Resident Evil 4 Review

Introduction

Resident Evil 4 is a horror game played in 3rd person view as police officer Leon Kennedy.

It is the 4th game in the series and is different from previous instalment of the series by having the camera follow the character. In Resident Evil 1,2 and 3 the camera was fixed for every room. It is the first game in the series not to be set in Racoon City.

Story

Leon a police officer from Racoon city is sent to Europe to protect the president’s daughter who has been kidnapped. The enemies are zombie like humans that have been infected with a parasite. There are also monsters in the game which are the result of experimentation on the parasite. Ada is a police woman previously known to Leon is an independent agent not working for the police.

The cut-scenes in the game are really nicely done and the voice acting very good. The story is shown by cut-scenes, but also notes and videophone. The videophone works well and some of the conversations with the enemy are good. Notes are left throughout the game by different enemies. There is information in the notes that happened minutes ago in the game, I don't know why they would write these notes in such short time however the notes are very useful for understanding more of the story.

Leon shhots possesed villagers.

Gameplay

The game features a nice selection of guns like shotgun, riot shotgun, semi automatic rifle, and handgun. The guns are all very upgradable for shot power, shot rate, ammo capacity and reload speed.

The game has some really good bosses that look really unique, and also need different tactics to beat. Sometimes you will need to use the environment to beat a boss. Some boss fights last a very long time if you don’t have powerful guns and lots of ammo.

There are a lot of quick time events, and you will need to get good at them. In my opinion there are too many quick time events. The inventory in resident evil has each weapon taking up a set number of squares in the inventory. With limited squares in the inventory, if you carry large weapons you will have less space for ammo and health kits. Overall the inventory works well.

To change weapons you will need to go to the inventory and this can become very time wasting when wanting to throw a grenade because you need to go to the inventory, equip grenade, exit inventory, throw grenade, enter inventory, select weapon, and exit inventory. I think there should have been a button to change weapons.

Melee knife attack is very powerful and very useful when you do not have ammo. A good tactic is hitting enemies with the knife once they are on the floor. When an enemy is stunned if you walk close to the enemy there will be a quick time option to kick the enemy.

The game has a lot of replay value through treasure hunts, shooting galleries, and extra missions where you can play as Ada.

Leon vs El Gigante.

Conclusion

Overall I liked the game. It is fun. I really liked the enemy characters and how each one needed different tactics. The story is complex, and will make most sense if you play other resident evil games. The is atmospheric, the early parts of the game set in the village are scary.

Score 7/10