2/28/2023 0 Comments Resident evil 4 remake xbox oneThen you unlock the coup de grace and one of the finest video game weapons ever "Chicago Typewriter". You're maxed out and have great weapons that tear through 3/4 of the games enemies like a knife through butter so you just roam around massacring everything that gave you a hard time that first play through where you were scared, tense and had no ammo/health. It makes the "new game+" run after your first time so much fun. So basically the major source of tension is turned into a hilariously gratifying game play function. Leon gets a dapper 20's gangster suit but Ashley gets a suit of armor which makes her invincible and when enemies try to carry her away they collapse from the weight. Finishing that unlocks "Special Outfit 2" which is genius. It's clever and well thought out and takes maybe 3 hours to finish. Finishing unlocks "Separate Ways" a fun, short set of 5 side missions showing how another main character "Ada" was experiencing the games events alongside Leon. They give you this wonderful path to follow after you finish the game for the first time. But this leads me to my next point and my favorite thing about RE4 is that they do the "end game" better than nearly any game I've ever played. She is basically a game play mechanic with a voice actor included. She adds tension in that its game over if she dies (with a small health pool this is a genuine threat) or if she is carried away. She's the presidents daughter that you have to save but they never really tell you anything else she just runs around after you screaming for help occasionally. Ashley for example has basically zero character exposition. They give you a little "RE Refresher Course" cutscene at the beginning and then it's just off to the races. Leon and Ashley, the games protagonists have basically zero back story provided. Despite all the characters being very one dimensional and not well written they entertain you as much the 20th time as they do the 1st. The premise behind RE as a whole is nuts so why not crank it up to 11? Why not push the boundaries of what makes sense in the name of entertainment? And the entertainment is huge. The fact they didn't care is part of what makes it great and refreshing. It doesn't take itself fully seriously, I won't say that it is tongue in cheek because it isn't but it certainly seems to get that the story they are trying to tell is unbelievable. The game is nuts but its part of its charm. This castle contains, but is not limited to, rooms filled with lava, rooms filled with water, a gigantic velvet lined transport trolley and a 60 foot statue that can inexplicably chase after Leon. There are hulking one eyed Spanish bad dudes, a midget dressed as a fancy version of Napoleon who lives in a castle that defies any form of engineering logic. They just seemed to say "screw it" with this one and threw whatever at the wall and called it a story. It all helps suck you into a world that is simultaneously ludicrous and enrapturing. The world is glorious and the detail for its time is astounding nearing Metal Gear levels of small detail. That speaks to the quality of the design, the quality of the gameplay and how well thought out everything is. There are some genuinely tense moments even when you've played it a million times as I have. They actually start the game with one such situation, the now iconic outnumbered in the village scenario where wave after waves of "ganados" attack you incessantly. Healing items are sparse and on the first play through there is genuine tension in moments where you're outnumbered and running low on ammo. But the survival action factor is still there, ammo isn't plentiful and enemies are. Whilst before they had tried for gritty horror, RE4 is almost a campy B-Movie that is half action and half thriller. The tone of the game couldn't be more different. The shooting system was an entirely new, over the shoulder stop and shoot affair that required a steady nerve and strategic thinking. It was a stark departure from the games previous entries. RE4 changed the RE series and the shooter genre in a number of ways. The rest of the game is untouched and there is good reason for that it is one of the best games ever made. The HD remaster for current gen consoles is beautifully done, bringing the visuals forward a long way. The HD remaster A game that ranks in my top 15-20 games ever, Resident Evil 4 is as fun and addictive to play now as it was over 14 years ago. A game that ranks in my top 15-20 games ever, Resident Evil 4 is as fun and addictive to play now as it was over 14 years ago.
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