Resident Evil 4 Released

Gamespot has the word that Resident Evil 4 has (finally) lurched and shambled onto the console market. From the article: Set after the events of previous RE installments, Resident Evil 4 follows series protagonist Leon S. Kennedy on an all-new adventure outside Raccoon City, the setting of the most of the previous games. This time around, the US government operative has been sent to a small European village in search of the president's missing daughter. However, since this is a Resident Evil game, he instead finds zombies--lots of zombies." Nothing like an outbreak of the undead to put on your tourist brochure. Reviews available via Gamespot and Gamespy.

Comments

what is it with "save the president's daughter"

[drxray]

Why do people apparently find this such a compelling plot? List of STPD games: Res. Evil 4 Die Hard Arcade Silent Scope ( - whole presidential family kidnapped) anyone else got more to add?

Re:what is it with "save the president's daughter"

[UWC]

While this isn't quite the same, there's a particular game in which the President has been kidnapped by ninjas. In playing, you answer the question of whether you're a bad enough dude to save him.

Re:what is it with "save the president's daughter"

[wickedj]

Hahaha, that game is great. The best plot ever. Not only is the CIA, FBI and military not qualified enough to save the prez, you have to question the "badness" of some "dudes" in order to get them to participate in the rescue mission.

Re:what is it with "save the president's daughter"

[popcultureicon]

I'd say it's the modern day equivalent to "saving the princess"

Re:what is it with "save the president's daughter"

[geminidomino]

Dude, have you SEEN the president's daughters? Not much to look at, but BOY do they know how to PAR-TEEEE.

That's odd...

[papadiablo]

However, since this is a Resident Evil game, he instead finds zombies--lots of zombies.

Because this review seems to indicate that there are, in fact, no zombies in Resident Evil 4.

Re:That's odd...

[th1ckasabr1ck]

It may not technically be a zombie, but this dude sure looks like one. Also, what the fuck is THAT?

Also as a side note, the main character Leon is the guy from Resident Evil 2. I can't wait for my copy to get here. Hurry Gamestop, hurry.

Re:That's odd...

[Grey Ninja]

The thing is that the people in the game are intelligent, work as a team, do not lurch in any way, and act almost normal.

Re:That's odd...

[WankersRevenge]

is this the first case where we have to tell the article to RTFA?

Re:That's odd...

[qoa]

"THAT" is a huge salamander according to the FRA.

Small european town..

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is it so many of Capcom's recent games take place in "small european cities"??!

Devil May Cry 2, Onimusha 3, etc, etc...
It's like they are all borrowing from the same concept art and environment research.

Re:Small european town..

[vhold]

Well, it's a setting with a lot of advantages:

Twisty street layout means never having to draw that far out.
Gothic spooky look is built in.
Ancient underground vaults make sense with centuries of history.
Since most gamers statistically don't live in small european towns, artistic license can be taken.

And, given the fact that it's Capcom, maybe they have plans for some kind of mega crossover game where all the characters meet?..... yea thats the ticket.

Re:Small european town..

[superpulpsicle]

Well that's easy to answer. Capcom has more sequels than any other video game company in the industry. It's only natural for games to take place in more or less the same atmosphere sequel after sequel.

Mega man series
street fighter series
RE series
Devil may cry series
Omnimusha series
zzzz.....

Re:Small european town..

[dthable]

Like The Sims? Oh look honey, the zombies from next door at the dog again!

Re:Small european town..

[johannesg]

And may I ask what an american operative is doing in a european town anyway? Is he maybe working for America's Army, hunting down cheaters on the other side of the pond (which I much favor over large scale invasions or nuke lobbing, but still...)?

We've got to put a stop to this sort of thing before it gets entirely out of hand....

Raccoon City?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, I still can't get past that. How can you take a zombie game seriously when it takes place in a city that sounds like a level from old "Sonic the Hedgehog" ?

Re:Raccoon City?

[Anonymous Coward]

Living near several mountain/forest communities, I have to say that Raccoon city is very much a plausible name. If you get an image of a cute little raccoon character, that's an issue you're gonna have to work out with yourself.

Re:Raccoon City?

[MilenCent]

And yet, RE4 doesn't take place in Raccoon City.

Game Cube

[pbaumgar]

I'm pretty excited about this new RE game... oh wait, I can't play it, I don't own a Game Cube. So how long do we have to wait to play it on the PlayStation?

Re:Game Cube

[th1ckasabr1ck]

http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/resident-evil-4/5 62371p1.html

Resident Evil 4 will be making its way to PS2 sometime late in 2005.

Re:Game Cube

[Akaihiryuu]

They are gonna have to seriously water down the graphics to put it on the PS2. There's no way the PS2 can handle the graphics in this game as-is.

Re:Game Cube

[satoshi1]

You only have to wait as long as it takes you to buy a Gamecube, then you can play it on Gamecube in all it's superiority! Seriously, the PS2 version will be toned down a LOT in the graphical department. Why would you want that? Besides, the GC is only $99 and has many other great games as well.

Re:Game Cube

[Gulthek]

Good point. But I, for one, will wait for an XBox version because I want a game toned up in the sound department. Games + Dolby Digital Support + Awesome surround sound system = FUN

Re:Game Cube

[incom]

And what gives you the slightest hint that will happen? Sony had to wield their influence as dominant console to get it, what is microsoft going to do, and what is the incentive for capcom?

Re:Game Cube

[Gulthek]

If the code is done correctly, adding a port to the XBox is much less work than the initial port to the PS2. Good return for the investment.

Mostly though, I just hope to hear zombies around me in 5.1. :-)

Re:Game Cube

[MilenCent]

Yes, and this is why there are SO many great games on the Xbox.

Oh, wait a minute....

(This has been your Snark of the Day!)

More seriously, I've played plenty of games on a variety of systems that you could play in triple quadraphonic stereo surround sound using Vogon speakers that utilize the objects around you as natural sounding boards before destroying your planet, and those games would make you wish that, in fact, their sound did destroy the planet, so as to save you from the agony of playing them.

Re:Game Cube

[incom]

I actually have a nice DTS receiver and good speakers, and Pro Logic 2 on RE4 isn't too bad, you can still hear zombies behind you.

Re:Game Cube

[BlueCodeWarrior]

Hell, I only have a PS2 and an XBox, but I waited in the rain to buy RE4.



Okay, I was there with my friend who does have a GameCube.



Okay, so he was buying it, not me.




Okay, okay, my life is a little boring, drop it already!

Re:Game Cube

[buffer-overflowed]

Obviously not $149(+tax) worth of excited. Or else you'd pick up a copy of it and one of those holiday gamecube bundles that I still saw in stock when I picked up my copy.

Anyway, RE4 hits the PS2 Q4 of this year, unless more shennanigans occur(like RE4/VJ going to the PS2 in the first place despite certain Capcom people expressing distaste for the platform). I expect it won't look as good and will have far more visible loading times. On the upside, it'll probably be cheaper and have extras like VJ did. It's also very, very good, so even if it does suffer a graphical tonedown and loading times it'll still kick ass.

New "Mature" Zelda, Starfox and probably "Mario 128" should hit by the time the PS2 version comes out, and I'm sure there are enough games for the cube you could get cheap and used to make the $99 bundle purchase worth it.

Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[mister_jpeg]

Looking at mobygames I see Resident Evil, RE 2, RE 3, RE Outbreak, RE Code Veronica, RE Survivor... what's going on here?
Can someone just tell me if which ones have Milla Jovovich in it? That's all I really want to know.

Re:Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[Akaihiryuu]

None. The movies are not related to the games in any way. Consider them in a completely alternate unrelated universe, they are not part of the official RE storyline.

Re:Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[rmoonsong]

Well, the resident evil apocalypse movie sorta followed RE 3

Re:Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[MilenCent]

The movies are not related to the games in any way.

Thank you God! I can't help but think those films drove more people away from the games than attracted.

All I can say that's positive about the movie is this: it's better than Torque.

Re:Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[jlefeld]

Resident Evil Apocalypse has a higher imdb rating over Alexander, and Alexander actually tried to be good.

Re:Resident Evil 4 or 14?

[MilenCent]

But Alexander is a fairly new movie while RE:A has been stewing for a few months. Alexander's critical drubbing has probably given it an artifically low score for the moment.

But then, this is the imdb we're talking about. I don't know if I'd call that an objective measure of quality....

Re:don't link to gamespot or gamespy please

[Attar81]

Not sure if it's any better, but I tend to read reviews posted on Amazon. Granted, there is a lot of joke reviews, possibly some fraud and definitely fanboy behavior, but it's pretty easy to find some quality reviews there.

Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller

[clu76]

Capcom is also releasing a limited edition chainsaw controller for RE 4. Not required in anyway to play the game, but some might find it cool.

Chainsaw Controller Homepage.

Re:Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller

[AvitarX]

Did you find a sploit to run local programs through FireFox?

Because I swear you lonked me to Doom3.

Re:don't link to gamespot or gamespy please

[astrokid]

www.gaming-age.com is a great resource (IMHO), the content on the message boards vary from very useful and insightful information/reviews to borderline trolling though.

Amazing

[computertheque]

This game has taken me away from my task of beating Metroid Prime 2. The challenge is great, and the amount of fun and accomplishment experienced while playing is so refreshing when compared to the previous games. The fast pace is perfect. The game is hard too. I'm 6 hours into it and have died 10 times already. I'm curious as to how the PS2 is going to handle this game.

Raccoon City

[blahlemon]

Resident Evil 4 follows series protagonist Leon S. Kennedy on an all-new adventure outside Raccoon City, the setting of the most of the previous games.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought Raccoon City was the setting for all the previous games. Which one didn't happen with in the city limits?

Re:Raccoon City

[KDR_11k]

Well, yes, that's what the blurb says, that Raccoon city was the scene for all the previous games and that this one plays somewhere else.

Re:Raccoon City

[LizardKing]

Code Veronica was set on a remote island and an antarctic ice station.

Re:Raccoon City

[blahlemon]

no. it doesn't.

Re:Raccoon City

[StocDred]

RE: Dead Aim took place on a boat and an island. Dead Aim was the only light gun-based RE that was worth a damn, and that's not saying much. I liked it better than Outbreak though.

Cool, but is this the last?

[AzraelKans]

Is this the last cool game we will see for the gamecube? Analysts say the new zelda game will be delayed and then passed to the next console Nintendo is working on. Theres no other interesting projects for the cube at sight. (unless you are interested in possesing dog bowls to scare dogs -penny arcade reference for geist- or playing hoops or ddr with mario) Worst of all, capcom didnt even came through with the exclusivity deal and this game will be available in the ps2 later (although I doubt the graphics will be this good). A good RE title Is probably the coolest way to say goodbye to the "kiddie" console.

The same can be said for the other consoles though , GTA:SA finally showed up. Halo 2 is still the most played game in xlive (mechassault didnt even put a dent to it) theres really not that much to see, (doom 3 for xbox if you havent seen the pc version [b]might[/b] be interested but dont expect much) except price drops for all consoles. If you havent bought yours (yet) this is probably the best time to get it very cheap. (hmm a ps2 for me?)

Well.. it was fun while it lasted.but this pretty much closes up console cycles. Lets see what the next year has for us.

Re:Cool, but is this the last?

[macshit]

Seems like most consoles get about 1 or 2 really cool games a year, a handful of "pretty good" games, a few more "cool if you're twisted" (naturally or artificially) games, and of course reams and reams of utter toss.

The reason of course, is that it's really hard to make a truly great game, especially with the insane budgets required to be graphically excellent these days, and most game companies are either barely competent and/or rigidly controlled by tasteless marketing goons. Typically even if a development group somehow manages to buck the trend and turn out something innovative and fun, it'll sell 1% under the marketing department's projections (i.e., guesses), and the rebel developers will be reigned in and forced to work on the next installment of "NASCAR prostitute hunting" -- a sure seller.

I guess the moral is: If you really want excellence, go read a book or something. Most of those suck too, but there are a lot more of them...

Re:Cool, but is this the last?

[sw33tjimmy]

what? xbox is done for?

You've never heard of Jade Empire? Conker? Forza Motorsport? Splinter Cell 3? Rainbow6? Mercs? Spy vs. Spy? Some of those might not appeal to everyone, but I'm looking forward to them.

Re:Cool, but is this the last?

[incom]

I've never once seen speculation that the new Zelda wasn't gonna be on gamecube. As for other big games, mario 128 has been confirmed by nintendo for gamecube, as has a new pokemon for gamecube(although, not known if it'll be 3d rpg greatness, or colliseum craptitude). So that's 3 potential million sellers, more announced than other consoles. Looks like my GC is going to be busier than my PS2 or Xbox this year.

Re:Cool, but is this the last?

[MilenCent]

Analysts say the new zelda game will be delayed and then passed to the next console Nintendo is working on.

Which analysts? This is interesting news, but I'd like to know where it came from.

Theres no other interesting projects for the cube at sight.

Mario 128 (or whatever they'll call it). Yeah, I still think it's coming, fool that I am. Also, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

The same can be said for the other consoles though , GTA:SA finally showed up.

Yeah, but that's a big "finally," it's the third GTA game for the system.

I'm holding out hope that there might be something cool left in this cycle, if just because money is so tight for me right now that my next console might be some time off, regardless of their coolness.

Yup, no zombies.

[Acts of Attrition]

Instead they have added another scary twist. I have the game so Spoiler Follows: The Village is inhabited by Republicans. A certain VP that has beaten death many times makes a cameo as the end boss.

Feed Me Seymor

[ShawnMcCool42]

Braaiiinnnssssssss............

Zombies. . . In every sense of the word

[AcidLacedPenguiN]

I for one am enjoying battling with the mindless zombies in the stead of mind-eating zombies. . .

Re:something overlooked

[realityfighter]

Vicious cycle: Step 1
"I can't get a Game Cube! There aren't any good games for it!"

Vicious cycle: Step 2
"I need to buy this game, but it's for the Cube!"

!recurse

Re:don't link to gamespot or gamespy please

[fondue]

You get what you pay for. Gamespot's subscription service (cheaper than any print mag) is ad-free and excellent.

Re:don't link to gamespot or gamespy please

[fondue]

"Fansites beat the shit out of gamespot and gamespy."

Unless you want to download media (including original/exclusive video content, interviews, conference coverage, etc) or read even vaguely literate review copy (on Gamespot at least).

Lumping Gamespot and Gamespy together doesn't exactly add credibility to your argument.