Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition:
The game has you take control of Leon Kennedy as he struggles and shoots his way through rural Spain in an attempt to save the U.S. president's daughter, Ashley, and get to the bottom of the psychosis afflicting the region.

Vital Stats:
Gameplay:- 10
Visuals:- 10
Audio:- 8
Fun:- 9
Replay Value:- 8

At a Glance:
+ Superb use of the Wiimote's motion control.
+ Graphically, the game is HELLA pretty.
+ Artistically, the game is damn near flawless.
+ Fantastic implementation of basic role play elements, such as weapon upgrades.
+ You can SUPLEX your attackers.
+ Voice acting, script , atmospherics and FX are all spot on.
+ A veritable trove of extra game modes.
= You have to complete the story to unlock the extra modes.
= Much of the content feels unashamedly derived.
- The music can occasionally become irritating and feel out of place.

The Meat:
At the time of writing it has actually been about three months since I've seriously touched this game but the experience remains present and Vivid. That, I feel, is testament to it's brilliance.

I was a newbie to the survival horror genre when I came to this Resident Evil 4: Wii edition, but I left it an avid fan. The reason it took me so long to break into this particular realm of gaming is because I couldn't play its predecessors. Simply put, I found the control schemes awkward and cumbersom, and the fixed camera angles to obscure the action. In RE4: WE gone are these annoyances; the camera remains resolutely over the shoulder third person and aiming is a breeze with the Wiimote.

RE4: WE is so far the only Wii game to perfect the aiming mechanic. Though it's a simple matter of pointing where you want to shoot, Capcom has managed to get the sensitivity just right and certainly doesn't send Leon spinning every time you accidentally aim a little to far to the sides.
The rest of the control scheme is effortless. Switching between free movement and aiming is a simple matter of holding B, shooting, melee and actions are all handled with with the A button and vary depending on circumstance and whether you're aiming or not. And, while I'm sure there are buttons for them, the actions of reloading and knife attacks are handled perfectly with a wiimote waggle.

What's truly brilliant about the control scheme is that it's so simple and intuitive that it in no way interferes with the experience as a whole. If nothing else it adds to it, which is great because this is a game packed to the gunwales with barely restrained atmosphere. The purposefully and deliciously bleak visuals, atmospheric sounds and sound track keeps you permanently on the brink of break down. Even when you've cleared out an area, you never feel entirely safe, it always feels like a crazed Spaniard is about to jump out and ram a pitchfork in your face.

This brings me to the game content. We've all dealt with Zombies at some point in our lives, whether in game, film or literature. La Genados, El Gigante, the Zealots and the host of other sociopaths that inhabit the game world blow zombies out of the water. I've always found zombies, and their mindless, trudging ways, to be vaguely amusing and something to pity and play with. Not in RE4 though. La Ganados are not to be f***ed with. You know withing a few encounters that these deranged europeans are not zombies, are not slow and are dangerous as hell. And it only gets worse from there.
As well as your basic cannon fodder you'll encounter noticeably more dangerous foes, and so long as you're prepared to ignore that they are clearly derived from things such as LOTR Cave Trolls, X-Men's Wolverine and classic mythical and Lovecraftian imagery, you will be scared, you will be holding on by the skin of your teeth and you will be loving every moment of it.

Along with the barage of crazed enemies you'll have access to a suitably diverse arsenal with which to put them down. The basics of pistols, shotguns, SMGs, Rifles and explosives all here. Not only this but they come in many different flavours which are all noticeably different; some are faster than others, others stronger, more penetrating or with higher clip capacity and they can all be upgraded as you play. It's a simple matter of selling treasures and buying the upgrade from one of the many merchants holed up through out the area. This means you can mold the game somewhat to your play style and adds a bit of variety in the event that you get bored.

If you do get bored you can always check out one of the extra game modes in which you can either play through 2 instances of Ada Wong's involvement in the story or take part in Mercenaries, an against the clock -cum- endurance mode in which you have to kill everything as quickly as possible whilst not dying in order to ramp up a high score. These modes all make fun diversions from the main story but suffer a single downside in that you have to complete the main game to unlock them. However, the chance of you dulling out before you've played the game through is slim to none.

The game is damn near unrivalled on the system in terms of content, control and visuals (yes, I think it looks better that Galaxy). The soundtrack isn't anything spectacular but mostly does a good job of sitting in the background and amping up the atmosphere the gameplay, visuals and sound fx combine so fluidly to create; just try not to pay it too much attention because it can grate on the nerves after a while.
On the Wii you will be hard pushed to find a complete experience as emersive as this one. There's stuff to kill, and there's the need to do anything survive, something that's truly brought to light when you're running low on ammo. In such times the survival aspect of the game is revealed in all its glory and you're delivered a truly unique gaming experience.
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition may not push the system to its limits, but it definitely demonstrates the true depth of play that only the Wii can deliver. A must play for anyone with the balls to pick up a copy.

Overall Score: 93%