Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

I've been gaming for awhile. Not since its humble beginnings, but long enough to consider myself a Vet. And during these years, I've watched developers destroy some of my favourite series with spin-offs or sequels that don't stay true to the game itself. But there are exceptions, and one of those exceptions is this masterpiece - Resident Evil 4. Not only does it manage to complete overthrow the old gameplay of the Resident Evil games and still manage to stay true to the series, but it also manages to completely outdo them.

The game has been out for quite some time, so I'm sure most of you have already played it, so I'll keep my review brief. Fans of the previous games will probably be turned off by the new 'over the shoulder' gameplay at first, but given time, I'm sure even the most disgruntled Resident Evil fan will come to appreciate how great Resident Evil 4 is, even if it is fairly departed from it's origins.

The game starts with Leon S. Kennedy, survivor of Raccoon City, being sent to a remote area in Spain to retrieve the Presidents kidnapped daughter, Ashley. Players will gain their first control over Leon as they approach an old house, stationed in seemingly nowhere. Once inside the house, a cutscene is triggered, and you get your first taste of combat as a seemingly normal villager attacks you. After his defeat, the house is quickly surrounded by more villages. This is your first small taste of the many brilliant moments the game throws your way.

The gameplay in the Wii version is unsurprisingly different from that of the PS2 version. You'll find yourself using your Wiimote to point and click at the screen as opposed to simply aiming and hitting X. This makes things much easier, but also a lot more fun.

As you proceed through the game, you will encounter a number of enemies, bosses and characters - including a friendly merchant who will allow you to purchase and upgrade weaponry. This weaponry carries over between saves and can become quite devastating down the line.

The bosses in the game are rather unique, most of which will mix little mini-games in with the combat. Unlike the PS2 version which involves clicking certain combinations of buttons or tapping them repeatedly, the Wii version makes uses of the Wii's motion sensing capabilities, forcing you to waggle and shake your Wiimote quite constantly. These bosses are quite impressive and mixed with the new RE4 engine, are easily the most fun I've encountered in the RE series.

The game has a number of bonus games, such as Mercanaries and Project Ada, which has you playing the game from Ada Wong's perspective. These will add a bit of extra value to the game, but most of the games replayability will simply come from replaying through the main story mode on harder difficulties or with stronger weapons, trying to fully deck out and max your characters stats.

Finally, the graphics in the Wii version are vastly superior to that of the PS2 version. With the better graphics of the Gamecube version, bonus mini-games of the PS2 version and the new gameplay mechanics made possible with the Wii version, this is by far the greatest version of Resident Evil 4 - worth a look to anyone.

Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 9.5
Sound: 9.5
Replay Value: 9.7
Overall: 9.5/10

Vastly superior to the PS2 version, I recommend this game to any Wii owner.

Note: Thanks to kingkilla3 for pointing out two spelling errors.