A few months ago, I reviewed Resident Evil 5 and really enjoyed it. So I decided recently to play it's predecessor mainly because of all the great things i've heard about this game. Resident Evil 4 is considered by many a masterpiece, it's one of the most revered games in of all time. After playing it I understand why it gets such high praise. For a game that came out in early 2005 this was quite a gaming achievement. Resident Evil 4 changed the series to an over the shoulder third person shooter that would inspire many games for years to come. Just like I said with Resident evil 5 you will have to get used to the controls. It does not play like a third person shooter that would come out today since it came out 11 years ago. I would say it took me about 30 minutes to fully adjust to the control scheme. Once you get used to how the game plays you'll be fine.
The story is about the presidents daughter getting kidnapped and taken to Europe. The protagonist is government agent Leon Kennedy who is the one sent to rescue Ashley. Kennedy heads to a remote city in Spain where he believes Ashley is. Upon arrival, Kennedy quickly realizes something is wrong with the locals. They have red eyes and attack him on sight. What Resident Evil 4 does so well is presentation and atmosphere. Throughout the entire game it's hard to feel safe. There's a great creepy tension through the whole game and the suspense rarely lets up. I wouldn't say it ever becomes a terrifying game like Dead space was for me but there was always a level of tension. I would say the games scariest moments come when fighting in the cult's stronghold. I jumped once when one of them came out of nowhere from behind me.
I think where this game goes from good to the masterpiece many view it as today. Comes about 5 hours in when Kennedy enters a castle after rescuing Ashley. The castle belongs to a sinister religious cult who infected the local civilians with a parasite. The parasite makes people lose control of their mind. They become controlled by the cult's leader named Saddler. Leon and Ashley both get injected with the parasite. So they can't leave the area until they find a cure. Playing in the cult's castle is where I had the most fun, the amount of detail in the castle for a game that came out in 2005 is incredible. You will play in several different areas throughout the 18 hour play time.
There are also plenty of weapons at the players disposal they include magnums, pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, grenade launchers, and a single shot rocket launcher. I highly recommend the rocket launcher for boss fight it will make your life a lot easier. Just like Resident evil 5 the game becomes progressively harder as you get closer to the end. Enemies can take more damage and become way more aggressive. You will also run into much more challenging enemies towards the end. I had and easier time beating this game because I was never completely out of ammo for long stretches. I had a couple of hard moment because I was short on ammo but never to the extent of Resident Evil 5. What this game did better than it's successor was knowing it's identity a little better. This game is more survival than it is action so the player was supplied with enough ammo. Plus theres no partner like there is in the successor. The problem I had with Resident Evil 5 was it was a pure action game but they gave out ammo like it was still survival horror.
The boss fight were all fun and very well done. Overall, Resident Evil 4 is an incredible game, I completely understand why it receives so much praise. I wish I played it back in 2005 i'm sure the experience would of been even better. Right now you can get the remastered version for $20 on PS4 and Xbox One. I highly recommend giving this a try. Resident Evil 4 is the complete package. The remaster polishes the graphics and gets it to 60 frames per second.
