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Posted on October 4th, 2004 - 6410 Reads

Rated Mature Resident Evil 4 GameCube Preview

-- Written by Marc-André Sarrazin



 The horror game that started it all! Well, not exactly, but on consoles at least I think it was the one game that started that whole horror games trend. It was one of those games that made me want to buy a Playstation. Nintendo fans got a taste of Resident Evil on the N64 with the game Resident Evil 2. Now though, they are getting the whole thing as the entire Resident Evil collection has been ported to the GameCube! Producer Shinji Mikami is apparently in a very good relationship with Nintendo and preferred releasing his games on the GameCube, and what a nice idea it was!

This time though things have changed a lot! No longer will we have to suffer those pre-rendered backgrounds (even though they looked good) as well as those fixed camera angles. No sir! The game has now made the full switch to 3D, and it looks amazing! It looks like Capcom is going to really use the full potential of the GameCube this time around and it really shows as it's a good contender for best looking GameCube game ever! The game runs at 60 frames per second and it has some of the best lighting effects I've ever seen in a GameCube game. The character animation is awesome and really looks lifelike and the details on them are equally amazing. Leon's hair is so perfect, and so are the details on the ennemies and evironments as it gives them a very scary look.

Another thing that is good to know is that the game runs in widescreen the whole time. That's right folks, the very much loved 16:9 aspect ratio is used in this game and it makes for a more cinematic experience. From the builds we've played there didn't seem to be any way to switch to a fullscreen mode (in case you preferred that), but it may be available in the final version.

We still do not know much details about the game's story though. We do know that Leon is sent in Europe a little more than 6 years after the events of the second Resident Evil. He has been traimed by the government and works directly for the President of the United States. He is sent there to find the President's daughter who has been kidnapped. Apparently, the government has destroyed the Umbrella corporation but we've heard that they are still involved in the story.

From the many trailers we've seen and the demo we've played we have learned a little bit more. There is still a virus floating around as the president's daughter seems to become infected at one point in the game. There are also monks dressed in black and red suits. It seems like some kind of sect, but we do not have much detailed on this, but it could be very important to the story as at the end of demo, all of the villagers who were attacking you mysteriously stop and head to the church when they hear the bell. Since they speak in some language we cannot understand (spanish it seems) we have no idea what could make them go in there, but something mysterious is going on.

The game's dialogues haven't been that more improved as it seems a little but cheesy at times, even though it's been like that in every Resident Evil game and we are now used to it. Some of the lines the characters said were funny, like when one of the guys at the beginning of the demo says he doesn't want to leave the car in case he gets a parking ticket even though he is in the middle of nowhere, and at the end when everyone goes to the church and Leon says: "Where's everyone going? Bingo?"

Boss battles seem to be back and even better than ever! There is one big ogre-like monster which reminds me of the cave troll in the Lord of the Rings. In the previews we see him grabbing Leon and attacking him with that huge wooden thing he has in his hand. Another boss fight has you in a boat fighting a huge salamander/alligator thing by throwing harpoons at it. You know it's gotta be big when the villagers feed it with human corpses! Another one we've seen is that very tall guy with a very long beard. Freaky!

Controls of the game haven't changed one bit though as it still controls like a tank! If the would have added the possibility to at least strafe left or right it would have helped. You can still make an 180 degress turn at any moment by pressing down and B, but it could have been done better.

As in past Resident Evil games, you'll be able to control more than one character. There's Leon of course, but at one point it seems like you can control the President's daughter, Ashley. There is also another playable character in the game for a total of 3. Pretty neat huh? There are also some action sequences where you will need to press a certain button really fast, kind of like in those Mario Party minigames. In one of the scenes Leon has to run away from a boulder and you need to press the A button rapidly. In another, he swims away from the lake ceature. We also saw him dodging an attack from the Ogre boss by pressing L and R at the same time. You can also get away from a villager holding you by pressing the joystick in all directions.

Off course, like past Resident Evil games, there are lot of different weapons. From the handgun to the magnum, the shotgun, grenades, machine gun and even rocket launcher. And now that we've got a fully 3D environment, Capcom was kind enough to add a sniper rifle. Can't wait to blow some more heads with that weapon!

Overall, this game has me extremely excited, as much as the new Zelda! It's gonna be a totally new experience for all of us and a nice departure from past Resident Evil games. The game looks good, it sounds good, it nearly even smells good too! I think this is gonna be the best survival horror game we've ever played and we can't wait to get our hands on it. Let's hope that Capcom doesn't delay it more!

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