Forgot what I’m doing? Read my initial blog here

I was…..going to play the railshooter RE games, but those fucking suck, so I actually played Code Veronica X last, which you can read my thoughts about the game here

Ready for a shocker, ok here it is…..YO, RE4 IS STILL A FUCKING FANTASTIC GAME!

I really could stop this blog right there and be happy with it, but then why the hell did I write a blog? Let me elaborate. Resident Evil 4, a game that I hadn’t played in at least 8 to 9 years, is still as enjoyable an experience as it was then. Everything I loved about the game came flooding back to me in a giant wave of nostalgia and excitement, something that usually doesn’t happen when I return to a game I once loved. Usually when I play a game that I absolutely adored years and years prior, I might still like but I remember bits and pieces that I overall didn’t like. That was not the case with RE4 as I have no issues with that game in any way possible. RE4 isn’t a perfect game mind you, it is a perfectly executed game where everything came together in one terrific package where its weaknesses aren’t too big of an issue as the game doesn’t focus on them for very long at all. Interestingly enough, I decided to replay Batman: Arkham Asylum (because of all the Arkham Knight talk) which is in the same exact spot as RE4 in my book. Both games do have some issues that are easy to point out, but the overall experience is so solid, so complete that those problems don’t hurt the experience, in my case, at all.

Let’s talk about the story, pacing, characters and overall presentation of the Resident Evil 4 to begin with. You are Leon, the President’s daughter is kidnapped, go to Spain, shoot dudes, witty banter, win. Ok, I do have an issue with the game, it shouldn’t be called Resident Evil 4, it is more of a side story to the overall Umbrella Ark that the previous games all dealt heavily in. Minor issue, as considering the game a side story somehow contains the stigma that it is lesser than the main series games (see Operation Raccoon City). That is not the case of RE4 and I give it a slide in that department. Moving on, the game does have a simple story, but that tends to be the case in most of the games I have played so far. And just like the previous games, there is a lot of story development in the back 1/3, new threats and story threads are introduced and set up future events in the series that I will eventually playthrough (I assume). The game strikes me as sometime during the development, the creators decided to not go so bat shit insane (they saved it for 5 from what I remember) and instead keep it simple, story wise. And because of this, I might say it is one of the best paced games I have ever played. It never felt too long, never felt to short, you never did anything annoying or frustrating for too long, the cutscenes weren’t crazy long or so frequent that it became an issue. The pacing might be the biggest strength of the game. From the previous RE games that I’ve played, pacing always seemed to be an issue, RE4 they solved that problem finally. Don’t want to go on this too long, but the characters are extremely memorable, including the enemies and boss battles. Leon’s banter against Salazar and Sadler is very fun and adds a goofy tone that they really embraced in this title. MVP goes to the Merchant though, I wonder if they knew how memorable a character they had right there, I’m going to guess no but just everything about him is awesome.

Now the combat. I see and even understand the reasons people complain about it, since games like Gears of War of come out since RE4’s release, everyone wants to move around while shooting. Here’s the thing, it is still a survival horror game (too some degree), and having that option would take out a lot of tension and suspense that the combat brings. Being able to continually back pedal and shoot the enemies that are moving towards you would completely take the game out of the genre that it somewhat still has a foot in, it would also render all the “smaller” enemies absolutely useless as they are melee attackers and to be effective require you to take a chance in whether to run or attack. Easily some very memorable encounters and boss battles would be rendered obsolete if the ability to move and attack at the same time existed, to name a few: the chainsaw/1-hit-kill enemies require to be very close to you, creates tension; el gigante fights would at least be far easier; several combat set pieces in the castle would be rendered pointless as it would be easier. I understand the complaint, I personally think it only adds to the gameplay and style of the game. If anyone says that RE4 is a “bad game” because of this problem they have, I personally have a hard time trusting their opinion on any game in the future. Everything else pertaining to the combat is fantastic, from the weapon options, to the button prompts and options to approach each situation, the game is very friendly and almost encourages the player to experiment with different styles and approaches. Even the inventory management system is awesome, no more slots, now its Tetris with weapons and ammo.

Alright, let’s see if I can muster up some complaints about RE4. There are some not so fun boss battles in the game, they led to some frustrating moments while playing. Specifically, The Big Cheese gave me some issues thus leading to me being annoyed; the final gigante fight was tedious and at that point the enemy was used too many times; I don’t think the final Krauser confrontation is all that great, ends up being a little meh with what ends up being the second to last boss fight; Ashley being a 1-shot-kill if you hit her is annoying, led to a few parts of just me sigh as I accidentally hit her again with the sniper (telling me those bars that are holding her against the wall aren’t thick enough to stop the bullet from penetrating and killer her? Come on….); The Merchant doesn’t have enough dialogue, repeats the same 7 (amazing) lines constantly; And sometimes an enemies head will burst from shots that weren’t hitting their head, strikes me as forced and if I want to waste more ammo on killing enemies through non headshots, that should be an option. And this are just complaints, minor complaints. And as I compared RE4 to Arkham Asylum earlier, these complaints and issues don’t ruin an overall experience that was incredibly enjoyable and rewarding from all fronts. They are either moments that are fleeting and don’t stay around too long to stick in my long term memory, or are so minor that the only reason I mention them is to write something in this section.

Resident Evil 4 is a game I put over a hundred hours in just under a decade ago. I wasn’t worried about returning to the game, I felt strong that it would at least still be fun to play, and the game is honestly an awesome experience that can be enjoyed by all. Even now that I beat the game a few days ago, I just bought the PC version (it was on sale) and are even considering going for all the unlockable and other modes, or even just run through the game again with my upgraded weapons. A metric I always use for finishing a game is if I want to continue to play the game despite beating it, and RE4 passed with flying colors.

The next game I am to play is Resident Evil: Revelations. I don’t really know much about the game; you are on a ship I think? And that’s it. I am waiting for the last few RE games to show up in our mail so hopefully not to long of a pause before I can jump back into a Resident Evil game.

Until next time…or read my thoughts on Revelations now, here.