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Jan 17th, 2008 at 16:07:30 - Resident Evil 4 (GC) |
I got stuck today. I'm locked in an area with an enemy (a regenerator) that requires a specific gun (the rifle) to kill, but the game made ZERO effort to make sure I had that gun when I entered the area, thus forcing me to hopelessly abandon this game for now. I'd rather not replay the whole thing just to finish it so I'm putting it down for now. Maybe someday I'll finish it but not now.
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Jan 12th, 2008 at 22:09:16 - Resident Evil 4 (GC) |
A few more hours of attention were payed to Resident Evil 4 today and while it's not my can of soup, it's definitely got a bit of spring that keeps it from being a game I don't complete.
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is easier now that I've played and reloaded the game a number of times so I can get a correct feel of the game.
The characters are oddly obvious in their dialogue. Many times, things that the player can easily assume are voiced by both the main character and his government informant. Also, Leon is still acting irratically. Each gun he uses randomly performs extremely well and will go so far as to make the enemies head or torso explode in blood and gore.
As far as other elements go, the story is still lacking in detail. I still don't have any clue as to why I'm being attacked. Also, scattered about this town are merchants who all look alike and sell me weaponry and supplies. Why aren't these people attacking me? They're never explained and it's very confusing to see them in a poorly hidden spot without villagers attacking them.
DESIGN
The game, while not great in terms of story, narrative, rhyme, or reason, manages to survive through a few new innovative design elements. First off, the villagers may be able to take an unearthly amount of damage (namely, 4-5 bullets to the face before dying) but they react extremely well when shot. They fall to one knee when shot in the leg, they grasp their arm or face when those are shot. Other than the random body part explosions I think the reactions are very realistic.
The level design shows off the A.I. of the villagers and their ability to adapt to such things as ladders and distances to jump. While it seems very unrealistic that a small village would have such a large underground passageway or a secret entrance behind the waterfall, it all adds to the horror genre of this game.
The game provides a few challenges which fall into both good and bad categories. The good challenges include a lack of ammunition and great boss design. While the main character seems to lack the ability to run like a normal human being and avoid enemy attacks, he still manages to have just enough ammunition to clear out boss fights.
Bad challenges include the way in which you must sort and fit all the items you acquire into a bag of limited space. If it doesn't fit, you can't pick up the item. While that's realistic, it's also a horrible waste of time each time your inventory nearly gets full.
Another thing I see that should've been avoided is the way in which villagers can take multiple bullet wounds without seeming to be effected by any adverse effects. So far I've found a villager that survived 2 grenades and a few shotgun shells to the chest. One of the bosses looked like a cave troll taken straight from Lord of the Rings, and more than once I've been subjected to Indiana Jones moments of being chased by a boulder and having to sprint and then dodge before it hits me. The reaction scenes are quick and will kill you a majority of the time if not obeyed quick enough.
My final response to this game is the odd way they reward the player. The atrocious way they kill you without mercy is stupid, while the fact that shooting crows (which aren't enemies) yields random items such as bullets and wallets worth of money. A whole flock can be found carrying a small fortune along with a few boxes of bullets.
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Jan 12th, 2008 at 01:27:35 - Resident Evil 4 (GC) |
SUMMARY
Resident Evil 4 is the tale of Leon S. Kennedy, a secret agent working for the US government. He and his eye covering haircut begin the game looking for the President's daughter who has been kidnapped by an unknown person. You show up just outside a little town and the game begins as you are attacked by angry townsfolk. The game is a third person, over the shoulder shooter which helps add to the horror element.
GAMEPLAY
Keeping in mind that I've just started this game, it's got an unfortunately steep learning curve necessary to get anywhere in the first scene. With no provided in-game instructions, I began walking about without much of a purpose. After figuring out the way to shoot the gun and walk around, I proceeded to start the game but without further instruction from the game, I was severely handicapped when attacked by more than one person at a time.
Leon, the playable character in both this and a previous resident evil game, is a fairly odd individual in that he sometimes over-performs in dire situations and other times fails to do anything at all. He wasn't a bad choice though as previous players would be already familiar with him and new people to the series would learn about his past as the game progresses.
The story is where I'm the most unimpressed by this game. While other sections like graphics and controls are good once you learn how to use them, the story is very weak in comparison. You are told nothing more than "The President's daughter is missing and we think someone saw her in this little Mexican town we're gonna send you to". It's very thin and filled with problems such as how Leon is able to just rampage in the countryside and fill angry villagers with holes.
Well... that's all for now. Time to get back to my chivalrous quest. Apparently there's a few people immune to whatever is making the towns people crazy cause he's selling me ammo behind a pueblo in the town.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 12th, 2008 at 22:12:26.
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CptnWaffles has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 10 days |
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