ResidentEvil 4 is a third-person action-adventure game set six years after the destruction of Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy stars, a former R.P.D. officer who travels to a remote Spanish village to investigate the kidnapping of the U.S. President's daughter by a mysterious cult. Following a long and troubled development, Resident Evil 4 received critical acclaim for its action-focused take on the series' classic survival horror gameplay.
Resident Evil 4 was released for GameCube on January 11th, 2005. The game was ported to PS2, later that year, despite promise of platform exclusivity by Shinji Mikami. A special Wii version utilizing the Wii remote's motion control capabilities followed in 2007, as well as a PC port. In 2011, an HD remaster of RE4 was published on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. An "Ultimate HD Edition", featuring further graphic and gameplay enhancement, released for Windows-based PCs in 2014, and PS4 and Xbox One in 2016.
Resident Evil 4 ditches many of its survival horror traits, becoming an accessible third-person shooter. Killing enemies, for instance, is incentivized with ammunition and gold which can be used to upgrade weaponry. Level design is more linear, and key items are likely used moments later; although numerous puzzles do appear throughout the game.
The series' divisive tank controls are ameliorated; an over-the-shoulder perspective and laser sights improves weapon aiming. Running and gunning, however, is not possible; any attempt at firing requires the character to ground himself in classic Resident Evil fashion. Common enemies, accordingly, are generally slow and rarely armed to fire back.
A dedicated knife button allows close-quarters combat without an inventory visit, reinforcing a faster pace of action. Switching firearms does, however, require the menu. As first introduced in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, simultaneous pressing of the 'back' and 'run' button turns the character 180 degrees.
Leon, knife aside, can perform a number of melee attacks. These are initiated by stunning an enemy, which is often accomplished by shooting the head. This can trigger a roundhouse kick, and felling an enemy to its knees a straight-kick or suplex, depending on the type of ganado. Leon is invulnerable during the attack animation, maximizing these as defensive maneuvers.
Leon's attache case, unlike inventory in the past, is gridded with a number of squares. Items occupy a certain number; the player must arrange and re-arrange weapons, ammunition and herbs, among other things, to best utilize his space. Using, combining, discarding and selling items are all integral to grid management. Larger attache cases can be bought. Treasures, which can be sold to the merchant, and key items are housed in a separate menu.
Leon's health is represented by a metered circle, in a departure from descriptors, wrapping around the ammo icon. The color scheme persists, however; with green indicating good health, yellow: danger and red: approaching death. The latter two manifest in Leon holding his side.
First-aid sprays and the classic green and red herbs are represented, although not blue herbs; the chance of being poisoned is removed. Yellow herbs, in a debut, can marginally increase Leon's health. These can only be taken when mixed with at least one green herb.
The healing potential of herbs are locked, regardless of how much overall health Leon has. A mixture of herbs and their healing effects, at Leon's maximized health (fully metered circle), are as follows:
There are three varieties of eggs, each healing a higher percentage than the last. They cannot be combined for greater effect and, generally, are attained from snakes or a chased chicken. Chickens, however, are only encountered early-on.
The player is sometimes tasked with escorting and safeguarding Ashley Graham. She functions with her own health bar; however, she cannot use weapons. Instead, she can be told to wait or to follow. She trails behind Leon, avoiding his aim, and will duck should Leon's laser-sight happen to cross herself.
Ashley is as vulnerable as Leon and can die from a slight melee or friendly fire. Her health, however, can be extended if given the appropriate herb mixture. Ganado attempt to carry Ashley away, and should they exit the vicinity, the game is over. A single shot knocks the Ganado off-balance, dropping Ashley in the process.
There is one occasion where players control Ashley. Mostly defenseless, she must crawl under tables to avoid enemies. She can throw lamps to temporarily set enemies afire, knocking them down. The segment, otherwise, is puzzle-focused. Ashley, notably, can acquire supplies which transfer to Leon later.
Ashley's help is sometimes required, for instance, to push large crates. She will attempt to operate machinery, on other occasions, while Leon protects her. This includes her operating cranks and even driving a bulldozer.
Leon, at one interval, works alongside Luis, defending a small house from an onslaught of Ganado. Luis is equipped with a Red 9 handgun and will shoot enemies off of Leon if grabbed; he, likewise, thanks Leon if he returns the favor. Luis, like Ashley, ducks if caught in Leon's laser sight.
Luis has infinite ammo and is invulnerable. He also drops supplies for Leon; however, it is possible for Luis to kill Leon. If Luis is shot by friendly fire five times, a short cutscene triggers, and Luis guns-down Leon, saying: ''Adios, Leon...''. This results in game over.
The player, early-on, will likely notice a dog in a bear trap. If freed, he will appear in the first El Gigante encounter. While not attacking, he does bark, distracting the monster and affording Leon additional attack time. After the boss battle, the dog retreats and is not encountered again.
Leon, late game, is supported by a helicopter pilot named Mike. He attacks both ganado and turrets; however, if Leon draws too close to an obstacle, Mike waits and repeatedly shouts-down Leon so that he can commence fire. Mike is invincible for this segment and has infinite ammo.
Resident Evil 4, informed by Shenmue, implements QTEs to make cutscenes interactive. Players react to on-screen prompts to help Leon escape danger. This varies from pressing/mashing the face buttons (sometimes simultaneously) or shoulder buttons, to wiggling the left analog stick. Failure results in Leon's demise, and each features a unique death.
QTEs are also utilized to escape from a grab, usually by wiggling the left analog stick. While failing won't always result in death, it does lead to more damage. Dying in these struggles, however, will sometimes trigger unique death animations.
The player, at certain points, gains access to Shooting Galleries. There are four galleries and eight courses in total. The player is tasked with shooting cardboard Ganados while avoiding Ashleys (which deduct points); there is also a Salazar target. There is, occasionally, a Ganado with a lighted stick of dynamite that can be shot in order to destroy all targets within the vicinity.
Each course, amid its action, gives the player a chance to reload; this occurs once per course for about three seconds. Points are awarded for hitting enemy targets, and a certain number of them unlock bottle cap figurines.
Six bottle caps may be won at each range. Upon each completed row of bottle caps, the player is awarded money, starting at five thousand and increasing another five thousand with each row. One bottle cap may be earned by obtaining 4,000 points or hitting all enemy targets, while the other five require earning 3,000 points multiple times. Each course changes its target layout once a certain number of bottle caps are won. The bottle caps can be viewed in the Key Item Inventory. Each bottle cap features an audio clip whose quality is similar to actual sound-playing toys.
A returning character from Resident Evil 2, Leon is now a government agent whose capabilities stand in stark contrast to his own as a rookie police officer. He is appointed alone to the perilous task of saving the President's daughter from a group of cultists.
The President's daughter and the damsel in distress. Due to her sheltered upbringing, she has no experience with combat and is reliant upon Leon. And while Ashley does provide some assistance during key points, Leon must safeguard her then especially.
A mysterious man and a native of Spain. Portrayed with a cavalier attitude, Luis is affable but clearly hiding something. His recurring appearances, nonetheless, lead one to believe he genuinely wishes to help both Leon and Ashley however he can.
The femme fatale from Resident Evil 2 returns in a similar role. Ada, despite her motives and mysterious allegiances, routinely provides assistance to Leon, and in some cases saves him from his death.
A Spanish native of the nearby castle, Salazar serves as one of the main antagonists. A small stature and somewhat devilish appearance gives him the look of a gremlin. Upon jacking Leon's radio line, Salazar attempts to belittle Leon; although he is often bested by Leon's own wit. This contributes to Salazar's insecurity.
After the 1998 T-virus outbreak in Raccoon City and the city's government bombing, the Umbrella Corporation is dissolved and their perpetration of the disaster is made public knowledge. Leon S. Kennedy, one of the protagonists of Resident Evil 2, is recruited as a federal agent due to his firsthand experience with bio-terrorism. Six years later, then, Leon is dispatched to an isolated rural village in Spain as part of a top-secret mission to rescue President Graham's kidnapped daughter, Ashley.
Leon is escorted by two local police officers to the village's outskirts. Both express their skepticism regarding Leon's intel and decline to accompany him inside the village itself. After checking-in with support specialist Ingrid Hunnigan via radio, Leon enters a dilapidated house next to a ravine. He attempts to question a male villager inside the house, however, the villager attacks with an axe, forcing Leon to fire his service pistol in self-defense. Leon hears screaming outside as more villagers surround the house. One of them rams the police officers' car with a large truck, sending each vehicle crashing and destroying the only bridge leading out of town.
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