$20 Game of the Week: Resident Evil 4 – Wii Edition (Wii)

Resident Evil 5 is in stores now. Of course, what new sequel would be complete with a look at one of its predecessors, if for no other reason than to see how far the series has come? When it was released, Resident Evil 4 had forever altered everything that we knew about the series in the same manner that RE 5 is doing now. Gone were the tank like controls and slow pacing, and in their place are fast intense action sequences with an almost arcade-style feel. While I have featured RE4 as a previous $20GOTW, this Wii edition deserves a special mention in its own right, as it pretty much can be considered as the definitive version of Resident Evil 4 thanks to all the content it contains. Don’t worry folks, this will be the last Capcom related $20GOTW/Maximum Letdown/Lost Classics I’ll do for a little while, I promise.

Technically, RE4 was already available on the Wii. As a matter of fact, it was available on the system long before the system was released. Since the game was already on Gamecube, and Gamecube games are backwardly compatible on the Wii, it’s no problem at all to pop the minidisc into your Wii. Oh that’s not good enough for you is it? You want motion control too? How about those fancy extras from the Playstation 2 and PC editions of the game? Well, you got em.

For the few of you who don’t know the story by now, here is the cliff’s notes version. Leon Kennedy, one of the few survivors of the Raccoon City infestation is in the employ of a group assigned to protect the president and his family. Apparently he must have been hired to replace a real screw-up, as his first assignment is to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter from a cult somewhere in Europe. Shortly after his arrival, he is attacked by villagers who seem to have been taken over by something, but it isn’t the T-virus. Instead it’s something more horrifying. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll run into familiar faces, battle some gruesome new enemies, and be tested by one of the most intense experiences in gaming.

The Wii contains all the material from the previous releases, along with the new things added in the PS2 and PC versions. That means you can find a new weapon, unlock new costumes, and even access a new game mode Separate Ways, in which players can control Ada Wong. The Wii adds new motion controls and aiming, and is even used for some of the quick-time action segments. (of course, you can also use either the classic control or a Gamecube controller) However, the laser sight from previous versions of the game has been replaced with some generic-looking cross hairs. Other than that, it’s the same game you remember from 4 years ago. This means that the visuals, which stood head and shoulders above other games of that generation, still look just as beautiful and realistic now. In fact, they even outshine many current generation games. This also means that the annoying little midget is just as much of a pain in the ass as ever, the sequence in the town square just after the start of the game is just as harrowing as ever, the fight with Krauser is just as intense as ever, the first time when the mutated insect creatures that pop out after a headshot is just as unnerving as ever, and the gunship-assisted siege on Salazar’s island is just as awesome as ever.

If there is a fault with the game, it’s that beside the motion controls, there isn’t much new added here, so if you didn’t like the game the first several times it came out, you certainly aren’t gonna be won over now. However, if you only played the Gamecube release, then you’ll want to check out this game for the extra material. The best game of 2005 is now even better.