Resident Evil 4 HD - Review

Review by Gianluca “DottorKillex” Arena

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary (wait, have it been twenty years already?!?) Of Resident Evil, which debuted in 1996 on the first Playstation, Capcom has seen fit to re-propose many of the chapters of the saga on the current generation consoles, and, specifically , proposing a triptych of the most recent among the "canons", namely Resident Evil 4 (subject of this review), Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, all in high resolution and sixty frames per second.
More than being a review in the strict sense, since we are talking about a title that has been repeated countless times and whose characteristics are known to the end, this article takes the form of a comment, and advice on whether or not the worth twenty euros for this seminal work by Shinji Mikami.

Save Soldier Ashley

Contrary to what one might think, on the one hand ("it's a masterpiece!") And on the other ("I'm still playing?"), The answer to the previous question is not the simplest, for a number of reasons that go beyond the intrinsic quality of the product itself, which we continue to believe to be excellent.
In Resident Evil 4 the player is called to take on the role of Leon Kennedy, escaped from the Raccoon City police force and enlisted in the special forces, in the very difficult mission to rescue Ashley Graham, daughter of the president of the United States of America, kidnapped by an unidentified terrorist group based in Europe.
Unaware of the horrors he will (again) face, Leon travels to a charming village shrouded in fog, probably located in a remote region of the Iberian Peninsula, famous for the courtesy and hospitality of its inhabitants ...
Although the plot was by no means the focal point of the production, it was able to reserve several twists at the time of the release and, in light of the half-disasters combined by the Capcom writers with the subsequent episodes, it is legitimate to define it as the last that had a minimum of sense, at least among the games of the regular series.
If modern gamers are able to overlook a still immature acting of virtual actors compared to today's standards and a voice acting with many ups and downs, they will be able to enjoy a quality B-movie storyline, as is in the tradition of the series. most famous zombie in gaming history.
Pad in hand, however, the question with which we opened this piece returns to be nagging: let's see if it is possible to find an answer.

A cornerstone of modern action

From the view immediately behind the protagonist to the renewed aiming system, from the almost total elimination of puzzles to the introduction of a much more varied and satisfying arsenal, Resident Evil 4 represented the turning point for the series to which it belongs, and, at the same time, a reference point for many third-person action that followed, especially during the last generation of consoles (that of PS3 and Xbox 360, so to speak).
Although many nostalgics believe that with this product the decay of the series began, which from now on has denied the rhythms and gameplay elements of the first three chapters, it is really difficult not to fall in love with a balanced, challenging but never frustrating product, from the pace. supported and that in any case managed to maintain ties with the horror themes that had characterized the brand's beginnings.
Even today, despite many gameplay solutions being much less fresh and innovative, Resident Evil 4 manages to entertain, guaranteeing a good number of hours of play, thanks also to the choice of immediately unlocking all the contents, and dynamics that seem current, which many noble titles would do well to resume (like enemies who don't wait patiently for their turn to attack).
The point, then, is that Capcom has made no effort to adapt the product to today's consoles, only retouching the lighting system and leaving everything else as it was, with the result that the visual flaws of the product, as well as the era of the launch was also revolutionary from a technical point of view, they are even more evident at 1080p.
Wanting to get the knots to roost, a question arises spontaneously: how many times does the Japanese software house hope to be able to sell us the same game, moreover for the inexpensive figure of twenty euros?
Resident Evil 4, which debuted on GameCube, was also released on PS2, Wii, PC, Android, iOS, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and on each of these platforms it is available for a lower outlay than what is requested today for the download on PS4. and Xbox One.
The answer to the initial question, then, cannot be univocal: if the current consoles of Sony and Microsoft represent your entry point into the world of video games, whatever age you are, you should immediately proceed with the purchase, because Resident Evil 4, if it has not yet been understood, it remains a milestone for those who love action video games.
Or even video games in general, come on.
On the contrary, if you have already had the opportunity to take on the role of Leon during his "holidays" in El Pueblo, you can easily invest the twenty euros required otherwise; if, on the other hand, you own one of the aforementioned platforms on which the game was published, you might think of recovering one of the previous versions, which, although lacking the polished edition and high definition, offer exactly the same contents and same gaming experience as this twenty-year one.

Final comment

Capcom has decided to squeeze, once again, one of its hens that lays golden eggs, limiting itself to a lazy port of the PC version, only marginally retouched: difficult to recommend buying at this price, especially considering how little it is possible to find this title on other platforms.
Nonetheless, if you've missed Resident Evil 4 for whatever reason (too young to have played it in 2006, hate third-person shooters, hate the saga) this can still be a good chance to retrieve one of the most influential action games of the past fifteen. years.
The vote, purely symbolic, is an average between 9 that the work itself deserves and 5 for the sinister commercial operation.
Now we hope that the Japanese software house projects all its efforts on the upcoming Resident Evil 7.