24.1.2021

*4 and a half out 5*A game that has been on my list of shame for several years. It has taken far too long than I would like to admit to play through Resident Evil 4. What can be said about the game that hasn’t been said already? A landmark in the history of the medium that reinvented third person shooter mechanics, redefined the franchise and its approach to action and horror, as well as revelling in the goofy, bizarre and ever-creative world and atmosphere it crafts over the course of its play time.The game is set six years after the events in Raccoon City, Leon Kennedy, now a federal agent, is sent to a rural part of Spain to rescue the U.S. President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley Graham from a sinister cult.This plot alone should give you an idea of what you are in store for tonally with RE4. This over-the-top 80/90’s action movie blockbuster influence is a huge shift from the claustrophobic, traditional horror influence of the previous mainline entries. However it delivers in spades, due to the game’s unashamed (and frequently self-referential) commitment to its ridiculousness. This sincerity yet winking attitude means the game excels in its thrills and set pieces, as well as increasing the stakes, and hitting the player with twists and reveals that never feel unearned or out of place. Luckily the game seamlessly balances this new gonzo action heavy narrative with classic RE horror locations and backstory. The added context to the various events found in notes, files and purely through visual storytelling, add a layer of mystery that shrouds the plot. However it’s the inclusion of the cult antagonists and the mythology and fantastical presence they bring to the story that really helps RE4 stand tall.The game delivers one of the thickest and deliciously engaging atmospheres I have ever played in. From the moment you step into the village and the discomforting, erratic and intense hordes of villagers descend on Leon all the way through to the explosive, splatter filled final boss encounter. A lot of this is due to the visual style and sound design. Though the game has certainly aged (I played the PS4 port so it still certainly holds up with a HD polish). The level of detail and appearances of the various levels and architecture within them are constantly varied and well structured. My personal favourite has to be the castle level, which luckily takes up a substantial amount of the game. It’s gargantuan outer walls and interior corridors, hidden rooms and puzzles drip in history, unpredictability and tension. Accompanied by the spine tingling and erratic whispering chants of its enemy inhabitants help hook you in with a haunting sense of intrigue. The opening village level is a suitably medieval style blend of European and Western horror tropes, that you naturally believe is in the same location as the large, broken down Egyptian-esque ruins found later on, as well as the industrial nightmare of the sewer and modern construction style areas.The gameplay is very familiar to anyone that has played a third person shooter (due to this basically being what it borrowed from). Though it can be undeniably clunky and featuring minor of the era frustrations (not being able to reload on the move and the camera still not being completely free moving). It’s still incredibly well designed and satisfying and challenging to utilise. The addition of the laser target reticle is arcadey joy and Leon’s powerful karate kicks on stunned enemies help flesh out the combat. In terms of weapons and crafting, having played the RE 2 & 3 remakes and RE7 I was already very familiar with the accusation of weapons and crafting of healing items via the suitcase menu. It’s simple, easy to use and works for necessary quick alterations in desperate situations. The weapon variety and limited amount you can carry also provides a strong motivation for multiple and varied playthroughs, as well as having to adapt to certain enemy types. The main standout inclusion in terms of character progression and currency using is the now iconic Merchant (“What are you buying? What are you selling?”) a mysterious hooded and potentially supernatural figure with a gravelly thick British accent. What is he? Why is he in the middle of Spain? How does he keep appearing everywhere Leon goes? Who knows, all that needs to be said is he perfectly fits in with the world and atmosphere, as well as being a great buy/sell mechanic. The game keeps up the challenge throughout, with relentless waves of memorable and creatively designed enemy types to constantly switch up your play style, as well as fun and tense boss encounters.The game has a thoroughly entertaining roster of characters. Leon balances gun slinging action hero cheese with dry wit and sarcasm to his situations. Ashley is essentially only a damsel in distress and is undeniably annoying at times with frequent cries for help. However there is a fun creative section where you play as her, that emphasises stealth and puzzling over combat. Main antagonist Saddler is a gleefully ruthless panto villain, and his lackeys: the frequent remorseless tantrums of the small statured Salazar, who appears child size with elderly features and the hilariously angry and unhinged Krauser (who has an excellent whole chapter boss encounter). The Merchant who I have already mentioned has a great presence, as does Ada Wong who brings a glamorous badassery to her few appearances.Resident Evil 4 is a near perfect blast of campy carnage. Featuring a bonkers and brilliant storyline, that blends action thrills, with genuine fear and panic with its relentless approach to combat, eerie atmosphere and grotesque blood and gore. Fully on board voice acting, a solid cast of characters to play as, utilising a undeniably revolutionary and still effective combat and gameplay system. Minor clunky elements aside, the acclaim and love is well deserved.

12.6.2020

The Resident Evil franchise is one that I've been following from a very young age. Resident Evil 4 is my favourite entry and also my favourite game of all time. I picked it up back on the PS2 and I instantly got hooked. Since this is a remaster, the graphics are now in full HD quality, and they look magnificent. This is now the definitive way to play RE 4 on a console, and a must own for any PS4 owners who may have missed out on the original 2005 version. Even though I still own my PS2 copy, I still couldn't pass up an upgrade of my favourite game for only £15.The story follows Leon S. Kennedy (my favourite video game character) on a mission to rescue Ashley Graham, the President's daughter,from a cult called Los Illuminados led by Osmund Saddler, who have infected her with the Las Plagas virus. Their plan is to return Ashley to her father and infect him with the virus as well. It's up to Leon to find a way to cure Ashley (and himself after being injected with it) from Las Plagas and ultimately defeat Saddler. Along the way, we even meet some characters from Leon's past, such as mercenary Jack Krauser and spy Ada Wong (who makes her return after debuting in Resident Evil 2). The story is very well done and the characters are all memorable. It also works as a standalone entry, in that it doesn't require that much prior knowledge of the previous entries (though there is an opening monologue recalling the events of RE 2).In terms of gameplay, RE 4 has barely aged a day since its initial release in 2005. The controls were a massive departure from the traditional setup in the previous games, now being played from a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective, rather than using tank controls on a pre-rendered background with fixed camera angles. A lot of games were clearly inspired by this style of gameplay (Uncharted comes to mind, coincidentally another favourite franchise of mine), but this game remains the gold standard.Some may not like the inability to move and shoot at the same time, but the game is designed in such a way that it never feels like a hinderance. Escorting Ashley may seem at first like it would get irritating, but it never does. I also have to mention the weapon variety, plenty of different handguns, shotguns and rifles can be used and upgraded to fit your play style. I personally use the Red-9, Riot Gun, TMP, semi-auto rifle and Broken Butterfly, which all prove useful for certain sections. Once you beat the game and the extra mode Separate Ways, you'll be able to access even more weapons on repeat playthroughs such as the Infinite Rocket Launcher and Chicago Typewriter (an infinite ammo tommy gun). This gives the game a great sense of rewarding the player for putting the time in. There's also The Mercenaries, an extremely addicting mode with 5 playable characters (Leon, Ada, Krauser, HUNK and Wesker), which is also very rewarding as you can unlock the Handcannon after beating all stages with 5 stars with every character.This game is one that every horror or third-person shooter fan owes it to themselves to play, and as previously mentioned, holds up very well even after 15 years.

25.6.2017

Back in the day I completed this game countless times and invested many hours into it. Had I been reviewing it back at that time, I would have given 5 stars, so why have I given 4 stars here? I'll explain below.Basically, the game shows its age somewhat. It might be a remaster of an old game, but releasing it in modern times means it should be reviewed in this context also, and when you have games such as Dying Light: The Following, they make Resident Evil 4's aging more salient.There's still much to love about this game, but the one gripe that I have are the controls. Many people argue that these are the signature of the Resident Evil franchise, but for me they are just awkward and inefficient.

20.1.2017

This is an excellent videogame! It's a classic from yesteryear, having been originally released well over a decade ago. Since being first available for the Nintendo Gamecube, this game has been re-released several times ... and now it's available in full-HD for the PS4. And it looks and sounds terrific. Okay, it's obvious that this is an older game - but it's been seriously touched-up. Compared to what it originally looked like, it's truly amazing. The gameplay is responsive - and challenging. The audio is crisp. And the picture quality is clear. Overall I'm most impressed by this remake of "Resident Evil 4".You play as special agent Leon Kennedy - who's sent to a remote European village to track down and rescue the President's daughter - as she's been kidnapped by fanatics.

25.5.2021

Well I been playing re4 on my ps3 for years. I'm a newbie to ps4 because never been able to afford one until 2020. I didnt realize they transfered it to ps4. So I been playing some weeks now and up to the laboratories. Sound and vision great, but people saying controls are terrible should try playing the ps3 version. The ps4 control is not a ground breaking improvement, but it is an improvement all the same, but yes still clunky but playable for how old it is. I love the merchant best, my wife's always shouting "what you buying". He's the reason I keep on playing re4, and never played any other res title, because they don't have the merchant in them. Tried res2 but couldn't relate to it.

17.5.2021

controls are a little clunky at the start, but you get used to it fairly quickly. Be sure to use the quickturn by pressing Down + X and youll be dealing with the hordes in no time.~13hr main campaign, with a ~3hr side campaign to unlock alongside Mercenaries - a timed elimination mode where you rack up points by taking out "zombies" and minibosses (allows you to play as different characters too). Unlockable costumes, harder difficulty, and powerful weapons with infinite ammo

7.5.2021

Bought this in anticipation for Resident Evil VILLAGE as the upcoming game is a combination of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Biohazard....Controls are a bit wonky with it being an older game, but once you get used to it this is perhaps one of the best Resident Evil games in the franchise. Definitely worth picking up especially if you want to explore more of the survivor horror franchises history...... although this is more action packed than scary.

24.2.2017

It's just like I remembered.Tedious difficulty, annoying girl, charming agent.Only bad thing I've noticed is that the option for subtitle is unavailable. It's there, but it can't be tuned on. Although this is no doubt due to some kind of bug, the rest of the game seem to be working excellently so far.Definitely worth the price.Feels a little funny to open the package and not find a manual, though.Ah, those were the days..

23.7.2020

Absolutely amazing game. Any resident evil game is great in my eyes but this one has always been the more "different" one, making it more loved. It isn't the typical zombie breakout that you'd ezpsxt in any other RE game. If you want some nostalgia from this game or even want to play it new and blind then id recommend either way. It is worth your time if you love resident evil. Packaging comes perfect as expected.

11.1.2017

A great remake of a arguably the best ever resident evil game which blends both survival horror and action superbly. I originally played this game on the Wii and it was treat.The hd remastered version gives the game a visual makeover and a smooth frame rate but that's really about it as far as I'm aware there's no extra levels or added dlc but still a fantastic game after all these years

10.12.2017

Classic game. Enjoyed playing it again, even if it feels a little date now. Would have been nice if the graphics had a bit of an update for PS4, but I guess it probably wouldn't have been worth all the effort for Capcom for the potential returns. Still nice to be able to play on PS4.

31.10.2017

Yep played it as I download it for £8 pounds great game most shooters have guys running and shooting this failed on that one that's the downfall of it allSecond downfall is Leon moves around so slow that's even turning a cornerYep really enjoy shooting crazy people in the face

3.8.2017

Resident Evil 4 is one of the best in the series. The game still has all its perks from the ps2 version but with better graphics. It's a classic game with better visuals what more could you wish for. A classic survival-action-horror that scared the hell out of us.

18.2.2020

Resident evil 4 is one of the greatest games ever made even 15 years later and it still holds up on every level. This game has to be played by everyone. So if you have never played it , this is the time to do so and enjoy gaming gold.

24.10.2018

I played the PS2 version of Resident Evil 4 many times and am delighted to be able to play it again on my PS4 with a much sharper and clearer picture, making the experience even more real. RE4 is still the best of all Resident Evils.

Resident Evil 4 (PS4) - Reviews

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