So I just finished Resident evil 4

[Burchy22]

So I just finished RE4 for the first time, the only other RE game that I've finished is 5 ages ago.

It was....pretty good, can't complain, nothing wrong with it, had a good time playing it but its nothing great either. All I ever heard about this game before playing it was how its the best in the series and that 5 and 6 just fail in comparison, so I guess I just expected more then I got.
I mean, I didn't like 6 and understand why others didn't, but I enjoyed 5 and don't understand why others didn't. Both 4 and 5 are fully aware how dumb they are, the game mechanics are practically the same.

So that's one question, the other is how much do you think Nostalgia effects your opinion on a game? There is some old games that I can pick up and play anytime because I have good memories of it so I don't mind the lower standard, though for people who haven't played those games before might not be able. In my case RE4 was certainly enjoyable, will probably do another playthrough but without nostalgia to help it I suppose I was just underwhelmed and don't find the game to be as special as others think so.

Anyway....off to try out Silent hill 2, lets see what all the fuss is about that game...

 

[Maximum Bert]

I played a fair few hours of 4 when it first came out on the gamecube years ago I kinda liked it but it wasnt strong enough to make me want to keep playing it I sort of lost interest pretty fast but I do think it had better atmosphere than 5 which I did actually complete (guess I had more time for mediocre games then).

I think you are expecting to much. If you take in to much of the ridiculous praise that goes out for classic games you will inevitably be disappointed most of the time whether its Resi Evil 4 silent hill 2, Ocarina, FFVII/VI/IX/X etc, Planescape orment and the thousands of other acclaimed games. Some will click with you most wont the closer you expect to greatness the more glaring its flaws will be to you.

Films are just the same and Music ever see that classic film or hear that classic tune and think yeah thats nothing special or that was terrible games are the same dont expect every supposed great game to float your boat especially if you go in with the attitude of ok whats so great about it.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Nostalgia taints my view of games, no doubt about it. I can still play Final Fantasy VII or VIII even today and not bat an eyelash, but man, if I hadn't grown up with those games...let's just say they haven't aged well in a lot of areas.

I'm glad you feel that Resident Evil 4 and 5 played the same. It was something I would often point out when people complained about the controls in 5, but would turn around and praise the very ground that 4 touched. "You can't run and shot in five. How dumb is that?"
"Well, you can't do that in four either."
"Shut up. Four is perfect."
"..."

I think 4 has been placed on such a high pedestal now that, unless you were there when it first came out, you are not going to understand what all the hype was/is about. It happens to nearly all amazing video games eventually.
Do let me know what you think of Silent Hill 2 though. That, I think along with 3, is one of the few games that will be able to stand the test of time regardless.

 

[madwarper]

I'm glad you feel that Resident Evil 4 and 5 played the same. It was something I would often point out when people complained about the controls in 5, but would turn around and praise the very ground that 4 touched. "You can't run and shot in five. How dumb is that?"
"Well, you can't do that in four either."
"Shut up. Four is perfect."
"..."

Having only played RE4 and 5, I can't comment on the older games. But, RE4's Stop'n'Pop controls made sense when the majority of the enemies had melee weapons, a few had slow-loading crossbows, and only one boss had a firearm. However, that same Stop'N'Pop control scheme doesn't work in RE5 when just about every enemy has a firearm and RE5 dove into the shallow end of the third-person cover-based shooter pool.

 

[Burchy22]

I think the reasons are subtle as to why resident evil 4's controls work well and resident evil 5's kind of doesn't.

Also don't get in the habit of playing every game with the mindset of "well a lot of people say this game is good, i wonder if it's true." Rather, you should be in the mindset of "well I'm in the mood for a game like this one, I hope it's good at what it does."

 

[krazykidd]

So I just finished RE4 for the first time, the only other RE game that I've finished is 5 ages ago.

It was....pretty good, can't complain, nothing wrong with it, had a good time playing it but its nothing great either. All I ever heard about this game before playing it was how its the best in the series and that 5 and 6 just fail in comparison, so I guess I just expected more then I got.
I mean, I didn't like 6 and understand why others didn't, but I enjoyed 5 and don't understand why others didn't. Both 4 and 5 are fully aware how dumb they are, the game mechanics are practically the same.

So that's one question, the other is how much do you think Nostalgia effects your opinion on a game? There is some old games that I can pick up and play anytime because I have good memories of it so I don't mind the lower standard, though for people who haven't played those games before might not be able. In my case RE4 was certainly enjoyable, will probably do another playthrough but without nostalgia to help it I suppose I was just underwhelmed and don't find the game to be as special as others think so.

Anyway....off to try out Silent hill 2, lets see what all the fuss is about that game...

I hate the nostalgia argument. " You liked an old game? Is because of nostalgia". Was it nostalgia when it came out and people were praising it too? Resident evil 4 changed the RE formula . Is was new, it was interesting, it was different, it was engaging. Was it perfect ? No. But at the time, it was the shit . Hell play every game 10 years late and you'll think everything is due to nostalgia.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The nostalgia charges are bullshit, I played the game several times when it came out and I've played it several more times since. You don't have to look for the nostalgia button under every popular game just because it's "old" (i.e. barely has 9 years). There is such a thing as a good game, you don't have to be suspicious because it didn't come out yesterday.

RE4 may not be a perfect game, but it perfected games. It gave us comfy over the shoulder cameras with built-in zooming for precision aiming, realistic enemy reactions based on where you hit them which stressed skill and strategy, an ergonomic grid-based inventory system which paused the game, a smart AI escort sidekick who knew how to hide behind you, duck when you aimed and even stay inside dumpsters for whole sections of the game while getting herself into scripted kidnappings for whole other sections. I even like the weaponry in the game, which provides a skill tree of sorts with a rich, diverse array of firepower you had to carefully branch into and upgrade. Sure, drops were randomly generated based on what you needed, it wasn't exactly "survival horror", and those pesky QTEs had a way of ambushing you during cutscenes when you least expected them. But it was still fun. It remains fun. It will always be fun.

I hate the nostalgia argument. " You liked an old game? Is because of nostalgia". Was it nostalgia when it came out and people were praising it too? Resident evil 4 changed the RE formula . Is was new, it was interesting, it was different, it was engaging. Was it perfect ? No. But at the time, it was the shit . Hell play every game 10 years late and you'll think everything is due to nostalgia.

Thank you.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I actually played RE4 right when it first came out and I feel pretty much the same. It's not that RE4 is necessarily a bad game, it's just that it fairly blatantly started the series down the path that so many people complain about with it being more of a silly action series with some horror elements as opposed to a survival horror series. Even game mechanic wise, it's very obviously the origin of that style.

RE4 may or may not be a good game, but it's a fairly poor RE game.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I came into RE4 quite a few years late (about 2010) after many of its innovative features such as the over-the-shoulder perspective had become standard. Still, I couldn't help but enjoy the game. It did a fantastic job at escort missions, which is something most games still don't know how to do while others go out of their way to avoid. It did a great job of capturing atmosphere regardless of not being that scary. It also had a solid combat system. Sure, I'd be the first to point out its various flaws and would hardly place it among my favorite games of all time, but it is a well-designed game and you don't need nostalgia to appreciate it for more than just what it did to move gaming forward.

Now, does nostalgia taint people's opinions in some cases? Certainly, but it also isn't the sole reason many games get praised long after they're released.

 

[Menageryl]

Fact, yes, RE4 and RE5 play very similarly.
But RE4 introduced that play-style. And RE5 did nothing to advance it after how many years post RE4?

I honestly think it's that simple. That and the huge difference in the settings / story.

For whatever of reason, I enjoyed playing RE4 right throughout. I enjoyed RE5 too... But about three-quarters of the way through, it just became a little much for me... Stretched too far... I eventually lost interest.

 

[Dragonlayer]

I fucking love Resident Evil 4; in fact, it may even be my favourite game of all time. Excluding time-sink/soul-stealer games like Hearts of Iron or Dawn of War, I honestly can't think of any other game I've played so much and continue to fawn over to this day. Hell, one of the things that bugged so much about the otherwise immensely enjoyable sequel was the lack of a Red 9/Broomhandle Mauser, a weapon I had fallen in love with while rampaging through rural Spain to find the President's daughter.

However, in spite of all my gushing I recognize that a not-insubstantial portion of my affection for the game comes from the fact that it was the first Resident Evil title I could play without being scared witless (well, except for those damned Regenerators). I'd sampled the series beforehand - played the very first game on a friend's PS1 in my youth and had nightmares for a week - but it was 4 that was the most accessible for me. Without that, I'd probably consider it a great game but not one of the best ever made. At least, I think I would; I really do think its excellent....

As for pure nostalgia, I used to play Sudden Strike with my dad when I was a wee lad and after getting the complete anthology a few years back, my main experience with the game could be summed up with: "Oh my God-Emperor, this is SO DIFFICULT! How the hell did I ever play this before!?"

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

RE4 is one of my favorite games. It's one of the few old games, along with Wind Waker, that I would still play to this day and still enjoy it immensely. It was also one of the first M rated games I got. While nostalgia does help elevate my love for the game, it's still a great game regardless.

RE5 I thought was okay, but to me it lacked the intensity and atmosphere of RE4. There was no "Wow" moment or any part of it that had me on the edge of my seat. On it's own, it's fine, but as a follow up to RE4 it just didn't deliver.

As for RE6, I played the demo, and that's it.

 

[votemarvel]

I enjoyed the game but I've never actually finished it. I could never get past the Jetski part right at the end. After the fifth try I just gave up and head-canoned that they escaped.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I mean, I didn't like 6 and understand why others didn't, but I enjoyed 5 and don't understand why others didn't. Both 4 and 5 are fully aware how dumb they are, the game mechanics are practically the same.

Well, you know how in RE4 you had 3 encounters with el Gigante (the giant ogres) in real-time? And then in RE5 you had one encounter with it and it was a turret section? That's one of the reasons it sucks by comparison.

The other being that RE4 was a meticulously designed single-player experience with nearly flawless pacing and build up. That first village section where the crazed farmers try to root you out, holding out in the cabin against an onslaught of enemies, (again) the fights against el Gigante, the confrontation with Salazar's "right hand" etc. And then there's the phenomenal Boss fights.

RE5 was designed like a co-op shooting range, which was fun in its own way, but couldn't hold a candle to 4.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Yeah, using nostalgia as an argument or an excuse for liking older games is lazy. RE4 is a great game that did a lot of things right. If you thought it didn't live up to the hype, that's your own, perfectly valid, opinion. Nostalgia may have played a part in people over-selling the game to you, but simply liking the game, even liking it a whole lot, probably has nothing to do with nostalgia.

Also, I have to take issue with your argument that RE5 is as self-aware as RE4. I really don't think it is. RE5 made occasional attempts to make you feel sorry for poor downtrodden Africans, and really tried to make sense of the whole twisted mess of Resident Evil lore up to that point. And remember the spear-throwing tribal enemies that everyone said were racist? No one who is really self-aware makes that mistake. RE4 was just a campy, borderline-nonsensical romp full of one-liners and goofy enemies. The fact that it managed to balance the silly with the creepy so well is what made it a classic. RE5 failed totally to provide either the parodical humor or sudden turns for the scary that it's predecessor did.

That's why RE4 rules, and RE5 drools.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Fact, yes, RE4 and RE5 play very similarly.
But RE4 introduced that play-style. And RE5 did nothing to advance it after how many years post RE4?

I honestly think it's that simple. That and the huge difference in the settings / story.

For whatever of reason, I enjoyed playing RE4 right throughout. I enjoyed RE5 too... But about three-quarters of the way through, it just became a little much for me... Stretched too far... I eventually lost interest.

It wasn't the movement and shooting itself being largely the same, but the context in which the gameplay was kept.

What I mean is, RE5 is paced faster, and likens itself to a more Gears of War kind of attitude to the idea of third person shooting. The "stop, aim, shoot, then move" system does not gel with the presence of many more enemies, as well as many more enemies that shoot you as opposed to just charging at you. Then there's the issue of it really being built for 2 players. I actually like 6 more than 5 (even though I hate most everything else about it) because the AI for the second player doesn't need to be spoon-fed and get themselves killed all the time.

Finally, Shinji Mikami is just a damned good director, and makes sure the little things are perfect before moving forward. Shadows of the Damned would have been awful to actually play if he hadn't had a hand in how it really felt to control Garcia. My point is that RE4 and RE5 don't have identical gameplay and controls, despite being similar. To me, RE4 just has this little extra fluid nature to it that feels smoother and less clunky, in addition to the rest of the game supporting the controls.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Yeah, using nostalgia as an argument or an excuse for liking older games is lazy. RE4 is a great game that did a lot of things right. If you thought it didn't live up to the hype, that's your own, perfectly valid, opinion. Nostalgia may have played a part in people over-selling the game to you, but simply liking the game, even liking it a whole lot, probably has nothing to do with nostalgia.

Also, I have to take issue with your argument that RE5 is as self-aware as RE4. I really don't think it is. RE5 made occasional attempts to make you feel sorry for poor downtrodden Africans, and really tried to make sense of the whole twisted mess of Resident Evil lore up to that point. And remember the spear-throwing tribal enemies that everyone said were racist? No one who is really self-aware makes that mistake. RE4 was just a campy, borderline-nonsensical romp full of one-liners and goofy enemies. The fact that it managed to balance the silly with the creepy so well is what made it a classic. RE5 failed totally to provide either the parodical humor or sudden turns for the scary that it's predecessor did.

That's why RE4 rules, and RE5 drools.

This.

OT: Also, to be fair to Resident Evil 4, it was released about 10 years ago. Since then it has been subjected to a lot of hyping. So not only is it an age old and probably been copied 100 times over (which are games you may well have played and won't realise it copied RE4), but has been covered in so many opinions in that period too - a lot of which were very positive.

Is it wholly surprising that you are underwhelmed? No. Of course it will look dated now and oldschool, because it should do, and it has been talked of too much for you to start playing it with a clear mind.

And 'better than RE5 & RE6' is barely an accolade for any game to carry. Barely even scrapes by as a compliment.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

It's the old Jaws/2001/Blair Witch thing.

If you played it at release, it would have likely blown your mind. Having completed it several times and getting something new out of it each time. I can say it's a game that gets better with age. Not least of all because of it's self aware batshit insanity that RE 5 & 6 seemed to take literally. (Or dumb down) As it stands, its an atmospheric throwback. Quick question, did you play the Gamecube, PS2, Wii or PC version?

RE4 may or may not be a good game, but it's a fairly poor RE game.

I will GLADLY take it over Code Veronica or RE: 0

 

[otakon17]

The nostalgia charges are bullshit, I played the game several times when it came out and I've played it several more times since. You don't have to look for the nostalgia button under every popular game just because it's "old" (i.e. barely has 9 years). There is such a thing as a good game, you don't have to be suspicious because it didn't come out yesterday.

RE4 may not be a perfect game, but it perfected games. It gave us comfy over the shoulder cameras with built-in zooming for precision aiming, realistic enemy reactions based on where you hit them which stressed skill and strategy, an ergonomic grid-based inventory system which paused the game, a smart AI escort sidekick who knew how to hide behind you, duck when you aimed and even stay inside dumpsters for whole sections of the game while getting herself into scripted kidnappings for whole other sections. I even like the weaponry in the game, which provides a skill tree of sorts with a rich, diverse array of firepower you had to carefully branch into and upgrade. Sure, drops were randomly generated based on what you needed, it wasn't exactly "survival horror", and those pesky QTEs had a way of ambushing you during cutscenes when you least expected them. But it was still fun. It remains fun. It will always be fun.

I hate the nostalgia argument. " You liked an old game? Is because of nostalgia". Was it nostalgia when it came out and people were praising it too? Resident evil 4 changed the RE formula . Is was new, it was interesting, it was different, it was engaging. Was it perfect ? No. But at the time, it was the shit . Hell play every game 10 years late and you'll think everything is due to nostalgia.

Thank you.

Well said, thank you. Nearly brought a tear to my eye, I've played RE 4 MANY times over the years and it still holds up well.