Resident Evil 4 doesn't get what it deserves in this lazy port.
The plot for Resident Evil 4 is you are Leon S. Kennedy who is sent to Europe to rescue the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley Graham. Ashley has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Upon going there, Leon encounters violent villagers who are not zombies. The story may be straightforward, but it is highly entertaining and has many intense, unforgettable moments.
Resident Evil 4's gameplay holds up really well to this day. It's a lot of fun and it's very satisfying. The main focus is on combat. There are some minor puzzles, but they definitely take a backseat. That's not a bad thing as the puzzles are relatively easy (but still satisfying to solve), and the combat is amazing. There's a wide variety of weapons you can use including handguns, shotguns, rifles, magnums, among others. You also always have a knife with you. You'll want to be a good shot as ammo isn't constantly handed to you. Using a Xbox 360 controller works well for this, although I did find the aiming a bit touchy sometimes. I vastly prefer using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, but a dual-analog controller works well enough. I wish there was a way to increase the aiming sensitivity, as I find the aiming a bit too slow for my liking, but some weapons allow you to aim faster.
You'll encounter many boss fights through the main game, as well as mini-bosses, which include villagers with chainsaws. These are some of the best fights I've seen in a game. I won't spoil anything though. I will admit that I found the final boss fight to be a bit easy, at least when compared to some of the previous ones. Still, it's mighty satisfying.
When you buy an HD version of a game, you would expect it to look better than it originally did. That is not the case with Resident Evil 4 HD. Actually, it looks noticeably worse. Sure, the resolution is increased, and the characters look a bit better, but everything else looks worse. The most obvious is the environments. They're quite a bit blurrier than they originally were, and you do spend a lot of time exploring the environments for ammo, health, and treasures. This also means the cutscenes don't look so hot. Speaking of cutscenes, the ones for Separate Ways are really blurry. It looks like they kept them in standard definition and just stretched them out. I also noticed some slowdown in a few parts, which should not be happening. At least, the art-style is still great.
Resident Evil 4 HD's audio fares better than the graphical side, but it's still not perfect. The game still sounds great, but the sound effects and voice acting occasionally sound muffled. I found it distracting and I also ran into some sound glitches that I never encountered until this version. In one part, a door was opening, and after the door was completely opened, it was still making the sound as if it was still opening. Not a big deal, but distracting. I also found the music hard to hear sometimes.
Resident Evil 4 HD includes all the content found in previous versions, plus you can now check leaderboards. I enjoyed seeing the top times for the main game. This means there's plenty of replay value, but considering how lazy this port is, and the fact that you can get the Wii version for cheaper brand new, I find the price to be too high. I'm sure some people will be more than happy to pay $20 for this port, but I find it too high.
Gameplay: It's still plenty satisfying and fun. Great boss fights, and plenty of challenge. 9.5/10
Graphics: The art-style is still great, but this HD port actually makes the game look worse. 6/10
Sound: Still sounds great, but is occasionally muffled, and music can be hard to hear sometimes. 8/10
Value: I do think it's priced too high, but still, there's plenty of content and reason to continue playing. 9/10
Resident Evil 4 is in my opinion, one of the best games of all time. It still holds up really well to this day. If I had to rate the game, it'd be a definite 10. However, I would give the "HD" port a 5. This is a really lazy port, and there's no question about it. If you're looking to buy a version of Resident Evil 4, I recommend buying the Wii, PC, or PS2 version over this. The Gamecube version is awesome of course, but it doesn't have all the content in these versions. If you already own one of those versions, stick with that one. It's better than this one.