Simply put: Resident Evil 4 is shit.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved RE4 to death when it came out and then loved it even more when it re-released for the Wii. Now, though, this game just looks about as interesting as a girlfriend you’ve had for 2 years.

Visuals:

Chalk this up to the game being four years old but that is really no excuse, the game is ugly. Graphics don’t make a game but, in a visual medium, they do matter plenty. When you still have games, like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker [2003] or Star Wars: Rogue Leader [2001], that are still quite beautiful, RE4 just becomes painful to sit through again. There are some visually stunning effects that pop out among the muddy waters though. When in Salazar’s Castle, the molten [lava?] heat and lighting effects are amazing but it comes to an end quickly when you solve the puzzle and are thrown on another boring landmass.

Controls:

RE4’s [and in part RE5’s] controls are something I never had a problem with. They may not allow run and gun gameplay, but in this context it makes sense. When the enemies are walking at you, rather menacingly, strafing in circles, headshotting them, would take all the dread out of it. Knowing that I have to position myself and carefully choose my shots make me be more aware of my surroundings rather than run in circles. It also makes sense in real life since running and shooting a moving target, some 20 yards out, in the head is pretty difficult to do.

Legacy:

Where RE4 really shows its impact is what it has done for the industry since release. The over the shoulder view has become a staple in many action titles now like Gears of War, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Dead Space. Making cutscenes interactive was also something fresh that RE4 did that has appeared in many games now.

Unfortunately for RE4, the games that were inspired by it have refined what it means to be an action game. Flanking enemies in RE4 and RE5 are borderline retarded in comparison to the Locust while the ability to cover, that has become standard now, is a step above hiding in a corner and pointing at windows. Bosses have also become more intricate in modern games compared to what this franchise has done. Boses now require strategy to take down compared to the “keep shooting him till he’s dead” mantra that the franchise has gone off of for over a decade.

One other blemish on RE4’s legacy is Capcom. The developer/publisher felt the need to constantly whore out the game many times with the version for GameCube, the expanded PlayStation 2 version and the re-released expanded Wii version. It also paved the way for the quick rehash that has plagued the system of previous generation games getting released a second time with “new Wii controls” which add nothing but a gimmicky waggle control for a game that was never intended for such a thing. I’ll admit that the Wii version rocked.

Point?

Resident Evil 4 was a game that many claimed was one of the greatest games ever made [it’s still slightly below BioShock on GameRankings]. I see fault in this because, like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it has been usurped by the next of kin. Resident Evil 5, much like the aforementioned Wind Waker, took what made it’s predecessor unique and made it even better. While RE4 is a great game and should be played, don’t let nostalgia overcome you.