional run right now, it never gets old. Except for the island, some of that area is terrible

i really wish everyone could understand that there really wasn't any choice but to abandon that old style of Resident Evil. i loved them too, i really did, but it was a franchise in crisis.

RE4 didn't kill the old style of games, gamers getting bored and wanting something different did. RE4 was answering that. ignoring that, well, Capcom would have been left with only the choice of scrapping the franchise or reinventing it for the next one. the call for a reinvention had been growing louder and louder with each title leading up to 4.

[revolverjgw]

Your right hand comes off?

It's actually "you're"

[Exeunt]

It's actually "you're"

The game even has the Capcpom touch.

[JumpingTheGun]

"No thanks, BRO."

Cracks me up when Salazar calls Leon "Mr. Scott"

[LeBrick James]

I pretty much hate it because it completely killed my love for the series. As a game itself, i thought it was terribly overrated. The village area may be fun, but once you get past it, it turns into a generic corridor shooter. The island level is particularly ugly.

When people start talking "greatest of all time", I think it's overrated. The village definitely earned its credit, but I also remember the level design not being nearly as memorable after that. I wouldn't say generic, just not anything great... RE4's innovation is in its camera, and translating the trademark tank controls to a nice fit.

RE4 created the formula for a number of modern shooters, but at least a couple of them have already taken that formula and did a few things better. Dead Space being one. RE5 polished nearly all aspects of the same gameplay, but sacrificed pacing and level design for a great co-op campaign.

Anyway, I need to play RE4 over again one of these days. I still have it on GC, but they should do a re-release of the PC version or something.

[Ein Bear]

"No thanks, BRO." Cracks me up when Salazar calls Leon "Mr. Scott"

Writhe in my cage of torment, my friend.

RE4 has the best cast and script in the series, by far.

[plagiarize]

When people start talking "greatest of all time", I think it's overrated. The village definitely earned its credit, but I also remember the level design not being nearly as memorable after that. I wouldn't say generic, just not anything great... RE4's innovation is in its camera, and translating the trademark tank controls to a nice fit. RE4 created the formula for a number of modern shooters, but at least a couple of them have already taken that formula and did a few things better. Dead Space being one. RE5 polished nearly all aspects of the same gameplay, but sacrificed pacing and level design for a great co-op campaign. Anyway, I need to play RE4 over again one of these days. I still have it on GC, but they should do a re-release of the PC version or something.

the PC version is ass. you're better off playing the 360/PS3 versions or the Wii version through Dolphin. personally i currently prefer the 360/PS3 versions over the Wii version considering they run at native resolutions (and Dolphin can only run at a native resolution in letterboxed 4:3 due to the way the engine scales to 16:9) and without sound issues, but they are missing specular effects and do not have any kind of antialiasing.

we need a new PC version basically, though that's unlikely to ever happen.

[Valnen]

I played it seven years ago and my opinion isn't that much different. You can say it's a great action game and that's fine, but I hate it because it's an action game. Were my expectations unrealistic? Was RE4 not a humongous leap in gameplay styles?

Do you enjoy other action games that aren't Resident Evil IP?

If so, why not look past the title of the game and just enjoy it for what it is?

[Yasae]

i really wish everyone could understand that there really wasn't any choice but to abandon that old style of Resident Evil. i loved them too, i really did, but it was a franchise in crisis. RE4 didn't kill the old style of games, gamers getting bored and wanting something different did. RE4 was answering that. ignoring that, well, Capcom would have been left with only the choice of scrapping the franchise or reinventing it for the next one. the call for a reinvention had been growing louder and louder with each title leading up to 4.

Exactly, game developers want to make money. RE4 was the game to do that.

I don't think it's very challenging to create a game leading to what your prior work specifically avoided. In a way, RE4 was giving into demands of gaming trends at the time, whereas it started more as an exploration - on a brand new system no less. People point to Amnesia and say, "There's your survival horror if you it want it then!", yet that title doesn't have the onus upon it to sell 3 or 4 or 5 million copies.

Ultimately I feel this evolution was necessary, but that RE4 was not really better than the old games. It isn't.

[Sadist]

It might not be the best Resident Evil game (comparing it to classics like REmake, 2, 3 and... I guess CVX) but man oh man it's one of the greatest action games ever made.

Even with all the actionpacked stuff Leon faces, the game has a lot of suspense akin to the classic RE adventures. Instead of relying on jumpscares like zombies falling out of closets, Nemesis following you around or creepy twins, there is this constant "dread" surrounding Leon as he walks into the home of the Ganados. The way how the Ganados advance on Leon when he enters the Pueblo is simply amazing. They discover him and one by one they corner him, making him retreat to one of the houses. They start to pound on doors, windows and Leon notices a guy preparing a freaking chainsaw. The climax of that fight is the best opening ever: the first time I started the game on Gamecube I noticed Dr. Salvador a tad too late. Poor Leon. But that sense of fear, something ominous heading towards Leon and Ashley never leaves. You never felt safe even in more secure areas. And honestly, there were a few good reasons for always being on your guard. RE 4 just loves throwing around nasty surprises. Fighting Ganados in the woods? Watch out for beartraps. Rainy night clouding your sight? Here are some wolves infected by Las Plagas. You thought one El Gigante was tough? That is funny. Here, you can fight two of 'em at the same time!

The sense of fear was stimulated by the controls. Some of us would say the controls are pretty oldfashioned right now, but it worked for the type of game that RE 4 is. Enemies could surround you because of the limited cameraview and because you couldn't shoot and move at the same time. It was a choice which played out perfectly I'd say. Plus, I liked the new mechanics a lot. People calling RE 4 a dudebro shooter are nuts. Unless they completed the game on easy, the game gives the player a nice challenge. Compared to other RE installments it has more ammo, but you can't just blast away: they key is to preserve ammo and hit the Ganados in the blastzones. I've saved a lot of ammo by aiming for the knees or faces and kicking them in the face. You needed the majority of the bullets for bossfights. If you didn't cheat by buying a rocketlauncher.

RE 4 has some of the most memorable bossfights in the history of gaming. Facing Del Lago in the lake as some mutated Moby Dick? Oh man. The first El Gigante was no slouch either. (Hey, it's that dog!) But my favourite fights must have been with Verdugo, U3 (or It) and Krauser. The first time fighting Verdugo was plain crazy. I didn't have the rocketlauncher, so I tried to slow him down with the cannisters. But I just couldn't hide from him. I actually ran for minutes untill the elevator finally came to rescue me. The definition of a cat and mouse game. U3 is brilliant because of the hanging cage construction. The narrow paths didn't do me any favours. It was hell (in a good way) just to find the release buttons and dodging U3's attacks. Nervewrecking. And Krauser... two good fights. QTE's are normally shite, but the Leon/Krauser fight was QTE done right. And the real battle between the two is pretty damn amazing as well.

And oh, the corny dialogues? Still funny. "Ah, you should meet "IT". IT would love to play". "Can't remember the name eh? A senior moment perhaps?"

[Magicpaint]

RE4 is one of the very few games I consider to be virtually flawless. Also I think it is funny how people want to suggest that it killed the series. A good game doesn't kill your series. Mikami leaving is what killed the series. Even RE0, as much as I enjoyed it was nothing compared to REmake.

Probably because you played it for the first time last year. Had you played it when it released seven years ago I'm willing to bet your opinion would be drastically different.

To me, nothing that came out after RE4 (in a similar vein) is even close. I am consistently reminded of that when I choose to replay RE4. Its level design alone is on a completely different level.

[Valnen]

Anyway, I need to play RE4 over again one of these days. I still have it on GC, but they should do a re-release of the PC version or something.

If the FF7 PC re-release goes well I could totally see other companies looking at that as a way to make some easy cash.

[JumpingTheGun]

Someones gotta post links to those vids of the early builds of re4 where it played just like the the ones that came before it.

[plagiarize]

Exactly, game developers want to make money. RE4 was the game to do that. I don't think it's very challenging to create a game leading to what your prior work specifically avoided. In a way, RE4 was giving into demands of gaming trends at the time, whereas it started more as an exploration - on a brand new system no less. People point to Amnesia and say, "There's your survival horror if you it want it then!", yet that title doesn't have the onus upon it to sell 3 or 4 or 5 million copies. Ultimately I feel this evolution was necessary, but that RE4 was not really better than the old games. It isn't.

well, matters of opinion aside, i wouldn't have been happy to see something like what happened to the Silent Hill series happen to Resident Evil. if it had stayed survival horror, it wouldn't have stayed with internal Capcom A teams, that's for sure.

the choice was increasingly pale imitations of what came before or something that appealed to an audience the size that liked survival horror in the days of Resident Evil 2. hopefully one day we'll see an audience for survival horror that size again (as we've seen other genres make big comebacks in sales and budgets, like 2D platformers), and we'll be able to get A teams working on them. until then, i'm personally happy for Resident Evil to remain an A franchise, and to get my survival horror stuff from elsewhere.

yeah, Capcom have lost a lot of talent... but i'd rather get something inhouse like Revelations than whatever someone like Vatra or Slant Six would do with a mainline entry.

[LeBrick James]

the PC version is ass. you're better off playing the 360/PS3 versions or the Wii version through Dolphin. personally i currently prefer the 360/PS3 versions over the Wii version considering they run at native resolutions (and Dolphin can only run at a native resolution in letterboxed 4:3 due to the way the engine scales to 16:9) and without sound issues, but they are missing specular effects and do not have any kind of antialiasing. we need a new PC version basically, though that's unlikely to ever happen.

I've heard. I meant that i'd love to see them redo the PC version.

Do the PS3/360 versions run at 60fps?

[Ein Bear]

RE4 is one of the very few games I consider to be virtually flawless. Also I think it is funny how people want to suggest that it killed the series. A good game doesn't kill your series. Mikami leaving is what killed the series. Even RE0, as much as I enjoyed it was nothing compared to REmake. To me, nothing that came out after RE4 (in a similar vein) is even close. I am consistently reminded of that when I choose to replay RE4. Its level design alone is on a completely different level.

In some alternate universe, there's a Mikami designed Resident Evil 5.

And it's GLORIOUS.

[plagiarize]

I've heard. I meant that i'd love to see them redo the PC version. Do the PS3/360 versions run at 60fps?

no. no version does. PC version is hardlocked at 30 fps too.

[JumpingTheGun]

Interesting. I'm trying to picture how re4 would be at 60fps..

Never thought about that before..

[Magicpaint]

In some alternate universe, there's a Mikami designed Resident Evil 5. And it's GLORIOUS.

If not Mikami then at least Kamiya. Though I consider RE2 to be a bit overrated, that guy knows his stuff.

[plagiarize]

Interesting. I'm trying to picture how re4 would be at 60fps.. Never thought about that before..

RE5 at 60 fps on PC plays really nicely. maybe someday we'll get to play 4 with AA at a native resolution without missing effects at 60 fps.

[LeBrick James]

Interesting. I'm trying to picture how re4 would be at 60fps.. Never thought about that before..

RE5 looks glorious. I want to play RE4 that way.

And thanks for the info plagiarize.

[Sadist]

Someones gotta post links to those vids of the early builds of re4 where it played just like the the ones that came before it.

RE 3.5
RE 3.5 Airship

[JumpingTheGun]

RE 3.5 RE 3.5 Airship

Yessss. Thanks Sadist!

[apana]

Greatest game of all time is a bit much but it is probably in my top ten or top fifteen list. Wii controls make this so much better. I hate dual analogs for shooters, it really hinders the experience.

[Seik]

RE 3.5 RE 3.5 Airship

Seriously, we need a footage of the whole thing like when that guy that still have that copy of RE1.5 uploaded videos on the net. That same guy should unleash it on the net, god I'd like to play RE1.5, the thing was almost complete. =_=

[The_Hitcher89]

Was RE4 the first 'over-the-shoulder' game?

[JumpingTheGun]

Was RE4 the first 'over-the-shoulder' game?

I remember Freedom Fighters doing it. At least when you were aiming it went into that perspective.

[plagiarize]

Seriously, we need a footage of the whole thing like when that guy that still have that copy of RE1.5 uploaded videos on the net. That same guy should unleash it on the net, god I'd like to play RE1.5, the thing was almost complete. =_=

yeah. i'd like to play RE1.5 and whatever builds exist of all the various takes on RE4... but lets not pretend that the earliest versions of RE4 play like the classics.

the first attempt at RE4 ended up as what we all now know as Devil May Cry... which doesn't play like a classic RE title.

[heliosRAzi]

Except for the island, some of that area is terrible

Though I agree, the island does have this fucker:



I was actually talking to my coworker about RE4 a couple of days ago. He passed it up when it first came out and I told him it was one of the best games ever and I hardly ever throw the term around.

[Ein Bear]

I'd kill for a leak of the RE4 prototypes, would love to know more about them.

[BotoxAgent]

That's what happens when the creator of the series decides to work somewhere else It's the same with all the major Japanese Game companies. These super talented directors are leaving these companies (and their massive budgets), so the company is forced to bring in young blood

yeah, without Shinji.....it's pretty much guaranteed that any RE that comes after will be pretty much garbage. I hope I am wrong with RE6 though.