Review: Resident Evil 4 for PS2
My son Eliot occasionally used to ghost-write reviews for my column if the games involved were his particular favourites. From Street Fighter through to Devil May Cry, as he was born with a silver controller in his hand I saw no reason why not to bow down to his superior knowledge or ability, except in spelling. So, may I introduce a review by, fresh from university with a First in Film and Television Production, the one and only Eliot Gurrin...
Being a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, ever since it first began on the PlayStation back in 1996, I was a little worried upon hearing of Resident Evil 4’s overhaul in the game play department. What about the awkward controls; tricky camera angles; the item box; truly weird puzzles; would they all be gone? Granted – a dodgy control scheme isn’t the first
thing you would want to carry across for a sequel, but after nearly a decade surely it wouldn’t seem right to change it (besides, when you do manage to dodge a zombie with those clunky controls, you really feel like you’ve earned it!). And, of course, I was wrong to worry – Resident Evil 4 is still very much a Resident Evil game (amazing graphics; terrifying, suspenseful game play; hammy dialogue) and undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series.
The long and interesting story is one the best aspects of the game, and it’s accessible to anybody new to the series (and this is a great place to start). Leon Kennedy, a survivor from RE2, visits a remote European town in search of the president’s kidnapped daughter, but it seems the local townsfolk don’t take kindly to strangers, and don’t seem to be "quite right" themselves.
What follows is one of the most cinematic experiences you could ever have playing a video game. The game is a little more action-based than its predecessors, providing area-sensitive damage (shoot a "zombie" in the knee and they’ll trip), an over-the-shoulder camera for aiming, and some amazing interactivity: you can choose whether to open a door silently or burst in, for example, and you can use your environment to fight off the hoards (yep, hoards) of enemies. Needless to say, it looks wonderful and sounds amazing.
Not only does this game breathe new life into the series but, most important of all, it’s a scary, enjoyable romp from start to finish with a bunch of extra content to make it worth a play through. So enjoy, and prepare to enter the survival-horror genre once again.
Blog contributed by Eliot Gurrin. Resident Evil 4 is developed and published by Capcom. Bytes: Rebooted score - 9/10
Being a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, ever since it first began on the PlayStation back in 1996, I was a little worried upon hearing of Resident Evil 4’s overhaul in the game play department. What about the awkward controls; tricky camera angles; the item box; truly weird puzzles; would they all be gone? Granted – a dodgy control scheme isn’t the first
thing you would want to carry across for a sequel, but after nearly a decade surely it wouldn’t seem right to change it (besides, when you do manage to dodge a zombie with those clunky controls, you really feel like you’ve earned it!). And, of course, I was wrong to worry – Resident Evil 4 is still very much a Resident Evil game (amazing graphics; terrifying, suspenseful game play; hammy dialogue) and undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series.
The long and interesting story is one the best aspects of the game, and it’s accessible to anybody new to the series (and this is a great place to start). Leon Kennedy, a survivor from RE2, visits a remote European town in search of the president’s kidnapped daughter, but it seems the local townsfolk don’t take kindly to strangers, and don’t seem to be "quite right" themselves.
What follows is one of the most cinematic experiences you could ever have playing a video game. The game is a little more action-based than its predecessors, providing area-sensitive damage (shoot a "zombie" in the knee and they’ll trip), an over-the-shoulder camera for aiming, and some amazing interactivity: you can choose whether to open a door silently or burst in, for example, and you can use your environment to fight off the hoards (yep, hoards) of enemies. Needless to say, it looks wonderful and sounds amazing.
Not only does this game breathe new life into the series but, most important of all, it’s a scary, enjoyable romp from start to finish with a bunch of extra content to make it worth a play through. So enjoy, and prepare to enter the survival-horror genre once again.
Blog contributed by Eliot Gurrin. Resident Evil 4 is developed and published by Capcom. Bytes: Rebooted score - 9/10
posted by Graham at 10:48 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home