So this was a very hectic week. I was looking forward to playing some scary games on Halloween but Hurricane Sandy had other plans for me. I had no power for 2 days so I couldn't get any game playing in. I tried to get some Game Boy playing but I didn't want to get into any gaming during the power outages. I did get power very late on Halloween night and did get to play some games from then to now.

Over the weekend, I bought Resident Evil 4 on Xbox Live during a Halloween Sale. I wanted to play a Resident Evil game for a while now and I wanted to play a scary game for Halloween. I have never played a Resident Evil game before this and have only seen some videos of the more recent RE games. I also remembered that people really liked RE4 a lot at the time and hearing about how the series was at it's peak with 4. This is all the knowledge I went in for my adventure.

As I started playing RE4, the biggest thing that I noticed was that you can't move and shoot at the same time. This become more common for third person shooters starting with Gears of War in 2006, this game came out in 2005. RE4 uses what is referred to as "Tank" controls. You can only shoot by standing still and hitting the aim button. This is the same for melee attacks too. This almosts makes the Right Stick completely useless for playing too since you aim with the same button that you move too. It was a little clunky and hard to get use.

I get to my first big combat scenario and I was having a real hard time. It is a survival horror game so ammo is limited too on top of the strange controls. After an hour of failing, I finally get past the giant battle. That is when I realized that RE4 is in fact still a great game in todays world. I was not going back with a nostalgic view of the game, I was going in with fresh 2012 eyes into a game that is 7 years old. The game worked a lot as a horror game as first because I did not want to fight the bad guys. I was not use to the movement, the enemies were just as strong as I was, and I had limited supplies, very different from todays action games where you can not fail easily.

Leon (the main character) and I had our biggest problem being the point of the game, saving the President's daughter (Ashley). She is defenseless and you need to protect her when she is with you. One of the worst parts in video games is escort missions and RE4 is able to pull them off well. This just adds to the horror and stressfulness of the game, not only do you need to protect yourself but Ashley too. You do have a little control over her telling her to hide, but if you get too far away from her, a bunch of zombies will come and take her away. Even though you are even more powerless in these scenarios, they are manageable.

Overall, I think this game holds up as a horror game with the limited supplies and "Tank" controls. It was a very enjoyable experience and fun to play around Halloween for even more scares. It did get less scary as I became more comfortable with the controls and mechanics of the game. I am glad that I got a chance to play this game (and cheaper than usual too) and it makes me a little more interested in the rest of the series, even if Resident Evil 6 is not a very good game. Hope everyone had a happy Halloween and that anyone effected by Hurricane Sandy stays safe and is ok!

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