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Is Resident Evil 4 the most phenomenally paced game ever?

I think the pacing is absolute wank. Always have. The castle onwards just doesn't feel right or fun. Boring as fuck too in almost every way from environment to art design (some exceptions).
 
What really pushes RE4 above most comparable games is the sheer variety in combinations of what are essentially the same basic set-ups using the same basic mechanics. I'd guess most people took ~20 hours on their first playthrough, and for like 80% of that (if not more) it's just Leon with his normal run, shoot, and contextual interaction abilities while the game bends its encounter design, enemy design, and rules around you over, and over, and over again. Considering you kill somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 enemies by the end of the game, that's pretty incredible. Then, not only is combat pacing and tension managed well, but the game knows exactly when to slow down outside of those sequences WITHOUT FORCIBLY SLOWING THE PLAYER to let you catch your breath and restock. It's crazy for a game that went through as many revisions as RE4 did over a development cycle as long as it had to still feel so meticulous. It's one thing for Nintendo to pull this off with their big Mario platformers where level design and gimmicks can go wild and still fit the game, but it's another thing to do this in a shooter that has some sort of logical consistency.

It's not perfect, no game is, but I still hold RE4 in a class of its own.
 
I'm not so sure. Honestly, the third act in the military base / laboratory felt kinda out of place and it always felt wrong to me somehow.

The Village part was awesome, the castle was just as good, then you go to that island and fight guys with guns and military helmets.. This felt so out of place, like i'm suddently playing Resident Evil 5 or 6... The only thing that kinda helps is the BOWs in this area, those spikey guys are nice and help with the tension.
 
Yep, there's a wonderful sense of escalation. Whilst the castle section is long, there's huge variety in the scenarios: rollercoaster mine cart, hedge maze, sewers, cage fight to name but a few. I think the problem, as others have stated, is that you don't want to put the game down and get exhausted after a six-hour binge (all of which likely could have been spent in the castle).

The sheer size of that place intimidated me so much during the first play through. And that creepy music which would sometimes kick in...*shudder*. Such a fun game.
 
Raptor said:
And RE4 second half is not as better, so maybe tied?

But I don't know, just the start then it all goes uphill, RE4 however, first hafl good the downhill.

TLOU is paced better.
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TLoU takes until Bill's Town to really get going and has way too many segments where you just push Ellie around on a pallet/find a ladder or some shit.

Not to really hold this against TLoU but another edge RE4 has is the sheer wealth of bosses and how frequently you end up coming across one. The combat design and variety is solely what holds and pushes the game to amazing heights.
 
Kissenkopf said:
I guess you will be the only on.

Back to topic...hell yes. Its one of the best games ever and that in every aspect. I think i finished the game more than 15 times.
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I think Uncharted 2 and Last of Us have the best pacing ever in a videogame. Heavy Rain was pretty great as well in that regard.
 
It was also cool how you could relax from time to time by re-organising the attache case! I did this a lot to calm down and take a breather.
 
It took me 3 times (across 3 different systems) to finally "get" the game. I hated it the first 2 two times (on PS2 and Gamecube), and then when it came out on Wii, I finally said, "ok, too many people love this game...I've got to figure out what I've been missing", and I'm certainly glad I did. Surviving the opening encounter was one of the most satisfying things I've accomplished in a game and the game kept a steady pace throughout. The arena-style encounters were appropriately spaced out and the in-between parts kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for more. I'll say (though not relevant to the discussion), the game never really was scary. It was tense beyond belief, but never scary. I guess that's someone only the original RE (and REmake) can claim.
 
EmCeeGramr said:
The best part of the Island is how it starts off in total "okay you have plenty of guns now, this is the last part of the horror game where it isn't scary anymore" mode with guntoting enemies and pure action... and then it introduces the Regenerators, shambling zombie like enemies that standard weapons are almost useless against and are utterly terrifying.
Click to expand...

So good.

I love it when games play with your expectations.
 
If I had to pick out some flaws, it would be that the island needed some bigger outdoor areas with a tree or two to break up the constant sterile environment. Same for the castle but to a lesser extent. The first 1/3 of the game (village) was the best area to me because it covered a larger amount of space with more varied locations, (cemetery, farm area, lake) and it also had more consistent atmosphere. The island area could've used some variation of settings, like a section at the shoreline or the beach, with a lighthouse maybe, or even some mildly tropic environment at night like a tropical storm.

Village> Castle >>Island

Also, Leon loses his jacket too early. Should've had it until the castle.
 
The pacing is amazing, almost unmatched. However, The Last of Us came out last year and I think that game is also a masterwork in pacing, might even be better than RE4 since it's not quite as long. RE4 does start to drag at certain later sections.
 
Arkham Asylum is up there

The Last of Us starts off waaaay too slow to be considered in the conversation.
 
Yup, RE4 is the gold standard. UC2 and TLOU not too far behind. I'll admit all three have portions that noticeably drag a bit, but I struggle to think of any other games that pace themselves that well overall.

I'd also give a nod to God of War 2.
 
Amentallica said:
I like The Last of Us but I STRONGLY disagree with this. The game takes about two hours to open up, whereas Resident Evil 4 immediately grips you.
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Jesus Christ, it's amazing how many people in this thread talk ONLY in dichotomy (not you specifically, other people saying REMOVE IT FROM THE CONVO, etc.).

I thought TLOU was brilliant the whole way through, but I was surprised to hear that, for multiple people, the beginning dragged. Which is fair, I suppose.

MGS3's pacing was good, but I actually think MGS1 had amazing pace, at least for me during the time. It was the first game to do a lot of what it did, and I was gripped the whole way through. Even when it slows down, gameplay wise (backtracking), there were still a couple moments to break up that monotony;
the cargo lift shootout; the revealing codec calls with Naomi/Master/Liquid
.

Which brings up another point, about pace... Some people can say that something is well paced from a story perspective, while that can completely bore someone who just wants to play, which is obviously an issue when people play Metal Gear. However, I would definitely say that RE4 keeps an amazing balance of both, and that's partly because of the nature of the super B-movie plot. Basically we get to know the villains enough to crack our own jokes about them (fuckin' fake-ass naploleon), to hear Leon crack jokes about them, and then we're on our ass-kicking way.

Also, here's a 16 minute video about why RE4 is awesome, courtesy of Super Bunny Hop.
 
Absolutely the best pacing and variety in a game ever. Other games that come to mind are MGS1, MGS3, Uncharted 2 & Ninja Gaiden Black. The action genre lends itself to great pacing.

An adventure game with great pacing is much rarer. I think the pacing in Ocarina of Time is perfect for an adventure game. The perfect balance of story, dungeons, combat, puzzles, minigames, exploration and secrets.
 
I can agree up until you reach the island. By that point, I was just like "can this game end already?".

Even parts of the castle (the minecart area in particular) felt a bit uneven.

Those first two chapters are pretty much perfect, though.
 
Just adding that pacing is Chrono Trigger's best thing, and that's especially impressive for a open-world RPG which do usually suffer horribly from bad pacing.

Can't really say if it's better pacing than RE4, never played it, I should though.

EDIT: Also heavily disagree with TLOU, the part
right after Joel's daughter dies
is awfully slow.
 
Nibel said:
I must confess I finished the game already by then. Started normal very early (basically NG+), then switched to professional and that took the biggest amount of time, and the last playthrough with the unlockables could be finished in less than 6 hours I think.
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6 hours would feel like a waste to me, it kind of amazes me that people can get through a game that fast. Every playthrough I like to take my time and look at everything and kill everything. My first playthrough was about 43 hours. A "speed run" for me was about 14.
 
Yes. It's a fantastic display of great game design. The only other games that come close - specifically in terms of pacing - are GOW 2, GeOW 1, and Uncharted 2.
 
EmCeeGramr said:
RE4's pacing is so good that this happened: while I was playing RE5 for the first time, I felt like it wasn't grabbing me at all. Not bad, just... kinda there. I felt so burned out during the fight with Wesker in the room with lights that I assumed I was just not in a third person shooter mood and I was being unfair to the game. To test this, I put in RE4 Wii Edition.

I ended up playing the entirety of RE4 for like the 10th or 11th time without meaning to, and even ended up starting another game of RE4 where I got like halfway through the Village again.
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Yeah I did this not so long ago. Whereas I burned out RE5 pretty quickly I keep coming back to 4. I've been meaning to do a breakdown on what RE5 did wrong for a while now.
 
EmCeeGramr said:
RE4's pacing is so good that this happened: while I was playing RE5 for the first time, I felt like it wasn't grabbing me at all. Not bad, just... kinda there. I felt so burned out during the fight with Wesker in the room with lights that I assumed I was just not in a third person shooter mood and I was being unfair to the game. To test this, I put in RE4 Wii Edition.

I ended up playing the entirety of RE4 for like the 10th or 11th time without meaning to, and even ended up starting another game of RE4 where I got like halfway through the Village again.
Click to expand...
Pretty much what I did. Not joking.

So yeah, the pacing of the game is amazing. Another thing about RE 4 I love is that it knows when to quit. When a certain part feels like it's going to drag and BAM different stuff getting thrown at Leon. The diversity of the game helps the pacing a lot.
 
My favorite element of RE4's pacing is how organic the slower, more exploration-focused sections feel. Instead of arbitrary red light/green light TLOU-style pacing that literally forces the player to slow down in specific sections, RE4 never once hinders the player's controls. As a result, the player is free to move as quickly or as slowly through the game as he or she likes. But doesn't this present a problem? If a player speeds through exploration sections, wouldn't the pacing suffer as a result? Fuck no! The combat encounters have a pacing onto themselves - each is so unique and varied that the player will never suffer fatigue when playing through them.

Truly the GOAT.
 
Yes. Good God yes.

It is also the ONLY game I've ever played the manages to remain fresh throughout while making you basically fight the same exact enemies 99% of the time. The scenarios Mikami puts you in are fucking brilliant.
 
RE4 pacing is definitely wonderful. Even if the village part is better than the castle or island, I never felt the game drag. Everything just plays so well.
 
Tempesta di Fuoco said:
Yes. Good God yes.

It is also the ONLY game I've ever played the manages to remain fresh throughout while making you basically fight the same exact enemies 99% of the time. The scenarios Mikami puts you in are fucking brilliant.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I want to call RE4 "the Mario Galaxy of third person shooters"

but I think it would be more appropriate to call Mario Galaxy "the RE4 of platformers"
 
Uncharted 2's puzzles drag the pacing down significantly for me. One of RE4's greatest strengths is the utter non-tedium of its puzzles. Most, if not all of RE4's puzzles can be physically solved in the same time it takes them to be mentally solved. With Uncharted 2, you might mentally solve a puzzle but still have to act out numerous steps to physically complete it. TLOU has the exact same issue.
 
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is unbeatable in that respect. A game with pacing so good that it gets the obligatory sewer part over and done with in five minutes.
 
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