Resident Evil 4 Returns on March 24

Resident Evil 4 is making a new return on March 24 with the remake of the 2005 version of the game. I recently played through the demo on Steam and wow, the graphics look insanely good, and the gameplay is as terrifying as ever. This upcoming remake of Resident Evil 4 looks to preserve the essence of the original game while using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine to deliver modernised gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics.

My first foray into the Resident Evil series was with 2009’s Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360. I played it exclusively co-op with my mate Grant and we spent many nights scavenging for loot and surviving by the skin of our teeth. I am a mouse and keyboard gamer so as hard as the game is generally, add in my uncoordinated ability to use a controller in these intense close-quarters gun fights. When we finally beat the game after playing casually once a week for a few months, it was a very triumphant feeling, but the intensity of the game meant we took a fair break before jumping into Resident Evil 6, waiting the extra time until 2013’s PC release.

Resident Evil 4 joins Leon S. Kennedy six years after his hellish experiences in the biological disaster of Raccoon City. His unmatched resolve caused him to be recruited as an agent reporting directly to the president of the United States. With the experience of multiple missions on his back, Leon is dispatched to rescue the president’s recently kidnapped daughter. Leon tracks her to a secluded European village, however after making first contact he discovers a fervor beyond reason grips the local populace.

I loaded up the recently released Resident Evil 4 demo and noticed it was titled the Chainsaw Demo. After exploring an old house and coming across some indecent folk, I made my way across a rickety bridge and through the bush to a clearing where I witnessed some villagers burning a man at a stake. Sneaking around I was able to find some ammo for my pistol, some herbs and other loot that I was able to combine in my inventory to make healing salves and more pistol ammo, and then planned my attack. I snuck up on a couple of unsuspecting villagers, but I was quickly spotted and then swarmed by villagers.

A quick chuck of a stun grenade bought me some time to put some distance between them. Then all of a sudden, out comes the penultimate chainsaw man and I found myself at the wrong end of said chainsaw, with the Game Over screen greeting my horrified self. Loading it again I found my way into a central house, loading myself up with a boomstick shotgun and defend myself I tried.

The demo is well worth experiencing, particularly from a graphical point of view. Looking at the 2005 original on Steam and comparing it to the upcoming Resident Evil 4 trailer and it’s just insanely great detail. I am very much looking forward to diving into the game and there’s not long to wait for the March 24 release on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.

#roundtablecoop