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The Quick And The Dead

Mature GCThe story is simple: The president’s daughter has been kidnapped by a mysterious terrorist group, and Leon Kennedy is summoned (Unofficially, and in the blackest-op sense) to infiltrate the enemy stronghold, with the intent of locating and extracting the young Ashley Graham. This basic premise provides the backdrop against which 25-plus hours (You read that right) of the tightest, most tension-filled gameplay you’ve ever experienced unfolds.

The few people who cling to the notion that the long-dormant series Alone In The Dark

Created the survival-horror genre typically neglect to acknowledge that the Resident Evil franchise defined it. Nothing stirs the senses quite so much as the shuffle of the undead, who linger just out of earshot, game in and game out. While the Resident Evil series has suffered from a slight identity crisis as of late (Thanks to countless spin-offs, like Gunhazard), there has never been a better time for a Resident renaissance than now. Recent games like RE Zero have been high production values but suffer from "Been there, done that" predictability; however, Resident Evil 4 is the one to bring it all back. Within the first five minutes of picking up the controller, you will realize that this is the new genesis of survival-horror.


What becomes obvious with very little play time is that RE4 addresses nearly every complaint the increasingly irritated gaming public has had with the series.

1.)Gone are the leaden, remote-control-tank-like controls-RE producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi attributes this fix to an adjusted camera scheme. Unlike previous games, which were viewed from the standard third-person action perspective, RE4 creeps in a little closer on Leon, Sam Fisher-Style, especially while in combat mode. With his survival knife mapped to the L trigger and all guns on the R trigger (the camera is controlled with the left analog stick), attacking Leon’s enemies is a much more precise affair, which is important, given the rag-doll damage the new game engine allows for. Of course, the old reliable head shot still works, provided Leon’s using heavy metal (riot guns, Magnums, etc.), but with many enemies wearing helmets and protective gear, alternate measures must occasionally be taken. Targeting an enemies knees is a quick way to buckle them, while blowing off a character’s arms will cause him to drop his weapon. A new Shenmue-like action-button system requires players to hit a specific button or combination of buttons on order to kick the enemy away, knock down a ladder, or dodge an incoming boulder. It adds variety in places where there didn’t use to be any, and it keeps things fresh.

2.)Inventory management is so user-friendly now, it’s practically sensible. Found items like herbs, grenades, and ammo can be seen lying around (aplenty, even) in the open or can be liberated from crates, barrels, cabinets, and other places. Animals, like snakes and chickens and fish, can even be shot, usually dropping an edible, health-restoring item in the process. However, if you don’t have enough room in your inventory, you can put the items down and leave them for later. Or you can use medicinal items on the spot. Keys, treasures, and other mission-specific items no longer take up inventory space, and saving is done ribbon-free now. Out with the item boxes of yesteryear and in with shrouded merchants who, in their best Down Under accents, offer you all manner of weapons, healing items, and inventory-expanding attaché cases for purchase. The items are financed in a variety of ways. Treasure maps highlighting areas where a rare gem or artifact might be hidden can be bought from the merchants. Finding these valuables, and even combining some of them for greater worth, helps Leon not only establish a greater arsenal but upgrade it as well. Weapon attributes like ammo count, reload time, and, of course, stopping power can all be upgraded multiple times. It’s this factor that gives RE4 an action-RPG quality that it’s never had before. Leon may not level up, but his gear does.

3.)Presentation is king, and in this respect RE4 excels. If you can’t tell from the screenshots, you’ll believe it in motion: RE4 is the best-looking game around. Ninja Gaiden may look a bit slicker, but that game is made up almost entirely of fantasy-based environments. RE4 goes a step further by constructing a remote Spanish town, an accompanying forest area (which is nearly as dead as its inhabitants), gloomy lochs, mining shafts, ski lifts, watery dungeons, an incredibly ornate castle, and so much more. It’s not just the environments, but the details. One hallway in the castle, out of hundreds of hallways, will have dozens of paintings hanging from the walls, each of them unique. It’s worth it to stand around and point Leon’s gun at things just to marvel at the detail of everything. And then there are all the fantastic weather and lighting effects, and-believe it-mostly excellent voice acting too.

4.)It’s unnervingly realistic when enemies bob and weave out of the line of Leon’s laser sight. It’s not exactly Halo 2-caliber A.I. he’s up against, but in the context of the game, it works great. At times, the feeling of oppression is almost overwhelming, and that’s impressive. This is most tangible when the player must control Ashley…using old-school RE controls. Armed with only a flashlight and crap controls, you’ll be begging to be back in Leon’s shoes, weapon in hand.

Of course, not everything is perfect. RE4 suffers from the KOTR effect in that every basic villager pack is made up of the same five models (although other enemies vary greatly), and the plot begins to drag after about, oh, the 15th hour, especially when some fool is documenting everything, leaving his notes out in plain sight for Leon to find. The level design occasionally resembles a NASCAR track, and it would have been nice if Leon had a strafe function. But these are minor nitpicks; RE4 is still magnificent. It’s a terrific, if tardy, showcase for the GameCube, and it’s every bit as worthy as the Halos, the GTAs, and the MGSes of this generation. This is a stunning return to form.