Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Masterpiece"

Hello, everyone, I'm here to review RE4. If you haven't played it, somehow, I strongly recommend you do so as soon as possible. And here's why…

Graphics: A little muddy by today's standards, but, for the time, they were the epitome of realistic, and still look good today. Everything looks really good, particularly animations and environments. The artistic side of things is great as well. The monsters are well designed, and animate smoothly. As a matter of fact, everything animates smoothly. This game pushes the Gamecube to its limits, and it comes with no cost to the framerate. 10/ 10

Sound: This is slightly weaker than the graphics. Some of the sounds, mostly from handguns, seem to be lacking oomph. However, the ones that do sound good, sound great. The shotguns are loud and obnoxious, rifles are sub sonic, the Red 9 handgun sounds awesome, and the explosions are destructive. There is also some really good voice acting, but there are a few bad bits here and there, especially with the cheesier lines. The music is decent, but nothing outstanding. But, overall, the sound effects are really food. You'll never want to hear another chainsaw again after playing this game. 9/ 10

Story: It's kind of goofy, and probably the worst part of the game. Leon Kennedy (of RE2 fame) goes to Spain to find the President's missing daughter, Ashley Graham. He tells the cops he's riding with to stop, and they, of course, insult and deride him. Leon goes into a house to question a man, but is attacked. After killing the attacker, Leon looks outside and sees a truck drive the police car off a bridge into a river. He sets out to find the President's daughter, and the truth behind the hostile villagers. It's a decent story, and there are a few familiar faces, and a couple of new, memorable characters. It's nothing special, and, as far as the overall series is concerned, doesn't add a whole lot. But, as it is, it works. 8/ 10

Gameplay: The game starts out intense; after working your way to a village, Leon has to hold out, because the villagers come after him with all sorts of weapons; sickles, pitchforks, even Chainsaws. And this intensity rarely lets up. The mechanics are very different from previous RE's. Instead of the "tank" controls, the game is viewed from behind Leon's shoulder, and it controls much smoother. Also, instead of the item slots, you carry an Attaché case around that stores your items in a grid like pattern. However, you carry important items like keys in a separate slot of the case, so you can dedicate your inventory solely to your weapons, which is a nice change of pace from the rest of the series.
Speaking of which, there is a pretty rocking arsenal available to you in this game. There are handguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, a TMP, magnums… there are a lot of ways to customize your loadout in this game. There are even more cool guns available after beating the game, like a .50 cal magnum, and an infinite rocket launcher. There is more to the guns than just having them, though. You can upgrade them at a store run by the only friendly infected guy, the Merchant. Using Pesetas you obtain in game, you can upgrade different parts of the weapon; reload time, damage, rate of fire, and a few guns have exclusive power ups. You can also sell things like treasure to the Merchant. All in all, it's a very good system.
There are a number of thrilling set pieces in the game. One instance involving a mine cart is particularly memorable. These are augmented by the sharp controls; gone are the days of fixed cameras. Instead, the game settles for an over the shoulder view. You aim by using a laser sight; Leon realistically shakes when aiming, which adds to the tension.
This game also sports some great boss battles. They are all well designed, and are challenging to boot. For instance, one takes place on a lake, where a giant fish type creature gets caught on the boat's anchor, dragging Leon around, and in order to kill it, you have to throw harpoons at it. I won't discuss any further, because the inhuman creatures you fight really must be seen, fought, and conquered for yourself.
This game also introduces a partner system. A fraction of the way through the game, you get a partner, whom you must protect, lest you see the game over screen. It actually works better than you'd think; the AI rarely (if ever) makes a dumb move. Most of the time, if your partner dies, it's your fault, and not the game's.
After beating the game, you can replay it (which is recommended) and partake in a very fun minigame called The Mercenaries. Basically, you run around a few maps (unfortunately, there are only 4) with different characters, killing enemies as you go, as well as grabbing time bonuses. This is a very fun and addicting game, and, for me, the pure shoot em up funness of it all more than made up for the fact that there are only 4 maps, and 5 characters.
There are some annoyances in the game, however. Some enemies seem to take forever to bring down, and there are times when the odds are unfairly stacked against you. However, these are minor, especially when the vast majority of the game is this good. 9/ 10
In review, RE4 is one of the best games ever. There's no wonder Dead Space copied this game's mechanics; they are fun, easy to learn and satisfying. I recommend this game whole heartedly. So, what are you waiting for? Get it!
Thanks for reading.