Game review: Resident Evil 4 review

Resident Evil 4 put us in the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy, "rookie" whom we control in the tremendous Resident Evil 2, before a rescue mission (the daughter of the president of the United States, neither more nor less; Ashley Graham) located in a remote village in Spain where its villagers babbled phrases in Spanish such as the highly parodied "behind you, imbésil", "grab it" or "dying is living." Some beings belonging to the sect of the Illuminati somewhat strange.

This other change was one of the most striking, since the classic figure of the zombie was dispensed with by some infected (who are still "zombies" in the background, yes, but with greater reasoning capacity and that extra speech to communicate with others) . , which did not prevent, in any case, that we encountered extremely lethal aberrations of large size.

The start of a new way of creating nightmares

He was no longer the Resident Evil we knew, but at the time we viewed that change favorably. And that there were many, actually. There was one that is now fully established, like that chapter development. The typewriter was preserved, but the story followed a structure divided into different sections and with an infinity of checkpoints.

Apart from that greater emphasis on action, with waves of enemies in certain sections, Quick-Time Events were introduced for the first time in the saga, in the vein of Shenmue, both to deliver the coup de grace to an opponent and to dodge it. . at the last minute or to loosen up faster.

In addition, here we are also fully committed to 3D textures, not only for the characters but for the environment. The logical step after the evolution seen in the aforementioned Resident Evil Code: Veronica. Now, the control of the camera in Resident Evil 4 today seems to us quite improvable due to the abruptness when turning, the impossibility of adjusting the sensitivity or aiming so slow ... And that allows to alternate between several controls.

This inevitably affected the action, giving you a few seconds to react to certain attacks. In addition, here it influenced where we shot: in an arm so that the enemy dropped the dynamite or a knife, in the legs so that it was vulnerable to our shot, and of course in the head to cause critical damage. Each area exuded arcade spirit on all four sides, a sensation heightened by the objects that they used to leave behind when they died (from money in pesetas to ammunition or plants) and that evaporated after a few seconds, so that we could rest as little as possible.

Resident Evil 4 had many surprises in store for us

For the avoidance of doubt, Resident Evil 4 provided us with the map by providing it to us on a tray with each new area. The memorable peddler (merchant) sold us an extra map with the location of the treasures, in case he bit us with the bug to scratch more pesetas to buy and improve the equipment, something that required time and money. We may even combine certain treasures to increase their market value.

It goes without saying that the inventory underwent a complete facelift, being more practical than ever when dealing with the management of the classic roll boxes, being able to rotate the objects to better place them and make the most of the size of the briefcase. (which, of course, could be expanded). Very appreciated, incidentally, the yellow grass to raise life.

However, there was something that puzzled players at the time and is still remembered negatively: having to deal with the useless Ashley. Leon's orders were very simple, limiting himself to stop or follow us, with the possibility of telling her to hide in trunks so that we would not have to worry about her in battles. But it was a hassle, especially having to catch her with every jump from not being able to go down a few simple stairs. Or get lost when we were leaving.

At least the soundtrack, in line with previous productions, came to calm us every time we killed the enemies in an area, because it stopped completely to indicate that there were no more dangers. Although this also worked against him by subtracting some of the tension, as did seeing the map from the beginning by not going blind anywhere in the story.

As an extra incentive, the unlockables when completing the adventure, from the classic Mercenaries mode to two additional modes starring Ada, one of them not included in the original GameCube version, which made the high degree of replayability greater in itself .

Has it stood the test of time well?

Yes, although it does not enjoy the same impact as in 2005, where it became an instant favorite of many on the GameCube. But it is still very enjoyable despite having moved away from the classic survival horror formula. At the end of the day, it was the turning point for the entire saga and after it came that Resident Evil 5 from 2009 where that formula was further polished if possible with the addition of a cooperative mode.