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I beat Resident Evil 4 for the first time. I still don't like tank controls.

Raptomex

Raptomex

Member
I'm not a huge RE fan and I'm really not into survival horror but this game as always intrigued me, mainly because of the focus on action. I beat RE 5 years ago but only in co-op and I somewhat enjoyed Mercenaries 3D on 3DS. I've played RE 4 on and off over the years and finally decided to give it a real chance. I completed the game on Normal last night. To be clear, I played the Steam version (Ultimate HD) with an Xbox One Elite controller. I also went ahead and beat Separate Ways and Assignment Ada. Both of these felt like I was just retreading through the main campaign. The bowgun is cool, though. Assignment Ada just felt unnecessary. I tried a bit of Mercenaries but I'm going to play more of it tonight. I enjoyed the game. The action is cool, I like how the weapons feel, and it has a great amount of replay value. And the reload animations are sexy. They seem choppy or at a lower frame rate or something in this version but still sexy. I never played the original so I'm not sure if that's just how they look. The adaptive difficulty (which I recently read about) is also nice. I always had the feeling I was going to run out of ammo but never did. Kept me on edge and aware, yet never becoming too difficult. I know some players will mention how ammo never becomes a problem if you play this "right". Well this was my first time really getting into this so I was low on ammo quite a few times. I'm aware of the headshot, kick, knife method, it just didn't always work out well in some situations so I relied on firepower many times.

What didn't I like?
- Babysitting. I was grateful any time Ashley was taken away from me. Yes, I'm aware tossing her in a dumpster makes it less of a nuisance and I did. I still don't like it. I would have much preferred to play through this as a solo character.

- Tank controls. Before anyone gets crazy, I'm fully aware the game is designed around the controls. I'm also fully aware that if the controls were changed, it would break the game (Wii motion controls). I still don't like it. I got used to it to the point where I was fully comfortable navigating and aiming by the time I got to the Castle. And, no, I did not change the control type in-game to type 3 or any other. I left it at default. As good as the game is, it didn't change my mind about tank controls but at least I gave them a real chance this time.

- Can't move and reload. This may be tied to the tank controls but whatever. I understand the point of the game is to stop and shoot. But not being able to move and reload started getting on my nerves towards the end of the game, especially during any battles where I was confined in small cramped areas. Definitely grateful I invested money into reload speed.

- Too much Krauser. Krauser fight in the main campaign, again in Separate Ways, and again in Assignment Ada. Outside of the fact that he's easy to kill with a knife, it's somewhat of an annoying boss fight.

- This game is in desperate need of quick weapon slots. Maybe it's just a product of it's time? Switching to my case every time I want to change weapons becomes tedious. Throw a flash grenade, pause the game to open the case, equip a gun, unpause. In addition to Leon not being very flexible (tank controls, can't move and shoot), it's also funny to think Leon carries a case with him and whips it out every time he has to change equipment, even during an encounter.


Great game. I still don't like tank controls.
 
R

Ryan_MSF

Member
Tank controls in Resident Evil 4?

tom-delonge-wtf1.gif
 
G

giancarlo123x

Banned
Anung said:
RE4 basically does have tank controls just from an over the shoulder perspective.
Click to expand...
This is correct, op isn't wrong. People's minds will be blown when they play an older title then this and realize the controls are exactly the same, just throw the camera over.
RE0 and RE4
Holding up on the stick moves you forward in the direction you're facing.
Left turns your character left and so on.
 
S

Savantcore

Unconfirmed Member
Am I going insane? Of course Resident Evil 4 has tank controls.

Have the last 12 years of my life been a lie?

HStallion said:
Sort of. They add enough movement options that it doesn't feel like more traditional tank controls.
Click to expand...

Forward and backward movement, left and right to pivot, turret-like aiming. Dictionary definition of tank controls.

The only tweak is the quick 180 turn.
 
Raptomex

Raptomex

Member
Anung said:
RE4 basically does have tank controls just from an over the shoulder perspective.
Click to expand...
That was my understanding.
Savantcore said:
Am I going insane? Of course Resident Evil 4 has tank controls.

Have the last 12 years of my life been a lie?
Click to expand...
Yeah, GAF is crazy. I've seen threads and have talked to people about RE 4. I thought it was known tank controls were a thing in this game. Not traditional tank controls, maybe, but still tank controls.
 
S

Sir Ilpalazzo

Member
I agree that pausing to switch your weapons and heal is one of the weaker aspects of the game. Resident Evil 5's inventory system was a massive improvement over 4's in that regard.

Also of course RE4 has tank controls lol. Strange responses in this thread.
 
J

Jangowuzhere

Banned
Raptomex said:
- This game is in desperate need of quick weapon slots. Maybe it's just a product of it's time? Switching to my case every time I want to change weapons becomes tedious. Throw a flash grenade, pause the game to open the case, equip a gun, unpause.
Click to expand...

If you organize your weapons correctly in the top left, you won't even need to spend half a second changing weapons.
 
G

GregLombardi

Member
I agree with all the posters saying the game doesn't have tank controls. I also think RE4 is a 10/10 game. However, in introducing the game to new people in this decade, I have noted there is a clear resistance among some players to even take the time to get used to the controls. It probably comes from the "needs" of the mobile phone generation to have instant gratification, but still, the resistance is there.
 
Z

ZeroCDR

Member
Item management was a lot of fun in RE4, though I agree a quick switch option would have been nice. RE5 delivers in that regard but I missed the tetris.
 
N

Nishastra

Banned
I think a lot of people don't understand what tank controls actually are?

The controls in RE4 are mostly the same as all the previous REs. Just the camera changed.
 
G

Graphics Horse

Member
Savantcore said:
The only tweak is the quick 180 turn.
Click to expand...

That was in from RE 3.. unless it was tweaked some other way but I haven't noticed.

giancarlo123x said:
re4control_031704_x1_1079506913.jpeg

Guess which game is which
its easy to figure out but you get the point.
Click to expand...

This confuses me because I never played the GC version, does GC still have a ready knife button? What camera perspectives? And I thought the quick free look worked up down left right. I need to go back to it.
 
V

VDenter

Banned
GregLombardi said:
I agree with all the posters saying the game doesn't have tank controls. I also think RE4 is a 10/10 game. However, in introducing the game to new people in this decade, I have noted there is a clear resistance among some players to even take the time to get used to the controls. It probably comes from the "needs" of the mobile phone generation to have instant gratification, but still, the resistance is there.
Click to expand...

But the game does have tank controls just because the camera changed does not mean that the controls have.
 
A

Arklite

Member
Is RE4 supposed to be a moment of epiphany towards tank controls? I don't think it's supposed to change anyone's mind, RE4 just is what it is.
 
Raptomex

Raptomex

Member
Jangowuzhere said:
If you organize your weapons correctly in the top left, you won't even need to spend half a second changing weapons.
Click to expand...
Yes. I was able to switch between things quickly by the end of the game, it was just annoying I couldn't do it on the fly.
ZeroCDR said:
Item management was a lot of fun in RE4, though I agree a quick switch option would have been nice. RE5 delivers in that regard but I missed the tetris.
Click to expand...
I have no problem with the item management. It's just having to open the case to switch weapons every time that I didn't care for.
 
D

DeathoftheEndless

Crashing this plane... with no survivors!
Yeah, the weapons and upgrade system are nice, but the controls suck. That's why every enemy moves at a snail's pace.
 
Renna Hazel

Renna Hazel

Member
RE4 does have tank controls. I prefer using them to dual analog movement. Tank controls just make more sense to me movement wise.
 
P

potatohead

Member
Alright so basically I understand what the other peeps are saying.

When I refer to tank controls I generally mean top down where forward is forward and can mean up/down/left/right instead of just face forward, using the isometric view.

But I see how you mean third person with tank controls. The perspective change makes the controls feel much different than what I would say are the traditional tank controls using an isometric view.

Same, but different. Definitely very different experiences even if both are technically tank style.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
Nishastra said:
I think a lot of people don't understand what tank controls actually are?

The controls in RE4 are mostly the same as all the previous REs. Just the camera changed.
Click to expand...

The camera changing to behind your character instead of looking at it from afar at static angles makes a world of difference in control and responsiveness. It's not tank control any more.
 
E

Easy_D

never left the stone age
The hell are with these replies? Am I in some parallell dimension where RE4 doesn't have tank controls? It absolutely does lol. You can only walk back and forth and turn left and right, like a tank. There's no strafing.
And even if you disagree regarding semantics, it's still easy to understand OP doesn't enjoy third person games where the right joystick controls both turning and aiming, with the left one accommodating strafing left and right. But nah, gotta shit on OP's way of expressing his dislike regarding the controls.

Edit: That said, I'm glad you were able to look past your issues and enjoy the game, it's one of the greats for sure and a ton of people give up because they can't deal with how it controls.
 
J

jsnepo

Member
I don't understand people saying RE4 doesn't have tank controls. It does. WTF are you people saying?

old school RE games:

up - moves forward
down - moves backward
left - turns left
right - turns right

RE4:

up - moves forward
down - moves backward
left - turns left
right - turns right

The difference is the camera because in RE4, the perspective is behind the character.
 
G

giancarlo123x

Banned
GregLombardi said:
I agree with all the posters saying the game doesn't have tank controls. I also think RE4 is a 10/10 game. However, in introducing the game to new people in this decade, I have noted there is a clear resistance among some players to even take the time to get used to the controls. It probably comes from the "needs" of the mobile phone generation to have instant gratification, but still, the resistance is there.
Click to expand...
But then you would be wrong. Not having tank controls would be something more like this
GgSy7ka.gif

Don't let the camera perspective confuse you.
 
J3nga

J3nga

Member
Some of you don't understand term "tank controls". It does have tank controls, even controls menu says so, it's not the camera angle that makes "tank controls", but uncomfortable player controllability, especially once you start comparing it to a modern games.
 
Raptomex

Raptomex

Member
I think players don't understand tank controls or there's a different term for how RE4 does it.
Tank controls refer to a characters movement when they are similiar to that of a tank. IE you have to turn before you can move forward or backwards. Tanks have no wheels to turn so they have to lock-up or reverse one of the treads to turn.
Click to expand...
Based on that definition, RE 4 may not follow it to the letter but it's very close. Regardless, I've never enjoyed this type of control. That's why I never cared for the original Tomb Raider games. Or is everyone going to tell me those games use a different control scheme, too?
 
B

Boney

Banned
Well, if you're glad you invested in reload speed, then you should know why there's no moving while reloading. Although instant weapon switch via menu sort of negates this. Lack of dedicated grenade button and quick weapon switch are indeed product of it's time and a bit of shame.

Tank controls = You can only move forward/backwards and turn. Of course this has tank controls. What the hell people.

Arklite said:
Is RE4 supposed to be a moment of epiphany towards tank controls? I don't think it's supposed to change anyone's mind, RE4 just is what it is.
Click to expand...
It is. But it's the greatest thing ever.
 
F

Forward

Member
Funnily enough, the actual controls never bothered me at all. The QTEs, though, were very nearly a dealbreaker for me.
 
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