Wii Game Reviews

bellview--i love games

Home | Movie Reviews | Video Roundups | Essays | Game Reviews | Subscribe | Mailbag | About | Search

"Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition"

8/31/07

As the first game I bought for the Wii, I wanted something that was up my alley action-wise--and, having played other games in the "Resident Evil" series, I thought this would be an easy one--but something that also seemed to really take advantage of the Wii's nunchuk and remote control system.  It wouldn't hurt if the game was a well-reviewed product...and, in all aspects, "Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition" is a great, great, great game.

First off, "RE4" was great on the PS2 a couple of years ago, and this port is even better than that version; you get a 25-hour adventure with a bonus five-chapter adventure after you beat the main game plus two mini-games for your fancy feet.  "RE4" lets you take control of Leon Kennedy (who has appeared in a couple of the other games) as he tries to rescue the President's daughter from a deranged cult that happens to have influence from science, zombies and maybe even the freakin' devil.  There's much more shooting and fighting in this game than in the past, where you were almost always better off running from everything than using your very precious ammo.  In "RE4", there's usually a decent amount of ammo and grenades everywhere if you look hard for it, and thanks to a new upgrade system you can buy new weapons as the game progresses and level-up the weapons you already have.

But, it's the action plus the scares that works so well with this game; man, with the lights off and the sound turned up, "RE4" is some good stuff.  Then, you add that to the new controls, and that's where "RE4" takes off.  It takes a couple of hours to get used to it, but the way the game integrates the remote is fantastic--all of your controls are at your right-hand fingertips, and you can aim your weapons at anything on-screen by just pointing at it, a big key because in "RE4", you have to stop moving in order to fire your weapons.  Movement is controlled with the nunchuk, and then other little things are controlled by the remote: you've got to reload by holding B then waving the remote from left to right; you can knife slash anytime by swiping the remote one way or the other; during cut scenes, you can dodge bad guys by waving the remote or holding a button combination in the nick of time.

The game is long; in classic "Resident Evil" form, every time you think the game's over, you're another chapter away from making that happen.  But, I thought that made the game's value grow even more; for $30, you get a big game, some mini-games, and decent replay value.  I can't believe more people haven't bought this great game!!

Rating:  Opening Weekend

 

Feedback?  Comments?  Salma Hayek's digits?  justin@bellviewmovies.com

 

Bellview Rating System:

"Opening Weekend":  Buy this game right away, and don't ask me any questions as to why that's a good move.  A game experience that will almost guarantee repeated controller abuse, lots of ManScreaming and high resale value, you will assuredly play this bad boy for months on end. 

"$40":  Usually after games have been out for a while, they drop in price slightly, or can be bought for slightly cheaper in combination with other new games.  Usually, that's about $40.  You'll feel good getting the game for this price, since it isn't quite run-out-and-get-it-right-now good, but it has enough game in the box for a few weeks' worth of enjoyment.

"eBay":  This game is not too bad, but you'd be better off buying it used from either half.com or eBay.  You also might let a friend buy this game, let s/he beat it, and then try to buy it from them to make them feel better.  Yes, this does tend to feel like "Sloppy Seconds."

"Rental":  Like my cousin Ron, you should always rent games that you aren't sure about first, to make sure that your $50 is going towards something worthwhile.  For games in this category, this is the maximum amount of money ($5) and/or time (3-5 days) you'll need to either gain satisfaction from the game, or beat the game in its entirety.  Rental-rated games are also sometimes perfect for a weekend when you are going to be at home on your ass, with some time to kill.

"Dogshit":  Games like this should have never been released.  If you play this game for any reason, you will regret every second of the experience.  Further, if you can get this game for free, don't do it, because even for FREE, it will still be a negative experience for you!