LogFAQs > #892594495

3. Resident Evil 4 (27 points)
Nominated by: v_charon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMrjoVdFxo

Importance: 10
Fear: 7
Snake: 10

It represented the death of the struggling survival horror genre, at meast how we knew it. It changed the face of the Resident Evil series that would struggle to find its way again in the following years as it grew increasingly more actionized and bombastic. It standardized a generation of over-the-shoulder TPS clones that emphasized visceral combat and close-up claustrophobic angles. Yet, Resident Evil 4 is a disciplined game, that makes minimal mistakes in its execution. It's sense of pace is bar none. The game's beginning quiet mountainside and village treks are appropriately low on action, but the game's first huge setpiece with the village shoot-out show the game's true hand early on. For all the game's criticism of being too high on action for the series, I find the action still survival horror in execution. Every bullet missed means a chance for the enemy to deal high damage to you. The enemy tactics are smart and favor swarming mixed in with enemies that have long range attacks for peppering the player and eventually overwhelming them. The player's expanded toolkit is one they should use in their entirety if they hope to it make through the more challenging sections of the game. Ultimately, the game gives you the means needed to succeed but never makes you too overpowered compared to the horde which keeps every battle tense, challenging, and exciting.

One of the most important aspects of Resident Evil 4 though is its tone. It blends different types of horror with action cliches that feel fun instead of hokey. Unlike the too-deadly serious Resident Evil 6 and the misplaced camp of Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 4 is a game that feels light and natural with its character interactions, settings, and story, as well as the way it all unfolds. Much like its three main settings (Village, Castle, Island), Resident Evil 4 slowly and deliberately changes its tone over the course of the game too. The Village is more straight-forward horror than the rest; the aforementioned quiet isolated village areas, foggy mood, not much firepower, a shift to nighttime remixes of previously visited areas that become more dangerous, the Thing-like Las Plagas infectees. The Castle however is more a fun house of horrors, with an appropriate host in Ramon Salazar, who toys with Leon through banter and increasingly more goofy traps than the last. The Island goes full-on action film, punctuated by militia-type enemies, lots of explosions, a fight with an old war buddy, a helicopter support segment complete with name yelling, and a pulse-pounding Island jetski escape sequence. I think you really don't feel this though while you play because it does it so subtly, happening quietly in the background. There's no clue in the transition from the village to the castle that you're going from The Thing to Tourist Trap. It just happens. The game cleverly keeps aspects of its tone evenly peppered throughout, so despite the heavy action of the third act, the Regenerator lab segment catches the player off guard by introducing a hyper-deadly and frightening enemy that can only be effectively combated with a specific type of weapon, making the player switch up their state of mind and approach.
---

The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself.
http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - http://i.imgur.com/e6kIv3X.png - https://i.imgur.com/ecJSilM.png