A port of the definitive Resident Evil experience, RE4 HD delivers the basic package and few surprises.

User Rating: 8.5 | BioHazard 4 PS3
By deactivated-5fda9d56d5960 | Review Date:
Resident Evil 4 (RE4) reinvented the horror game genre and turned the classic RE formula upside down half-a-decade ago by allowing players more freedom of control (an over-the-should 3rd person shooter perspective), more intense action (ganados are much more aggressive and intelligent than zombies), improved cinematics (popularized the concept of quick-time events), and suspense that remains, for the most part, unrivaled today (a chainsaw never sounded so terrifying). RE4 was originally released on the Gamecube (GC) and met with critic acclaim from the start. It was later ported, with extras, to the PS2 and given a Wii release with wii-mote controls as well. The HD port here is basically a step back to the PS2 version, removing any motion controls, but still containing all the extras from that version and a couple of new additions (trophies and leaderboards).

The Wii version stands as the premiere version of the game. As such, if you own a Wii then you should buy RE4 Wii Edition and hold onto it. The controls are at their best using the wii-mote. That said, if you don't have a Wii or have never played RE4 then I would highly recommend picking this up. For RE4 veterans the only reason you may be interested in this title is for the trophies. Keep in mind however there is no platinum trophy for this game. Also, because you need to beat it on Pro mode to get all trophies you will have to play through the entire game at least 2 times (the first time on normal will get you most of the trophies, but you'll need to beat it again on pro which is unlocked after beating it the first time...). If you're like me you've probably played through this game at least 4 times already. I'd say I'll probably never play through RE4 again in my life. Nonetheless, there is something nice about having all those RE4 trophies on my profile.

The Good:
+ It's Resident Evil 4! (one of the best games of all time)
+ Trophies (which look great in my opinion)
+ Leaderboards (if you're into that kind of thing, I'm not)
+ Full support for HD (Graphics look about the same as they did on the other systems but it fills the screen generally without distortion)
+ Includes all the extras from the PS2 port

The Bad:
- No platinum trophy
- No alternate motion controls
- No improvement to graphics
- No added game content

The Ugly:
- Blurry textures pop out occasionally and can be quite noticeable
- Cut scenes are recorded (not in real-time) so special costumes are not reflected in story sequences
- I personally ran into a glitch with fitting El Gigante where even though prompted to tap X repeatedly, when I did so it always reacted as if I were hitting the wrong button. When it displayed the Square button no problem, just X was off. This was consistent across all Gigante battles...

Conclusion:
If you can get it on the Wii then that's the way to go. Only grab this version if you're a hardcore RE4 fan and want the trophies or you've never played it before and you only have a PS3.

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