Resident Evil 4 HD Review

HD releases of highly popular games from last generation consoles are becoming pretty common. We first saw the first two God of War games remastered in HD, Sly Cooper, Splinter Cell, and now finally Resident Evil 4. Along with Code Veronica X that will release in a week, Resident Evil 4 will give gamers another chance to play the game but this time in full high definition. With all of the components and action we loved from Resident Evil 4, is purchasing it for the PS3 or Xbox 360 worth it?

Let’s take a look in the HOTs and NOTs of the review.

HOT

Improved Textures, Full HD Graphics
Since the release of Resident Evil 4 in 2005, it has received a lot of renditions from the Gamecube to the PlayStation 2 and then to the PC. Out of the three versions that were released, the HD remake is one of the best as the graphics are completely redone. Textures of the environments in Resident Evil 4 looks more sharper and character models are a lot more detailed. Voice overs stays intact as well as the CG cutscenes. One let down that players will find is that some of the cutscenes in the game are in their original resolution.

Revolutionary Gameplay
The release of Resident Evil 4 changed how other Resident Evil games plays today. Stepping forward from its classic survival horror genre, the game has moved into third person action. While some of the elements of “horror” managed to stay intact, players will soon realize how the game is completely different from past Resident Evil games. The gameplay has more focused into action but players can still expect some scary moments – however, not as scary as it was like in Code Veronica X, or other Resident Evil titles from the PS One.

Story
For those who haven’t played Resident Evil 4, the story takes place several years after the destruction of Raccoon City and follows the story of Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2. After this mission with Claire in Racoon City, Leon moved to Europe and was assigned to find the President’s daughter that got abducted by someone in a Spanish speaking community. His quest to find the President’s daughter will uncover another plot of biological outbreak that Leon must stop. There are no zombies this time but it’s another type of creature that players can expect.

Bonus Content Is Included
The bonus content that was previously included on other consoles will be on this HD version. After finishing the game, players will be able to unlock Assignment Ada, PS2’s Separate Ways scenario and the infamous Mercenaries. While this content will only be available after finishing the campaign, it provides a great deal of replayability for players seeking another challenge or veteran RE4 gamers who wisheto play these modes again.

NOT

Lack of Trophies and Achievements
For other HD iterations of other games, majority of them have a lot of trophies and achievements to unlock. In Resident Evil 4 HD, players can only expect twelve of them that are available. There is no Platinum Trophy for the PS3 version. However in the Xbox 360 version, players can unlock up to 1000 Achievement Points. This is pretty disappointing for PS3 players who are seeking to obtain a Platinum Trophy.

Controls are Bad
One of the things that annoys me the most in this HD version of Resident Evil 4 are the controls. It seems that the controls for the HD version are completely changed and it might take some time for players to get used to it. Originally, pressing the SQUARE button will make the character run but with the HD version, it’s been remapped to X. While the CROSS button was originally the select and the shoot command, it’s been remapped to the SQUARE button. The changes will confuse veteran players and there will be times you will just give up to the controls.

Sound Effects are Last-Gen
The visuals of the HD remake of Resident Evil 4 might be impressive but they fail to remaster the sound effects. The recoil of the gun or even the cutscenes weren’t remastered therefore, it might not sound as great as other games on the PS3. Expect to hear explosions like it was muffled. Gamers who owns a sound system might have little benefit for this game when it comes to the sound effects.

VERDICT

Despite the number of flaws we found, the HD version of Resident Evil 4 is still a worthy title to pick up especially for gamers who can’t find the original version on the PS2 or Gamecube. The HD version will not give you the complete Resident Evil 4 experience that we felt on the original platform as the controls are completely redone and it might annoy fans of the series if they attempt to play this remake. However, for players who have $20 to spend, get it. For those who played the game already, you might want to skip this one as it’s the same exact thing and the “remastered” version isn’t just worth for me.

[Editor’s Note: Resident Evil 4 HD was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 hardware. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]