According to the original plan, the post should have been accompanied by a video version, but more than half of the passage was recorded without sound. Among the “broken” ones there are places that I wanted to show with voice acting. I apologize to those who prefer videos.
This text is not dedicated to the announcement of the Resident Evil 4 remake, but was conceived long before. Since I don’t set deadlines for myself, there was nothing to waste. So it seemed to me then..
In fact, the history of creation is as follows: at the end of March, I once again noticed that the only (at that time) console – Wii – had been lying idle for more than six months. In just a year and a half of ownership, I completed less than a dozen games, which embarrassed the inner tighthead. After skimming through the library and missing something that was too long or uninteresting, I settled on Resident Evil 4.
As for the recent news, this is a good way to get additional views. Or readings. It doesn’t matter though. Enjoy.
The text you are reading cannot be called a full review. In general, I didn’t intend to. There is no point in elaborating on the plot again or shouting that Resident Evil 4 is breaking the foundations of the series; the last one, by the way – separate and a very interesting topic. This post is an attempt to collect the accumulated thoughts about the game design of RE4 and how the game survived. Still, the release of the Quartet became a milestone in the industry. For the special interest of fans of the series, who have riddled the game far and wide, I have added a story about the features Wii-versions. More than once I came across a thesis that considers it the best.
Catches your eye immediately
The simplest question that we will close as quickly as possible is graphics. An aspect in which the Wii version is definitely not better than the others. 480p resolution looks tolerable if you play a meter away from standard monitor. It’s very painful to go through this on TV. The style in which the game is designed should partly save the situation, but it turns out the other way around: the desire for realism of what is happening and the Gothic appearance of the locations draw the player’s attention to details. And there are models and textures saying “hello” to the generation PlayStation 2. At the same time, there is no mess on the screen, which is worth saying “thank you” to the work of the artists. People from Capcom were able to keep the style even and at the same time worked on the visibility of the environment. Repacking in HD makes things more enjoyable, but for complete rehabilitation you will have to redraw all the textures and update each model.
The skeleton of Resident Evil 4’s strengths and weaknesses lies in its game mechanics. Briefly for some reason unfamiliar: this is a third-person action game with an “over-the-shoulder” view. Nowadays it’s already a classic, but in the mid-2000s "four" was one of the games, who popularized mechanics. The difference in comparison with similar projects is the rule: “Walk or shoot”: you cannot move and deal with opponents at the same time. It seems controversial, but, in my opinion, few problems lie on a less global level.
For example, such problems include https://sbotopcasino.co.uk/games/ "tank" control, obviously inherited from the classic parts of the series. When you press the side keys, the hero will not move to the side, but will turn there. With static cameras mounted somewhere further away, it’s more convenient to move this way. With a fixed camera behind the hero’s back, his movements in space are more rigidly fixed with control, and the inability to move sideways disrupts the connection, which causes discomfort.
Also inherited from the original 3.5-logy the fourth “resident” got a love for contextual actions. Every interaction Leon has with the outside world occurs with a button "A". Only through it the hero starts mechanisms, takes objects and opens doors. At first glance, this is not a problem, but jumping over an obstacle or getting down from a hill also requires this button, which is important. It’s good that the game doesn’t have a cover system.
The examples above show the unpolished gameplay. As I said, the mechanics of Resident Evil 4 were innovative for its time. Any innovation has a fundamentally important drawback, figuratively called "childhood diseases". Since “this” has not been created before, no one knows how “this” should work. Capcom has transferred time-tested solutions. In the following numbered parts there are “sores” systematically were cured. True, by that time there was no trace left of gaming innovations.
Practically speaking, mechanical errors affect feeling of movement protagonist. To put it simply, they worsen the movement: the hero feels “wooden”. The game’s visuals are also partly to blame here. Leon moves in one position without any, even the smallest, changes. Let’s chalk it up to age and the trailing “tails” of the first parts – there the requirements were different.
To the already mentioned control features Wii adds from itself. The controller’s potential in terms of convenience is much higher compared to a classic gamepad. Movement with aiming separated into different hands. This is, firstly, more convenient, and secondly, much closer to the PC layout. The method of aiming with hand movements, rather than just one finger on the stick, is also similar; except that the mouse moves in two dimensions, and Remote – in all three. The Wii controller took the “trigger” from the gamepads. This combination on paper should Take shooting games to the next level.
Should but shouldn’t. In Resident Evil 4, the “trigger” is not responsible for firing, but only for switching to aiming mode. Leon pulls the trigger only if the player is holding down the button "B", will press the key already mentioned today "A". The process is not as inconvenient as it might seem, but it does have a negative impact on the potential of the Wii version. The second, much bigger headache, is aim. The cameras are decoupled from it, which is usual for the console. With one clarification. As a rule, when the crosshair approaches the edge of the screen, the camera begins to rotate smoothly. This solution, for example, is found in games of the Call of Duty series, and there, with proper calibration, it performs well. Here the stick in the left hand is used to turn. And when Leon is bitten by a zombie that has approached out of sight, the thought of a stick does not come immediately and the dead baitfish chops off a piece of health. The combination of flaws in the mechanics of the game itself and the port makes it take a long time, more four hours, get used to the controls.
Gaming immortality
But let’s not just talk about problems. Resident Evil 4 not outdated, what’s called, soul. The main feature of the game is constant change of events and alternation of various tasks. Shooting a zombified hillbilly in the ruins of a garden; solving puzzles in the crypt of a Gothic castle; trolley ride with the elimination of free riders; dancing up-down-left-right of a giant statue, after which running away from this suddenly animated statue; climbing the tower while dodging constantly falling barrels; and finally a boss battle. What is this? Just a listing 40 minutes of footage. It seems that such a flurry of events is tiring, but the timing for each one is perfectly timed. Relatively large segments take 10-20 minutes, and particularly intense activities take place even faster. The exception is the final 3-4 hours on Sadler’s island, but more on that later.
Beyond its core mechanics, RE4 did a lot to popularize QTE. There were no “childhood diseases”, but it was not possible to include them completely. The industry has not yet experienced the first half of the tenths, after which the industry decided on the correct use of QTE. More specifically, here they are too much, but not everything resonates with the player. For example, QTEs during the fight with Salazar’s bodyguard increase the tension with the effect of surprise, and escaping from the statue is just a scene where you need to move the Remote. It seems appropriate, but in practice it does not work. Console control makes a difference. QTEs on Wii have two versions: either the player moves the Wiimote left and right, or simultaneously presses A+B. What is most important is that doing one does not interrupt the other and you can simultaneously and pull and press. Thus, of all the advantages of QTE, the only thing left is surprise.
Small offtopic about one very annoying game design trick. To force the player to constantly look around, projects of that time slipped opponents behind the hero’s back. There are few such moments in RE4, but they do occur. The technique is loved by game designers of the 2000s as much as it is hated by players. No matter how trivial it may sound, spawning behind your back is trivial dishonest.
About the importance of time
As I wrote in a review of another part of Resident Evil, pace is the pillar of survival horror. "Four" tries be one at least Sometimes. So she deliberately slows down the pace to keep the player on the edge. This is where, I believe, the legs of the rule grow: “walk or shoot.”. By forcing you to regularly stop in one place, the player is simply prevented from moving forward. You also have to constantly stop and look through locations for convenient positions and potential spawn spots. The latter partly gives the required voltage. Also, the need to constantly open the menu with a suitcase-equipment in the middle of a battle can be a drag on the tempo. If you want to change weapons, go into your suitcase. Need a doctor – get into your suitcase. There is a cluster of enemies ahead, so if you throw a grenade, it means you need to pick it up, and for this – that’s right – get into the fucking suitcase!
The desire to leave the “survivors” is visible not only in the slowing down of the pace, but also in atmosphere parts of locations. Dungeons and half-abandoned research complexes create a depressing impression due to the ambient sound, ambient sounds, lighting arrangement and color scheme. Game designers have populated such places with the most difficult and vile enemies: the atmosphere alone will not get you far, you need to convey rejection through the gameplay. Fighting such opponents further reduces the already slow pace. RE4 ceases to resemble a simple “jester”, which many people call him.
In the end we’ll talk about the ending. A number of reviews and comments about Resident Evil 4 call the game drawn out, which I only partially agree with. Indeed, the shootings in the last hours are exhausting, but I can’t call the whole ending too long. The reason for such feelings among players lies on the surface, and its name is "pacing". It’s better to look for the exact definition on Google, here we are talking about one specific requirement: the closer to the end, the more the tempo should increase. This is how the game shows that the outcome is close.
This is where RE4’s internal conflict took place. The combat system is designed for relatively measured pace, to maintain the survival-horror mood. There are not too many opponents, and the size of the locations allows you to sequentially occupy several convenient places. The player, as they say, has room to roam. The combat is adjusted just for this level design. On the final island, the locations narrow down to corridors, and the number of opponents increases sharply. This increases the density of enemies, and, as a result, the pace of the game. The combat system is not designed for it, and subconsciously begins to feel uncomfortable. The latter provokes fatigue.
As a conclusion, a few thoughts about the upcoming remake. Since the release of the original Resident Evil 4, the industry has outgrown the gameplay problems that I called “childhood diseases”. So there shouldn’t be any problems with management, for example.
The developers should definitely preserve the precise density of events that makes the game so wonderful. Perhaps it is worth reworking the combat system, making it suitable for different pacing. The use of QTE remains questionable. I will understand the complete refusal, but with disappointment. However, at a minimum, their number needs to be reduced, making it more precise.