A broken RE game, but still a RE game.
Graphics - The visuals in this game are probably my least favorite in the series. This is because the environments aren't prerendered like the previous game. The enviroments were like a trademark of the series and they looked great. The 3d environments in this game look bland and uninspired. They also act the same as the prerendered environments, which pretty much defeats the purpose of making them 3d in the first place. This brings me to another point.
For anyone who enjoyed the great creepy settings of resident evil 1-3, like the mansion, the garden, and the police station, prepare to be dissappointed. This game replaces all of the creative settings with bland laboratories and uninteresting quasi-mansions.
Some of the enemy designes are pretty cool though, and the character models aren't that bad, if a little muddy looking in the texture area.
Gameplay - Gameplay has remained mostly the same, but with some more useless puzzles, just stuck right into the game to waste time. There is also alot more backtracking. Instead of just going through a few doors to get to a locked room, you'll find yourself sprinting across a gigantic section of the game just to get or use an item.
Gameplay is also a lot harder this time around. There are no easy and hard modes like in the previous games, just hard. For most of the game you'll find yourself short on ammo or health, and you'll end up limping around the huge maps hunting for just one green herb.
The enemies have also been given a shot of caffeine. I you were good in the previous games, you could outrun some of the stronger enemies, in this game, however, you'll be lucky if you can walk through a room without having to use an herb. The hunter now have a sort of auto-hit feature and can jump across the room to take you down, and don't even get me started on the bandersnatches.
The game, however, is still a Resident Evil game and will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the way through. Jut be prepared for alot of frustration in the combat area.
Story - The story is one of the better storylines in the series. It revolves around a pair of blond, genius twins, Alexia and Alfred, who are hell bent of creating the perfect biological weapon, simply to bring honor to their family name. Wesker also makes a great appearance and ties into the story perfectly. The ending is also particularly satisfying.
Sound - recycled music and annoying zombie moans.
What is broken - There are a few annoying bugs, for instance, sometimes rooms would take too long to load. The sound would also cut out from time to time, but that could just be my copy of the game acting up.
Some of the enemies could be considered broken, for reasons I stated in the gameplay area of my review. The boss battles also feel really messy. Nosferatu had some sort of spray attack that didn't even have to hit you to hurt you. The Axe monster near the end was incredibly broken. If you cant get past something without having to take damage, then it shouldn't be in the game at all.
Final Verdict - Although it is a severely flawed game, it is, at least, worth a rental. Its not that this is a particularly terrible game, it just makes me think that a game a like this with great designs and a great story could have been so much better. Anyway, this game should at least lessen any resident evil fan's craving for a while, as this is one of the longest Resident Evil games there is.