Many more months passed, and Capcom remained silent about Resident Evil 4, other than a confirmation of a late 2004 release. In January, word came through that Capcom had shown the game to the press at their 2004 Gamer's Day in Las Vegas. Though the information was under a non disclosure agreement, many of the editors in attendance said that the game was looking really good. PALGN managed to get a hold of a good chunk of this information about a month ago, and now we think it's time that we took a closer look into Resident Evil 4, and assembled the pieces of the puzzle.
Down South
Some of you may remember that Shinji Mikami completely scrapped RE2 late in its development process, and started over. Something similar has happened with Resident Evil 4 (and you can bet you'll see morons claiming to have played this "RE3.5"). Everything shown prior to January 29, 2004 has been scrapped. The latest issue of Dorimaga states that Mikami and his crew didn't want to be confined by the events of the previous RE games, which suffer major continuity problems (Wesker, anyone?). RE4 is packing a new direction, new style of play and a new story. It's going to go where no game in the series has gone before. In fact, Capcom claims that RE4 is so scary that even the developers are scared.
RE4 takes place in 2004, six years after the events of the previous games. The story centers on Leon S. Kennedy, the rookie cop from RE2. Leon has been recruited by the United States government - his latest assignment will take him deep into South America, as he attempts to rescue the President's missing daughter. In typical Resident Evil style, something bizarre has happened to the village that Leon has landed in. Umbrella may have been destroyed, but it's possible that their terror continues. The villagers are not the slightest bit friendly (sources suggest they may be in the early stages of T-virus infection), but they're not the worst thing out there.
Sir, there's an angry mob here to see you.
The style of play in RE4 is distinctly different to the previous games. The game world is wide open; meaning no annoying door opening sequences (there are still a couple of loading screens). The action can take place in three different perspectives - first person, over Leon's shoulder and one other view yet to be revealed. The game has been optimized for wide screen support, so those playing on 4:3 television screens will have borders to maintain the perspective. The enemies of RE4 are much more realistic - they're smarter, they're armed and they hunt in packs. RE4's enhanced aiming system allows Leon to shoot specific parts on an enemy's body - you could shoot the legs out from beneath a charging enemy, or shoot the weapon out of his hand. A context sensitive action button allows Leon to do things like kick enemies in close proximity, block doors and smash through windows - basically anything to ensure his survival. RE4 retain the control style of the original games, but the change in perspective may result in it being easier to handle.
Dead Eyes
Many graphically intense titles will be released in 2004, and RE4 will be leading the pack on the Gamecube. This is the sort of graphical splendour we expected to see a lot more of this generation. RE4 boosts both amazing technical and artistic graphical styles. The character designs are excellent, from entranced villagers, to bag-wearing, chainsaw wielding maniacs. We honestly cannot wait to see this game in action (which should happen towards the end of March).
Leon gets intimate with a chainsaw wielding maniac
Dawn of the Dead
Resident Evil 4 looks as if it will breathe new life into a series that was quickly becoming stale. Due to a lot of sources being under non disclosure agreements, most information on the title has been held back - expect to see an information and media flood in the coming weeks. Resident Evil 4 will launch in PAL regions in early 2005 on the Gamecube.
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