Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Amazing"

When you hear the words Resident Evil the first thing that comes to mind is zombies, right? Well, Resident Evil 4 does away with zombies, the back and forth backtracking, the obscure camera angles, and the awkward shooting controls the series is known for. On paper that sounds like a horrible idea for a Resident Evil game, but the game changes everything so well that fans of the series could adjust to it and still feel right at home.


The games main star is Leon S. Kennedy who was one of the main playable characters in Resident Evil 2. This time Leon is on a island looking for the presidents missing daughter, which admittedly does sound very cliche, but the story takes a backseat to the gameplay anyways, and is this case isn't a bad thing.


The first thing you will notice right from the start is the gameplay. Instead of having adjusted camera angles you're in a third person perspective. When you aim to shoot the camera zooms in over Leon's shoulder so you can aim at what part of the enemies body you want to shoot. Leon doesn't have the most steady hand, but its something you will quickly become use to.


The best part about being able to aim at what part to shoot is when you get the chance to roundhouse kick an enemy down after shooting them in the head or knee. When do these quick time event kicks or suplexes the camera goes into a more cinematic view and makes it enjoyable to watch Leon do these actions which will make you feel like a complete bad ass at times.


Another thing you will notice quickly is the enemies are no longer zombies like I mentioned before. Instead these enemies will react to your every move. When you aim for their head a lot of the times they will duck to try and dodge your shot. When you run to a different area to avoid an enemy they will run after you and sometimes in hordes to try and take you down.


Some enemies have pitchforks to stab you with, some have dynamite, a few with throw things like axes at you, and a few even have a chainsaw which will instantly kill you if hit. Things like this definitely make the game more immense and more thrilling.


At a certain part of the game you will find Ashley who is the presidents daughter and you will have to protect her from enemies or make her go hide while you take care of all of the enemies. At a few points in the game there is no place for Ashley to hide so you have to try your best to protect her and keep her from getting took away or killed.


The best thing is even when you're done with the main game you unlock a few goodies to keep you busy for a good while. There is a complete other set of the story were you play as Ada Wong and see her side of the entire story with her own set of boss fights and missions, there is mercenaries mode were you pretty much go on a killing spree racking up points and hitting timers to get more time on the clock, and you unlock Assignment Ada.


Graphically the game is very impressive for a Playstation 2 game. The character models are very detailed, the bosses look morbidly gross in a good way, the environments are very atmospheric and at times intense, and just the overall mood of the game is very well done.


The games music and sounds are very well done and fit perfectly in with the atmosphere and the overall feel of the game. The weapons sound powerful, the voice acting is very well done,though it does have a few cheesy moments, and the sounds the enemies make will freak you out at first.


Resident Evil 4 is definitely one of the best action horror games available on the Playstation 2 and any fans of the genre would be doing them self a big favor by picking the game up. Even if you don't like this genre you will find something you love about the game that keeps you coming back for more.