Did Capcom Choose the Right Path With Resident Evil 4?

Hardcore Gamer: Resident Evil 4 might have been one of the greatest games of its generation, but was it the path that the series should’ve tread?

[-Foxtrot]

No, they chose the wrong path for Resident Evil 5 not Resident Evil 4

The Plagas should of been a one off things to take a break from the Zombie enemies we've come face to face with.

Seemed like they went back to the Zombies in the RE4.5 concept art along with Jill, Barry, Tyrants etc but then they added co-op and it seemed everything fell apart.

http://www.relyonhorror.com...

Once Leon left the Island in RE4, he should of witnessed the Government bomb the Village and Castle...to destroy any trace of the Plagas.

[nucky64]

I thought RE4 was a good game....but it should have been a spin-off game and NOT RE4. RE4 should have been done in the style of survival horror.
hey, what I absolutely loved about RE4?.....mercenaries mode!

[Baka-akaB]

Re4 still nailed an horror feel . Just a different one and more lovecratian , a bit like the village based cult of Dagon , from all the The Shadow over Innsmouth inspired media , novels and games .

So yeah the game wasnt the issue , it was the downhill slide started with re5 . I dunno how they expect anyone to take seriously the game with the "zombies" bike riders scene from RE5 among many other things gone wrong

[Concertoine]

They made the right choice. The RE formula was becoming stale to a lot of gamers, what they missed was their opportunity to return to that style with more innovation when RE4 style went stale.

[ShaunCameron]

RE4 was made the way it was made because it was no longer restricted by the technology of the day alongside even Shinji Mikami's own desire to modernize the IP hence the doing away with the gameplay mechanics that defined the previous RE games which were really products of yesteryear's hardware limitations and some of the more forgettable aspects of old-school gaming that the Survival-Horror genre was founded on.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I love RE4, but by a RE standard, its very much not a RE game.

In terms of survival, those element are gone.

They very much could have had it both ways. For idiots who keep making it seem as if making it a bro dude shooter...

The game series sold better overall prior to this move. Just saying. Add up the sales and the last RE's over all sold better consistently then the later RE's post 4.

Again...they could have had both.

[NukaCola]

Only thing I hated was the heavy feet while shooting. It was an archaic format that got a pass with 4 but in RE5 really stood out as such a hindrance.

[Hold_It]

You forgot Resident Evil 6 being trash as well. The original concept for 4 looked a lot better than what it turned out to be. The problem was they kept trying to reproduce 4 with a different setting and Shinji Mikami got tired of it and went to Bethesda because they would let him make the RE game he wanted to unlike Ca$hcom.

[3-4-5]

Capcom hasn't chosen wisely in like 5 years.

[breakpad]

No absolutely Not ...RE4 ruined the whole series and Capcom also following the same formula for two consecutive games completely lost the essence of the series (and their money we all see their economic problems cause of bad games)...Resi 4 was a good game BUT NOT a Resident Evil game, the art and the stiory of the game also were completely ridiculous(ganados and spanish cults involving presidents daughter etcetc)...i dont understand why capcom didnt named REsi 4 with different name while on pS2 made 2 gems that time for the series REsi Evil Outbreak 1,2 that had some very unique surval horror elements which could revitalize the series(loading yr gun bullet by bullet, crawling after injury ,unique melee attack, desperate last shot..etcetc) Capcom with Resi 4 and all the media hypocrisy (Outbreak rated very low that time) which folowed completely lost REsi

[MuhammadJA]

Both 4 & 5 are terrible games. Seriously, you make an action game with dated controls? At least 6 got it right.

[DarkOcelet]

If they nail the atmosphere and the scares for the campaign , Resident evil 7 might be the next Resident evil comeback they need , leave the badass action for the mercenaries . If the HD remake sells well then maybe they will start to see what the fans really want .

[Thatguy-310]

Don't hold your breath we been saying that every time a new resident evil is announced and they don't listen.

[DarkOcelet]

Revelations had a great atmosphere , it just needed better enemies , good story and no one accompanying you , this would be great and you will feel scared ,i mean that part when the captain was locked and he kept talking before you go to him , that was scary , if only the enemy design was better ...

[Baka-akaB]

I'm not one those hoping for anything , not when they send mixed imo msg like re-releasing the GC remake .

Makes me feel that Capcom is saying "you want old school RE ?(not even the request some of us got anyway) . I hear ya , here the remake and Revelations 2 , so you dont go ballistic over our RE/COD 7 ."

[XtraTrstrL]

RE4 was fun, but it was the beginning of them going down the wrong path. From the stupid spanish villagers that weren't quite zombies but had alien brain leeches, to the clones of the potato sack headed chainsaw wielders. Why would there be dozens of those characters? Laziness is the only answer. The survival-horror scariness was starting to slip away in the series from this point on.

[ShaunCameron]

Yes. With the new and improved 3D technology, why should RE4 and any future RE games be handcuffed?

[DigitalRaptor]

RE4 was a masterpiece and probably influential to other games in the RIGHT way, but influential to Capcom in the WRONG way.

RE5 was a decent entry in the series. I enjoyed it, at least.

RE6 was atrocious and absolutely pissed on the heritage of the series. It really spoke to me in that Capcom must have been really desperate to try and appeal to the west at the point, with their "go big or go home" attitude.

There was no point in having 3 campaigns when neither of them were even any good. Plus it was plagued with problems in most other areas: terrible story, character AI, pointless and exhaustingly unsatisfying QTEs, horrible bugs, and it wasn't even a scary game. Just something comparable to a third-person action version of Call of Duty.

I'm just glad we're getting a re-release of the 2002 remake cause I need my fix of that, and if Revelations 2 is not up to scratch I may as well give up on the series for good.

[Inception]

I agreed that 3 campaign are not needed. But Leon and Ada campaign are decent enough for me. If only capcom focused on making their campaign better and longer (less QTE, etc).

But i think RE series never have good stories. It always the same cliche theme about Umbrella or any evil pharmaceutical company doing their illegal experiment making B.O.W and in some way the virus infected lots of innocent people. There some plot twist here and there but it doesn't enough to make the story great.

[aLiEnViSiToR]

RE 4 was a fantastic game, RE5 was a good game nothing more nothing less but RE6 was a failed experiment that should not happen again !

[_-EDMIX-_]

For me the series pretty much started to go down hill with RE4.

They could have merely just made it a spin off series and didn't need to turn the game in to a bro dude shooter.

Hell, they could have still kept the survival elements ie limited ammo, limited saves, life etc and still had the new controls.

Or....or....just make it a spin off. They lack of success they are having lately is really their own fault. They fragmented their market and fans decided with their wallets.

I know, I know...what about RE5 sales, you could really only fool people once with such a trick, many clearly learned their lessons and didn't return to the series with 6 (like myself)

Sorry but I like playing what RE WAS not what it currently is.

Its like playing Gran Turismo and it turns in to a FPS and to STILL keep playing it JUST for its name sake.

I'm sorry but I don't play games because of the franchise name.

Calling it "Resident Evil" is NOT why I play it.

RE Code Veronica > RE4, RE5, RE6.

Why? They are great action games......they are not RE's any longer.

Or is Mario Kart still "Mario Kart" even if its a FPS? LMFAO!

Play the game, never mind the name.....

[XtraTrstrL]

Gotta agree, Code Veronica was the bomb diggity.

[Roccetarius]

RE4 was the beginning of its Downfall. It was a good game in its own right, but it wasn't a good RE gsme.

[Number-Nine]

RE4 started the bs so yes.

[Blueraven316]

Re4 is easily one of the greatest games of all time but I can understand what the writer means

[arugula]

I think both the story and gameplay for RE4 is great. Las Plagas is almost somewhat believable as those types of parasites do exist. So it makes it much more realistic.

Never had any trouble with any of the controls for any RE game or the cameras but they were obviously made easier.

I just hope this HD remake of the remake is way better then that of the RE4 HD remake. As it wasn't as good as i hoped. Yes it was great playing RE4 in HD but it just didnt feel like it was completed and really didnt have that HD look. Hopefully Capcom will learn from that.

[Tzuno]

Yes RES 4 is still the best

[Jimneous]

Personally I really like Resident Evil 5 and 6. I enjoyed them for what they were, rather than constantly complaining that they didn't tick all of the typical Resident Evil formula boxes.
The only thing that I don't really like about them is the constant presence of an AI character, although it seems more forgiveable when the role is taken by a friend instead.

[Donnywho]

Re4 is one of the best games ever made. Re5 was the beginning of the end but still a solid game. I hate Re6 and I hate the fact that I'm okay with remaking Re4 a million times while I complain about other games getting redone once.

[gantarat]

*Remaster

[Donnywho]

Gantarat* (Because you are proper)

[Kos-Mos]

They chose to create one of the best games ever created.

[ShaunCameron]

And they did it by taking advantage of the new and improved technology to modernize and breathe new life into an IP that was getting stagnant.

[mcarsehat]

No, Capcom didn't think properly when they made the most well received
Resident Evil game to date. (!)

[CLOUD1983]

RE4 was good as an action game but bad as a sequel for the series, that was not what I expected after I had play RE 1-3, there was no survival nor horror with RE4, it was a full action fiesta with near unlimited ammo, unlimited weapon upgrades & unlimited kicks... in short what CAPCOM need to do is the same thing SE need to do, look what made the old installments so great go play them & feel the atmosphere, feel the horror, feel the struggling for survival! that's what RE need not non stop shooting & karate kicks... as for SE it's a lost case for them I believe w/o Sakaguchi they will never recover we are going to see much more potatoes from them in the future yep 100% SE die after FFX.

[aerisbueller]

I honestly think the problem with Capcom is probably too many committees and financial analysts having too much control over every aspect of everything. It's cyclical, because this is causing them to bleed veterans all over the place. Now the only mentors left for their young blood are suits applauding them for adding in DLC or ripping off popular franchises in other genres. So even the team were to play the old games together in the dark after work, and have this huge revelation about what once made the series great, the next day the committee would come in the next day and tell them everything they're 'wrong' about based off of statistical analysis of current buying trends.

[CLOUD1983]

I understand what you are saying it is sad but that's how video game industry works nowadays, but back in the PS1 era everything was so pure a guy have a vision & they went with that that's how some of the greatest games ever created, I'm sure Mikami didn't believe even for a second that the game he create back in 96 would become one of the most successful video game franchise ever with so many sequels/prequels/spin-offs/3D Movies & Hollywood movies... nor Sakaguchi believed back when he create FF when his company was near bankruptcy that FF would become one of the TOP selling game franchises in video games history with over 100 million of sales.. but we all know what happen in the end & we had this result due to the vision of those people, just 1 man is what can make the difference between success or failure, there is a reason FF sucks after Sakaguchi left or that RE sucks after Mikami left or that MGS never fail to impress & it's always the TOP game of every generation because Kojima never abandon it till now & he is always the one who lead everything like a good maestro :)

[aerisbueller]

@CLOUD1983 Exactly! It's sad for gamers and creators. These brilliant minds that define genres should be treated like rock stars, and given more and more control over the direction of their dev teams (and more and more room to risk failure on something they believe in) as they rack up successful ideas and prove themselves.

Instead I hear nothing but horror stories about how their companies offer them no control. Capcom lost Keiji Inafune (megaman) and Shinji Mikami (re) because Capcom had zero respect for the value of their vision, and that was the only way to reclaim the spirit of the franchises they created.

Even Miyamoto (almost everything Nintendo is famous for) complained in an interview how they didn't let him do anything but sequels, and how he hoped that he would be allowed to make something new before he retired. It was the most depressing thing I'd ever read.

They just clip their wings right off, and treat their golden goose creative geniuses like any old grunt programmer.

[aerisbueller]

I've been saying this for a long time. As a 3rd person action game RE4 and up might please some people, but as a Resident Evil game I thought it was absolute garbage.

Now they're stuck with a fragmented audience. If they were to make a genuinely fantastic Resident Evil game, all the younger generation who grew up on 4+ will be annoyed that they aren't in control of super steroid nuclear arsenal Chris, and it's an actual atmospheric survival horror. So it won't sell in whatever numbers would please their number crunchers and they will blame it on returning to survival horror, rather than their own failure to keep the series cohesive, and whatever other failures they inject into the gameplay and story with corporate meddling.