MovieChat Forums > Biohazard 4 (2005) Discussion > Does anyone else not care for this game?

Does anyone else not care for this game?

posted 13 years ago by mwhite182
9 replies | jump to latest

Let me start off by saying that I don't think it's a bad game. In fact it's very good. But my problem with it is that in changing the core gameplay and in-turn changing the core enemies, they kind of took the horror element out of the game series that started the survival horror genre (yes I know AITD came first).

I'm a huge fan of the first 4 games (1-Code:Veronica) and the GameCube remake and Resident Evil 0. With those games style everything was much creepier and tense. You didn't know what to expect around the next corner and it just had this sense of dread all the time, especially during your first play through. With this game (and it's sequel) I can't say anything was scary at all. It's like they took my favorite game series and turned it into a different game. It's all action now with almost no real puzzle solving and no horror (the puzzles in these new games are a joke).

Like I said, the gameplay worked well and was easy to get into. I think I would have loved this game had it been the first entry in a new series, but since it's part of the Resident Evil series I can't find myself wanting to play it. And now Operation Raccoon City comes out soon and that just putting salt on the wound. A tactical shooter Resident Evil game? Capcom needs to bring back the horror somehow. I'm guessing at this point going back to the original gameplay isn't going to happen (even though it should), but they need to move away from the constant action. This series never should have turned into a third person shooter the way it did.

I understand why it's so popular, but to me this game was the end of an era. Does anyone else have the same thoughts as me?

That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

[–] jonathan_k80 13 years ago

It has definitely progressed from a horror atmosphere to more of a science-fiction feel. This was especially evident in Part 5, which takes place in daylight for most of the game.

I prefer the original creepy atmosphere myself.

[–] mwhite182 13 years ago

I think the old pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles made everything scarier. Overwhelming us with lots of enemies isn't scary, no matter how well they stage the area (like barakading yourself in the cabin).

That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] mwhite182 13 years ago

I guess you didn't read the part where I said I didn't think it was a bad game. I just would have liked it better if it had been the start of a brand new series though. This game changed the series from survival/horror into a third person shooter/action game. Sorry if I feel that the old school games were better, but I actually like my horror games to be scary and suspenseful.

I love shooters, but Resident Evil should have never became one. And as for not finding a game of a higher calibur, I can name one right now: Dead Space. Sure I guess you could argue that it wouldn't exist without RE4, but unlike RE4 it's actually scary, suspenseful and gives you puzzles to help relieve the tension (something totally absent from both RE4 and 5).

I don't blame them for trying something new. I blame them for ruining what made the RE games great in the first place. They could have still used the new style but kept it less "open" ans more restricted. That's what makes Dead Space and the old RE games so effective, the clausterphobic feel to them. RE4 just falls flat in that respect.

That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Lt-Ravenstone 13 years ago

I actually felt that RE4 was creepier and scarier than any of the games before it. To me, the static camera angles and inability to look wherever you wanted didn't make the games scary, only frustrating. RE4 was scarier, to me at least, because you had better control and were closer to the action. The over-the-shoulder camera made me feel more like I was there because it was attached to the protagonist. In RE2, it was more like watching Leon get torn apart by monsters. In RE4, the monsters are right up in your face and chewing on your neck.

The other games were great, no question, but I just prefer the style of Resident Evil 4. Operation Raccoon City looks a bit odd, though, and does have me worried.

[–] Deferenz 13 years ago

I am in complete agreement with you mwhite182. While I think RE4 was a great game in its own right, it should never have been released under the RE banner IMO. If Capcom had had enough of the RE style ie fixed camera positions, limited health and ammo etc then I think they should of just left RE alone and started a new series where 4 and 5 would have fit nicely. They did this sort of thing for the Devil May Cry series and that went fine, so I dont see why they could not of made RE4 the same way.

I am currently working my way though RE5 and sadly I am not impressed with it. Whereas RE4 was fun to play, I'm finding RE5 boring and very repetitive. I have been hearing good things about RE Revelations though and how they have tried to fuse elements of the RE4 & RE5 style with more old school RE scares. Unfortunately, for me at least, it is only available on the Nintendo 3DS and there is no sign of a port anytime soon. I was holding out hope that RE6 was going to be a fuse of old and new but the more I hear about it, the more it sounds more action orientated. However, I'll wait and see for myself in October.

As for the future of Survival Horror, The original creator of the RE games Shinji Makami is currently working on a survival horror game as he said fans of the genre are not getting what they want at the moment and therefore he will have to provide it (sounds like a dig at capcom ). The game is currently under the working working title 'Zwei' and little bits of news are around the web on it, although not a lot is known at the moment. There is also 'The Last of Us' which looked interesting going by the trailer, but as yet I'm not sure if it is more survival or action.

Def

UTV

[–] samhain777 12 years ago

i liked the game, but it had two major flaws for me
ashley being the main problem, and the dodge system
the latter being especially annoying on pc, and it didn't work half the time

http://tinyurl.com/grbvst

[–] fjk1138-731-161881 8 years ago

I don't like it as much as everyone else does, but I do enjoy it overall.

This was the game that crossed over from the puzzle elements into an action game, and I miss the puzzles.

I hate the QTEs, the Verdugo, and Krauser parts with a fcking passion.

Everyone whines about the tanks controls from RE 1-3 but these aren't much better. I also don't like the fact that you can't sidestep and that there are times when the camera zooms in on Leon and you lose almost half of the screen.

Plus the enemies may arbitrarily reappear in places that don't make logical sense after you knock them down.

I agree that if you remove the name and characters it could be any other action game.

It has it's moments but I'm not in love with it.