@bowlisimo One of the things I really love about RE4 is that they keep raising the stakes. Right when you think you’ve done the most bizarre fucked up thing imaginable, they find a way to top it in the next chapter. And you are, by the way, in a very cool part of the game. I will say no more, however.

Okay so Yahtzee just gave XCOM probably the most positive review I’ve seen from Zero Punctuation in a while. You guys are all saying it’s great too. I’m definitely feeling the peer pressure to at least download the demo.

Here’s the problem: I still have the entire original series sitting uninstalled on my Steam game list. I just… I don’t wanna feel like I wasted those five US dollars on those five games, but they’re so far down on my backlog man.

Just tell me this: How similar is the new one to the likes of Valkyria Chronicles or Final Fantasy Tactics?

@bowlisimo Dude don’t even worry about it. Try to compare it to, I dunno, Predator. Where you’re at the Schwarzenegger-esque one-liners should start dropping in any minute now.

Quick RE4 Halloween game update: Got over the poor first impression and got into a groove (as was foretold by the Squad) while Sandy made landfall. I have definitely learned how to work within the system, move the way they want me to move, and manage the weird situations they’ve thrown me into. And really, it’s that groove that is the only thing that I’m enjoying about this game. “What the hell are they going to throw at me next (can I survive it with these shitty controls)?” and “Should I upgrade this gun or wait?” has been the RE4 experience for me.

The rest of the time I eyeroll at the bad dialogue. I don’t give a damn about this “story”, I don’t like Leon, Ashley, or Luis. The MERCHANT is the most interesting character in the game so far. “What, THAT GUN? That gun is not just about the shootin’ but it’s about the reloadin'”. Why does he have shops full of guns everywhere, and why is he so damn awesome, buying all my shit at a high price? This is the only thing I’m actually interested in. On second thought, terminator Rasputin man had potential, too.

Favorite things: Shooting projectiles out of the air like it’s Time Crisis or something. Killing a miniboss in two hits with a magnum. Easy Puzzles. Also, bolt action rifle.

My least favorite things: Agile monsters vs tank controlled main character. At least a sidestep or strafe movement would be appreciated. Ashley escort from afar sections. Ashley.

Started chapter 4, hopefully I get a chance to stick it to that gross little Napoleon guy.

@cgrajko I heard RE4 just went on sale for $10 on XBL.

@redswir1 Awesome. Thank you sir. I can definitely see where it would feel good on the 360 pad and will be taking your recommendation the next time I pick up some Itchy and Scratchy money.

@cgrajko As far as I’m aware both HD versions play the same, but in my opinion the game feels slightly better on a 360 pad.

I love the fact that everyone is talking about RE4. If I wasn’t trying to play 8 games at once, I would grab a copy from PSN or XBLA and do a (fourth? fifth?) run through the game. (Also, for my own edification, does anyone know which version of the HD port plays better? Did they do a good job porting it to the PS3 and the 360? [Do you ever get tired of my endless parenthetical questions?])

I think @impynickers nailed it. RE4 basically began the current crop of third person shooters we see today, even if only indirectly by way of inspiring Gears.

However, even if other games have improved the controls and base mechanics, I think RE4 remains unsurpassed in the areas of game balance and level design. The game still manages to have some of the most intense set pieces I’ve ever been through. When I say “set piece” I don’t mean cinematic QTEs that a game basically steers you through, but actual level design setups perfectly planned to stress your resources and strategic reasoning. That whole thing became a masterpiece on professional mode. The game does have a lot of QTEs though, but I think almost none of them actually cut you away from gameplay.

Also, don’t even really expect a legitimately creepy horror storyline or any of that shit. It’s the only RE game that knows how ridiculous the franchise is and plays that up like a motherfucker, complete with Schwarzenegger-esque quips. To compare it to Evil Dead would be an overstatement. For now let’s put it somewhere between Evil Dead and a self-aware version of The Rock.

I promise I won’t incessantly bitch about everything. Thanks for the help. A shotgun and two grenades later… (and a lot of running away and turning around)

This was like … the first in a line of good third person games. Third person was done before … but the character was usually right in the middle of the screen obscuring the action… and aiming was usually haphazard too. GTA III was basically as good as it got for third person action at that point. Not so good. Metal Gear didn’t even get into 3rd person till Snake Eater re-released as subsistence years after. The game that convinced people action games could be done really well with a 3D camera? Resident Evil 4.
Also, I liked the feeling of being hunted and trapped in buildings with multiple ways in and dudes doing whatever they can to pitchfork you in the face. That seemed intense. There were just some isolated scenarios in that game that made you think about what you were doing when you have limited resources.
I guess it probably seems outdated now, but I look on it as pretty innovative.

@bowlisimo Uhhh, yeah. Maybe today RE4’s controls feel ancient, but compared to the old tank controls, back in 2005 the game felt like a revelation.

But even today, every part of RE4 is meticulously designed around its control scheme. You really do have to learn to move in tune with the enemy AI. There is also almost zero creepiness in RE4. The whole “horror” element is more the feeling of “holy shit there are 20 people with maces and clubs chasing me and I’ve got half a clip of sub machine gun ammo left.”

Try to take out enemies efficiently. Use choke points. When possible go for the kneecaps and then finish enemies off with melee (contextual attacks not the knife). Know when to dodge an attack and use that opening to get good shots in. Use your environment.

@bowlisimo For what it’s worth, that was also my first experience with the game. I died a ton of times the first time I played through the first area, and then it all clicked; I learned how to move and shoot the way that the game wanted me to, and it became a really enjoyable experience. The game doesn’t want you to play through that first segment in a stealthy fashion, but it is useful if you stay on the move and explore some of the houses in the area as you can find some stuff that is useful. You can outrun all of the enemies in that first area. There is one enemy that comes around (you’ll know who as soon as it appears) that you may not be able to outrun, but you can certainly run and evade.

@redswir1 Started RE4. Gaaaah, the controls! Ok, I expected them to be awful. What I didn’t expect was dying over and over again 15 minutes into the game.

You know when you first get to the village, and there are a bunch of dirty villagers moving back and forth saying “mierda!” every 5 seconds? That part. My guess is they want me to stealth, but if their idea of stealth is to conspicuously stroll through the village without even being able to duck my head or sneaky crouch walk, I’m very disappointed.

Speaking of disappointed, in the opening, I feel like they missed a big opportunity to go the Lovecraft route. What I mean is, they didn’t even try to lure me in and creep me out with suspiciously shifty village folk that turn on me once I’ve started asking too many questions. No, instead in the first 5 minutes I get “raaaaa, I will murder you with this axe!” Tension, there is none.

I know you said this is more Aliens than Alien, but even Aliens had a TON of tension and a big build up to that eventual “LET’S ROOOCK!” firefight.

RE4 and I are off on the wrong foot. -50 cool game points for shitty opening.

@cgrajko To add more to the RE4 discussion, I’ll agree that the game’s best asset is indeed how tightly-paced it is. Even after finishing the game over a dozen times, at no point during RE4 do I feel as if I’m “grinding” or “going through more crap” to get to the interesting parts. It’s just unique level desgin after unique level design. There’s always something going on.

*Huff* *Puff* I saw we were talking about Resident Evil 4 and came as fast as I could… I don’t know how (or why) it happened, but RE4 had its hooks in me pretty deep four or five years ago. I got a copy of the Gamecube version when I first got my Wii, finished it, and then sold it for a copy of the Wii version, which I completed somewhere around three times.

It’s completely different than the games that preceded it (which I also love), and it’s fair if that turns some people off. But, in dropping the Survival Horror trappings, Resident Evil 4 gains this really unique 80’s action movie veneer that they pull off exceptionally well. Is the plot nonsense? Yes! Does it have tons of cheesy dialogue delivered with tongues firmly planted in cheeks? Yes! Is it a joy to play on the Wii? Yes!

I honestly can’t stress enough how well the game works with Wii Controls. Since it does have tank controls despite the ability to manually aim, it ends up working far better with the Wii Remote than something that is suited for dual analog control.

The game is also very tightly paced, which is in line with its action trappings. Unlike previous RE games where you could wander around a mansion or a city and get lost, it’s much more difficult to do that in RE4. But, what you lose in freedom, you gain in constant cliffhanger endings and an addictive upgrading/inventory management system.

I know a lot of this stuff seems old hat what with Dead Space, but I will take RE4 over any of its imitators. (I got about 4 hours deep in Dead Space and lost interest at a particularly frustrating part.)

As far as Bioware goes, I haven’t been terribly enamored with anything they’ve done since Jade Empire, which was fabulous and deserved to be a much bigger success than it was. I agree with @redswir1 who said they seem too intent on pleasing the largest number of people. It’s that joke about a camel being a horse created by a committee.

The PS2 version of RE4 is far and away the most inferior version (unless you count the vanilla PC port, or the iPhone version). Texture downgrades, geometry loss, etc. The most jarring thing is the almost total loss of lighting effects. Only play the PS2 version if it’s literally your only option.

The PS2 version is the top screenshot. The Bottom screenshot could be almost any other version:

In your case your two good options are the HD version or get the PC version and mod the shit out of it.

If you did enjoy both Dead Space games, those games deliberately tried to be RE4 on a space ship. The first Gears of War (if you ever played it) also lifts heavily from RE4 in terms of enemies, weapons, and even a bit of the level design. RE4’s controls don’t feel quite as modern though. It’s essentially still tank controls, but back then the shift to the over-the-shoulder camera felt like a revelation. It kinda has to be like that though since the enemy movement patterns were balanced to fit exactly that control scheme.

@redswir1 Ehhhh I already have this PS2 version, no need to spend more money (is it that much better?). Just another tragic consequence of my ps2 purchase right before all these games got HDified (see also: Okami, God of War, Shadow of Colossus, Ico, etc). PS2 for me might as well mean “Persona Station 2”. Anyway, duly noted on RE4 expectations, I’ve only played RE2, did enjoy both Deadspaces, so we’ll see. I’m pushing it back to Halloween, though. Viva Pinata seems like a good Summer jam. Sunshine n all that.

@angryjedi Oh. You expected a survival horror game going in. Yeah that’s not what it is. RE4 is basically what started the action horror trend, and is still probably the best action horror game ever, as well as one of the best action games of all time. It’s definitely more intense than scary. If you ever go into the Wii version, go into it with that set of expectations. Kinda like Dead Space but way way better.

More specifically, it’s just one of the most tightly-polished action games ever made. The controls, level design, enemies, and drop rates all fit absolutely perfectly with one another. That’s especially astounding considering the game is 20 hours long. On professional mode it’s a masterpiece in my opinion.

If you’re looking for RE that’s closer to the traditional experience, Revelations for the 3DS actually goes back to that a bit. It’s actually a mix of action horror controls and survival horror structure. You spend most of the game exploring the dank hallways of a derelict cruise liner, but you’re doing it with non–shitty controls. It sucks that we’re not getting another horror game like that except possibly Zombie U.

@angryjedi *shhhhh* Pete, they’ll hear you. You can’t talk that way about RE4!

@bowlisimo It’s Endless Spaaaaaaace time at any time. Forget awkward shower scenes and curiously budget run animations. Build a dreadnought, conquer worlds. Plus, those cheeky devs at Amplitude have a race called the Sowers. As in…yeah, like that.

I started playing my PS2 version of RE4 a while back. I was doing well until a disc scratch rendered the rest of the game unplayable (it was a preowned copy).

I gotta be honest, I wasn’t loving it up until that point. I mean, it was decent enough, but (and I know this point has been covered to death in discussion of the series since RE4) it just didn’t feel like the Resident Evil I grew up with. I know those games are clunky anachronisms now with their awful tank controls, fixed camera angles and nigh-on-unworkable aiming systems, but they were genuinely terrifying, and I just wasn’t getting that same sense of horror from RE4 — which was what I wanted.

I got the Wii version cheap a while back but I’m in no hurry to play it at the moment.

I’m going the Jedi route and not expecting anything from this new ME3 thing. The only reason I’m even gonna play it is probably because I bought the PC version and the DLC will likely automatically install as soon as I bother to boot up Origin. Honestly, I don’t think they can fix things very much by adding content after the ending takes place. My problem with it was that ME3’s ending felt like an ass-pull. Very little in the game (and the trilogy) felt like it was building up to that kind of ending, but let’s not get into that.

@bowlisimo You’re still rocking the PS2 version of RE4? Man. If that’s the only console you still own though then I guess it’s fine… maybe. If I recall correctly you own a PS3 as well. In that case, the PSN HD edition is the definitive one.

Oh wait I just reread your post you haven’t played it yet?!. God damn man. I don’t know how good Viva Piniata is but RE4 is pretty fucking high up on my all time games list. ALL TIME. Am I seriously going to have to do a mini “squad sell” on it?

You’re a regular Nostradamus Pete. : ) How’s Endless Space going? That sounds good right about now. No more endings.

Also, thinking about starting up RE4 since the PS2 is still hooked up. Feels like a weird game to play in the summer though, maybe I’ll try Viva Pinata GFW edition instead. Choices, choices…

@feenwager I could definitely see myself continuing to play one mode of Gears 3 or another years from now. I haven’t even touched anything since finishing the campaign but I’m definitely interested in horde and versus bots (that’s just how I roll). I guess I could jump into horde if I saw any of you guys in a party.

Not sure about GOTY contender yet, definitely within its own category. I mean, the campaign is pretty much great in every way: a lot of variety, one great set piece after another, fun core gameplay, even above-average handling of the story. That part of Gears 3 is as great as we expected it to be, but honestly a few other games this year may have impressed me more.

What’s really messed up is how much I’ve been drawn back into Resident Evil 4. I know it came out in 2005 and all, but it’s starting to become one of the releases I most want to keep playing this year. I’m now in a Professional (hardcore) mode new game+ saving up money for the typewriter, and this is still one of the greatest games ever made.

I’m seriously starting to think of RE4 as the gaming equivalent of Aliens or the original Predator in terms of its impact on the action genre in its respective medium… except imagine if Aliens was three and a half hours long and paced just as well. Not since RE4 have I seen an action game that manages to deliver almost 20 hours of all-killer-no-filler.

Now that I have the game on my hard drive and a click away, I have a feeling that every time I turn on my Xbox for whatever reason, I’ll devote a few minutes to some RE4.