Resident Evil 4... It's beautiful.

Post by **Squirrelknight** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:53 pm

This is the best survival horror game I've ever played-- Though I suppose I say that because it's not really a survival horror game... For one, it's more of an action game than an adventure, as you're pretty much constantly under assualt through out the game. Second, it's not the usual "Boo!" kind of scares; the adrenaline rush comes from the fact that you're almost always surrounded by enemies.

The graphics are sexier than a collage made of porn-- Textures are crisp and detailed, character models are smooth, and the animation is flawless. The little details, like cloth curtains and flags swaying in the wind, to the amazing lightning and water effects in a level set during a raging thunderstorm really set this game apart from the competition. This is hands down one of the best looking games on any home console-- I'm not really sure how they got these uber-Xbox-quality visuals out of the Gamecube, and I'm not sure if it's possible to port a game this beautiful to the PS2. But what I do know is this game looks good enough to jack off too. That statement applies to Ada Wong as well.

Controls are still the forward-to-go-left-and-right-to-pivot sort of thing, but now that the camera has been moved to directly behind Leon, it's much easier to get your bearings and it's far more intuitive. Aiming is done MGS style, with the camera swinging closer to let you aim better. Holding the R trigger pulls out your equipped gun, and the L trigger pulls out your knife-- This mechanic works insanely well, as you often have to mix up close-range melee attacks with long range gunplay in order to handle the mobs of enemies you go up against.

The only flaw I can see at this early stage is that the game is slightly too easy-- It requires effort, yeah, but it has yet to give my l33t ass a challenge. But other than that, the game is flawless. If this game was released in 2004, it would've been the only game to challenge Halo 2 as the game of the year.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:19 pm

Feel free to spoil the plot. Like most survival horror games, I enjoy reading the story more than I do playing them.

The setup kind of reminded me of the Time Machine - with the large monsters being Morlocks and the zany europeans being . . . those people who the Morlocks ate and I can't remember the name of.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 11:11 pm

The setup kind of reminded me of the Time Machine - with the large monsters being Morlocks and the zany europeans being . . . those people who the Morlocks ate and I can't remember the name of.

Eloi.

And I heard good things about RE4, but I probably won't get to play it anytime soon since, I have a large backlog of games I need to finish and that I probably need to play RE1-3 to really understand the story, situations, and characters in Resident Evil 4.

Or am I wrong on that account?

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 11:44 pm

I only played the demo, but to my astonishment, it was actually pretty good. And I have never liked a Resident Evil game before. The control scheme, as Squirrel mentioned, is still archaic, but for some reason it works a hundred times better with the weird camera that I wouldn't have figured would work well with anything. Evidently two evils can result in good.

Moreover, I really like the direction. The graphics are indeed impressive, especially considering the detail needed to convey a believable, back country atmosphere. Which is itself a rather neglected theme in games, particularly in the survival horror neck of the woods, where I think it has endless potential, but maybe only because it looks just like this backwater village called Duson that I drive through every day, which scares the living hell out of me.

Post by **Esrever** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:27 am

I'm in the same boat. I never enjoyed the RE games that I've played in the past. But I was intrigued by the style and new direction apparent in the early shots and movies. And now that I'm hearing such high praise for the final version, I'm pretty pumped for it.

Post by **Popcorn** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 1:54 pm

I too share this boat that Esrever mentions: I hate RE but I'm gagging for this.

If this game was released in 2004, it would've been the only game to challenge Halo 2 as the game of the year.

Have my Half-Life 2 rants taught you nothing? And Gibbon, why the hell haven't you even acknowledged its existence yet?

SuperKnux · Post by **SuperKnux** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:27 pm

Because he's a pussy that's why. HAHA!

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:46 pm

I have, just not here. I want it, but my computer is not rigged for games. It does look nice, though.

muke · Post by **muke** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 8:27 pm

i agree with GG! this new game looks pretty decient, yet i have never really enjoyed any of the RE games that much

oh by the way this was not posted by the owner of this account, im a friend just messing with his account for fun and to feel "special"

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:34 pm

Then get your own account. Or don't.

I have seen the mighty lake creature. It is good. Very good. Amazing even.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:36 pm

But s/h/it can't! Registering is soooooooo hard!

Post by **Segaholic2** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:14 pm

Good thing this isn't SA, or that'd automatically be a ban.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:15 pm

Good thing this isn't SA, because SA sucks.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:48 pm

Hehe, shit.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:53 pm

SA blows. Why should I pay to get on a forum when I could simply join two, each of which are half as entertaining?

Post by **Segaholic2** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:04 am

Don't diss the goons!

Post by **Squirrelknight** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:18 am

Popcorn wrote:
If this game was released in 2004, it would've been the only game to challenge Halo 2 as the game of the year.
Have my Half-Life 2 rants taught you nothing?

Fine, it could've challenged Halo 2 for the console game of the year. Happy?

Ok, to bring things back on topic for a second, I'm pretty close to the end of the game now. I take back my comment about the game being easy-- It get's almost as hard as my penis later in the game (around the end of the castle area)... Ammo starts to become sparse (though never as rare as in a usual horror game), enemies use more advance tactics (taking cover, flanking you, etc.) and they get a bit stronger too.

I've fought a good deal of the bosses by this point, and holy shit, are they well-designed. The only game with better boss fights is Zelda. Every fight is insane; mixing the normal gunplay with Shenmue-esque QTE's. The enviroments during the boss fights are filled with all sorts of stuff you can interact with-- Traps to use, places to hide, etc.

Oh, and there's a little Ico influence as well. Early in the game you meet up with Ashley, the stacked daughter of the president whom Leon was sent to rescue. While the level of interaction with her isn't as deep as Yorda's in Ico, she has her uses-- Leon can give her a boost in higher areas so she can flip switches for you, and her AI is pretty capable so she'll never get in her way. Of course, you do have to protect her-- If she dies, it's game over, and the enemies will grab her Ico style and take her away (also a game over)... It's not as annoying as it sounds, because like I said, the AI is pretty smart and she can fend for herself.

I have to take this moment to also mention the graphics again-- Not only does this game have amazing water and lighting, it has damn nice fire and lava effects too-- Well, fuck, actually, everything in the game looks nice.

Plus there's the little things that show how much thought Capcom put into this game. For instance, I told Ashley to wait on a flight of stairs, and then I went a couple steps down and messed around with the camera angle so I could get a look up her skirt. To my surprise, she yelled back "Hey, what're you trying to look at?" ... That made me smile. And yes, she wears white panties.

aso · Post by **aso** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 11:32 am

Yes, RE4 looks truly awesome for a Resident Evil game. My attitude on them has usually been 'okay, but pretty boring' since they all repeated the same formula with zombies and insane door key puzzles. Chris of Chris' Survival Horror Quest summarised this formula up pretty well... and seeing this of RE4 makes me want it quite a bit.

Althought I've heard people saying that Silent Hill needs a similar update. If all of the gripes I've heard about later on in SH4 are true, then it must need something to boost it to the same level. It'll be on the PS3, anyhow, so I can wait.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:16 pm

For instance, I told Ashley to wait on a flight of stairs, and then I went a couple steps down and messed around with the camera angle so I could get a look up her skirt. To my surprise, she yelled back "Hey, what're you trying to look at?" ... That made me smile. And yes, she wears white panties.

I'm sold.

muke · Post by **muke** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:59 pm

Locit wrote:Then get your own account. Or don't.

That's what I was telling him to do! But since he set up my account for me, he knew my password and is now taking full advantage of it, including changing my avatar!

Brazillian Cara · Post by **Brazillian Cara** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:17 pm

Then change your password.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 3:23 pm

You suck at the internet.

Post by **Delphine** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 3:33 pm

...you couldn't figure out how to set up an account? Are you retarded? I mean, are you seriously actually retarded? Because it's not that difficult. You hit a few buttons and type up some info. Not so complicated.

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 3:37 pm

Delphine wrote:seriosuly

IRONING

Post by **Delphine** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 3:41 pm

...a typo makes someone retarded? :P