Resident Evil 4 is a horror genre game developed by Capcom for Nintendo's Gamecube and later Capcom announced its release in the Playstation 2 also. The Resident Evil series itself was already a massive hit for capcom, it's known as the Biohazard series in Japan. Soon Resident Evil 4 was also released in other gaming consoles like Wii, iPhone, PC, Zeebo.
----------PLOT----------
The playable character is Leon S. Kennedy, a Racoon City Police Department's cop who also featured in Resident Evil 2. Six years after the outbreak in Racoon city, Leon is recruited by the U.S Secret Service to rescue the President's daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious group named "Los Illuminados". Leon is sent to a rural village in Europe where the Illuminados are occupied. Soon after Leon reaches the village he finds out that the villagers are not like normal human beings and they are after him. Leon moves through the village find out the whereabouts of the president's daughter. Leon is captured by the village head and is injected with the plaga(injected person turn into ganados) and is tied up along with Luis sera(a researcher who worked for Saddler in the discovery of the plaga sample). Then they both escape and Leon learns about luis and finds out that luis betrayed saddler (head of the Los Illuminados), so he is chased by the ganados to be executed. They both go different ways and Leon finds Ashley who also is injected by the plaga, now they both have very less time before they turn into those ganados. Leon progresses along with Ashley, but Ashley is again caught by the ganados later in the game. Leon fights his way through to rescue Ashley, then finds a cure for the plaga and successfully escapes from the village at the end. Leon is often helped by a private agent "Ada Wong", who is working for Albert Wesker's organization.
----------GAMEPLAY----------
The gameplay has improved tremendously when compared to the rest of the Resident Evil series. First thing to notice is the change in camera angle, the previous titles were all third person action adventures. In Resident Evil 4 the camera is placed behind Leon thereby giving the player a clear view of his surroundings. This camera view has made the combat with enemies much efficient. With a weapon equipped press and hold the R1 button to aim (a laser aim appears with most of the weapons) and press the X button to fire. Another improvement is the Ganados (by which enemies are called instead of zombies) who are much faster, accurate and smart than the enemies in the previous releases. The ganados are normally equipped with axes, pikes, pitchforks, knives, crossbows, dynamites and other farm aid items as their weapons. Sometimes a couple of tougher ganados appear with a chainsaw. The ganados can often duck from your shots; they sneak behind you and grab you, throw their weapons and rush at you often. Leon is also equipped with a wide range of weapons like pistols, shotguns, rifles, RPG, grenades to defend him from the smart ganados. But Leon first starts with only a pistol with him but later he finds a merchant near every save typewriter who sells Leon weapons in exchange for peseteas(the village currency). The defeated Ganados also drop some ammo and peseteas which Leon can pick up. Leon can also tune up his weapons from the merchant which increases the power and durability of every weapon. In case of low currency Leon can also sell the treasure he finds through the game, some treasures are of greater value when combined together before selling it.
Often the ganados attacks Leon in packs of 5 or more, in such cases Leon can use the laser attachment to aim and shoot accurately at any of their body parts. For example shooting their legs will make them fall down, shooting their hands will make them drop their weapons. Leon is often prompted to use some action buttons during the course of the game depending on the surroundings. For example, when a ganado grabs Leon, shaking the left analog stick when prompted makes Leon muscle out from the grab. Leon can shoot their knee (makes them to kneel down) or head (makes them dizzy for a few seconds), then move near them and there will be a button prompt, when pressed Leon either kicks them or perform a supplex. This comes in handy mostly when you play in professional difficulty where you need to conserve your ammo. There are also a few cutscene fights in the game which is very challenging where you have to press the prompted buttons exactly in perfect timing.
The Graphics in the game has also improved from its earlier releases; you can experience the improvement in graphics especially when the game progresses to insides of the castle. Every detail inside the castle looks amazing. You can notice the graphics improvement when you fire you weapons, during explosions and more.
The difficult parts of the game are the boss fights, each boss has a weak point and you have to find as soon as possible to in order to kill the boss easily. You must also choose your weapons wisely for every boss fight and it's always wise to tune up your best weapons. The best and difficult boss fight according to me is the fight with Krauser which is damn long and tough one.
There are also a few mini games in the game, the merchant asks you to shoot 10 or more medallions for which he will give the Punisher pistol. Also you can find shooting ranges near the merchant in the later part of the game; you can enter it with a weapon of your choice and complete the minigame which earns you some bottle caps. You will also have play as Ashley (President's daughter) in a certain part of the game which was fun for me but also a bit difficult because she won't have weapons.
As I mentioned earlier Leon has a wide range of weapons to use in the game. First the basic weapon is the pistol and leon can buy a few more pistols from the merchant which are Red9, punisher (obtained by shooting 10 or more medallions) and the blacktail. The Blacktail is the best pistol in the game, so wait until that is available to buy and spend the money in tuning it up. Next the shotguns available are Shotgun, Riot gun & Striker, the best is the Striker. So spend your money to tune it, don't waste money on others. Then, there is the Rifle and semi-auto rifle. The best is the semi-auto and there is also a scope attachment available if you need it. Then there are 2 magnums broken butterfly and Killer 7(best one). Then explosive weapons like Mine launcher (use it for tougher enemies) and RPG (use it mostly for the bosses) are also available. There is also a submachine gun named TMP and I strongly recommend not tuning it up.
There are three types of grenades namely Incendiary, Flash bang & Frag grenades. Frag grenades can be used to take out a group of enemies or blow off a stronger enemy like the ganados with chainsaws. Incendiary grenades are often used to block the path of the ganados like the near doors, ladders, etc. Flash bangs are particularly effective against the creatures popping out of the heads of the ganados.
Leon uses first aid sprays and some herbs to increase his health. First aid sprays increases his full health and there are three types of herbs which can be combined for better use. The green herb increases a small part of the health; two or three green herbs can be combined to increase a large amount of health. The red herb can be used only when combined with the green herb and it replenishes full health. Then there is the yellow herb which increases the health bar a bit and it's also useful only when combined.
----------EXTRAS----------
On completing the game, several extra features and game modes are unlocked such as separate ways, Ada's assignment, Mercenaries, professional difficulty mode, matilda handgun, infinite rocket laucher and special costumes. Separate ways is just like the normal game progression but the playable character is Ada Wong who often helped Leon in the original gameplay. This story mode allows you to experience how Ada was able to help Leon and what all difficulties she had to face from her side. After completing separate ways a special gun named Chicago Typewriter unlocks and it can be used by Leon if you play the game another time. The gun has infinite ammo and is nearly powerful as the magnum, so it will much easy to finish the game for the second time.
Ada's assignment is like a side mission where you have to recover some plaga samples, but it's really difficult to finish. There are no save points, so you have to finish the assignment in one complete stretch.
The mercenaries are playable with different characters along with their own specialized weapons. You start in a location with a timer running out; you have to kill as many ganados as you can within the given time. Time bonus pickups are available to extend time, try to get a 5 star rating in every area with all playable characters. Doing so unlocks a special laser gun which removes the plaga out of the ganados when fired.
If you complete the game quite easily, give it a try in professional difficulty as it's more challenging and the enemies are hard to kill.
Overall you don't have to be resident evil fan to try this one out; anybody who plays this will like it.
----------PLOT----------
The playable character is Leon S. Kennedy, a Racoon City Police Department's cop who also featured in Resident Evil 2. Six years after the outbreak in Racoon city, Leon is recruited by the U.S Secret Service to rescue the President's daughter who was kidnapped by a mysterious group named "Los Illuminados". Leon is sent to a rural village in Europe where the Illuminados are occupied. Soon after Leon reaches the village he finds out that the villagers are not like normal human beings and they are after him. Leon moves through the village find out the whereabouts of the president's daughter. Leon is captured by the village head and is injected with the plaga(injected person turn into ganados) and is tied up along with Luis sera(a researcher who worked for Saddler in the discovery of the plaga sample). Then they both escape and Leon learns about luis and finds out that luis betrayed saddler (head of the Los Illuminados), so he is chased by the ganados to be executed. They both go different ways and Leon finds Ashley who also is injected by the plaga, now they both have very less time before they turn into those ganados. Leon progresses along with Ashley, but Ashley is again caught by the ganados later in the game. Leon fights his way through to rescue Ashley, then finds a cure for the plaga and successfully escapes from the village at the end. Leon is often helped by a private agent "Ada Wong", who is working for Albert Wesker's organization.
----------GAMEPLAY----------
The gameplay has improved tremendously when compared to the rest of the Resident Evil series. First thing to notice is the change in camera angle, the previous titles were all third person action adventures. In Resident Evil 4 the camera is placed behind Leon thereby giving the player a clear view of his surroundings. This camera view has made the combat with enemies much efficient. With a weapon equipped press and hold the R1 button to aim (a laser aim appears with most of the weapons) and press the X button to fire. Another improvement is the Ganados (by which enemies are called instead of zombies) who are much faster, accurate and smart than the enemies in the previous releases. The ganados are normally equipped with axes, pikes, pitchforks, knives, crossbows, dynamites and other farm aid items as their weapons. Sometimes a couple of tougher ganados appear with a chainsaw. The ganados can often duck from your shots; they sneak behind you and grab you, throw their weapons and rush at you often. Leon is also equipped with a wide range of weapons like pistols, shotguns, rifles, RPG, grenades to defend him from the smart ganados. But Leon first starts with only a pistol with him but later he finds a merchant near every save typewriter who sells Leon weapons in exchange for peseteas(the village currency). The defeated Ganados also drop some ammo and peseteas which Leon can pick up. Leon can also tune up his weapons from the merchant which increases the power and durability of every weapon. In case of low currency Leon can also sell the treasure he finds through the game, some treasures are of greater value when combined together before selling it.
Often the ganados attacks Leon in packs of 5 or more, in such cases Leon can use the laser attachment to aim and shoot accurately at any of their body parts. For example shooting their legs will make them fall down, shooting their hands will make them drop their weapons. Leon is often prompted to use some action buttons during the course of the game depending on the surroundings. For example, when a ganado grabs Leon, shaking the left analog stick when prompted makes Leon muscle out from the grab. Leon can shoot their knee (makes them to kneel down) or head (makes them dizzy for a few seconds), then move near them and there will be a button prompt, when pressed Leon either kicks them or perform a supplex. This comes in handy mostly when you play in professional difficulty where you need to conserve your ammo. There are also a few cutscene fights in the game which is very challenging where you have to press the prompted buttons exactly in perfect timing.
The Graphics in the game has also improved from its earlier releases; you can experience the improvement in graphics especially when the game progresses to insides of the castle. Every detail inside the castle looks amazing. You can notice the graphics improvement when you fire you weapons, during explosions and more.
The difficult parts of the game are the boss fights, each boss has a weak point and you have to find as soon as possible to in order to kill the boss easily. You must also choose your weapons wisely for every boss fight and it's always wise to tune up your best weapons. The best and difficult boss fight according to me is the fight with Krauser which is damn long and tough one.
There are also a few mini games in the game, the merchant asks you to shoot 10 or more medallions for which he will give the Punisher pistol. Also you can find shooting ranges near the merchant in the later part of the game; you can enter it with a weapon of your choice and complete the minigame which earns you some bottle caps. You will also have play as Ashley (President's daughter) in a certain part of the game which was fun for me but also a bit difficult because she won't have weapons.
As I mentioned earlier Leon has a wide range of weapons to use in the game. First the basic weapon is the pistol and leon can buy a few more pistols from the merchant which are Red9, punisher (obtained by shooting 10 or more medallions) and the blacktail. The Blacktail is the best pistol in the game, so wait until that is available to buy and spend the money in tuning it up. Next the shotguns available are Shotgun, Riot gun & Striker, the best is the Striker. So spend your money to tune it, don't waste money on others. Then, there is the Rifle and semi-auto rifle. The best is the semi-auto and there is also a scope attachment available if you need it. Then there are 2 magnums broken butterfly and Killer 7(best one). Then explosive weapons like Mine launcher (use it for tougher enemies) and RPG (use it mostly for the bosses) are also available. There is also a submachine gun named TMP and I strongly recommend not tuning it up.
There are three types of grenades namely Incendiary, Flash bang & Frag grenades. Frag grenades can be used to take out a group of enemies or blow off a stronger enemy like the ganados with chainsaws. Incendiary grenades are often used to block the path of the ganados like the near doors, ladders, etc. Flash bangs are particularly effective against the creatures popping out of the heads of the ganados.
Leon uses first aid sprays and some herbs to increase his health. First aid sprays increases his full health and there are three types of herbs which can be combined for better use. The green herb increases a small part of the health; two or three green herbs can be combined to increase a large amount of health. The red herb can be used only when combined with the green herb and it replenishes full health. Then there is the yellow herb which increases the health bar a bit and it's also useful only when combined.
----------EXTRAS----------
On completing the game, several extra features and game modes are unlocked such as separate ways, Ada's assignment, Mercenaries, professional difficulty mode, matilda handgun, infinite rocket laucher and special costumes. Separate ways is just like the normal game progression but the playable character is Ada Wong who often helped Leon in the original gameplay. This story mode allows you to experience how Ada was able to help Leon and what all difficulties she had to face from her side. After completing separate ways a special gun named Chicago Typewriter unlocks and it can be used by Leon if you play the game another time. The gun has infinite ammo and is nearly powerful as the magnum, so it will much easy to finish the game for the second time.
Ada's assignment is like a side mission where you have to recover some plaga samples, but it's really difficult to finish. There are no save points, so you have to finish the assignment in one complete stretch.
The mercenaries are playable with different characters along with their own specialized weapons. You start in a location with a timer running out; you have to kill as many ganados as you can within the given time. Time bonus pickups are available to extend time, try to get a 5 star rating in every area with all playable characters. Doing so unlocks a special laser gun which removes the plaga out of the ganados when fired.
If you complete the game quite easily, give it a try in professional difficulty as it's more challenging and the enemies are hard to kill.
Overall you don't have to be resident evil fan to try this one out; anybody who plays this will like it.
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