Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

[nsps]

So, I generally hold any game in strong distain if it expects me to be able to to run around and fire a gun at the same time. But the Wii has changed that a bit. One of the few good mini-games in the intuitive-controls-challenged "Super Monkey Ball" was based on a first-person shooter, and the ability to move with the nunchuck's analogue stick and aim with the wiimote just makes sense to me. But I heard Red Steel wasn't so hot, so I held off getting any Wii games that involve firing guns until the release of "Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition." I'd never played the game (or any other horror game) before, but it seems to be quite revered in the gaming community at large and, more importantly, I'd seen positive mentions of it in a post here on NGC games.

I'm very pleased with the controls, though there are a few (not necessarily Wii) issues I'm getting used to. The remote and nunchuck really get you into it in, as can be seen in the first section, in which an army of zombie-like villagers persist in trying to kill you. You stab at them, shoot at them and shake them off you. It's a pretty intense way to start things off, and I got my head chainsawed-off six or so times before emerging victorious, but I guess everyone who has played it before knows about it.

My main problem with the control scheme: You have to stop and hold down the B trigger to go into shooting mode, which is a bit of a pain when you have 5 Zombie villager dudes whom you want to kill while running the fuck away. To avoid unwanted pans, you have to move the analogue stick to turn or look up and down. I've continually pressed up to look down, since I feel like looking down is leaning forward. That's not really Wii-related, as the camera-op controls would be the same on any system (and maybe I can invert them in preferences, which I've done on other games). Once you're looking in the wrong direction, it's a pain to reposition your view. But from what I've played so far, I'd say Capcom has done a great job transferring the title to Wii. Anyone else given it a try (or played previous versions of the game?)

[brkl]

It should arrive by mail early next week, I'll comment then.

[Wrestlevania]

The only substantiated criticisms I've heard levelled at RE4: Wii Edition are:

1. Having to have a reticle on-screen, which removes a lot of the extra fun you would get from aiming with the Wiimote alone.
   
2. Not being able to move and fire at the same time.

I certainly don't put any gravity behind the second complaint.

But the first one makes a lot of sense and seems to be unnecessary hand-holding on the part of Capcom. Doesn't really give the player much credit to be honest—especially when you consider how intuitive the (new?) 'thump' feedback for lining up a headshot reportedly is.

Maybe they'll fix (i.e. remove) this in the forth-coming "on rails" RE shooter for Wii.

[Roderick]

The second issue was already in the original game: it forces you to make a decision to either flee or fight. You can't do both. This enhances the tension as you'll see the bad guys slowly skulking towards you.

I expect this game to be good. I'm glad about the lower price point, though it's still too high to justify upgrading a perfectly good Gamecube edition that also works on the Wii.

[BooJaka]

As for me though, as I never played the original version, I will be ordering it some time very, very soon

[nsps]

The second issue was already in the original game: it forces you to make a decision to either flee or fight. You can't do both. This enhances the tension as you'll see the bad guys slowly skulking towards you.

I expect this game to be good. I'm glad about the lower price point, though it's still too high to justify upgrading a perfectly good Gamecube edition that also works on the Wii.

I appreciate the adding of tension, it just messed up my mojo a few times, as I tried to flee before I let go of the button and ended up with my camera on the ceiling. I'm sure I'll get used to it in a few levels.

Without the Wii controls, I wouldn't play this type of game (and I didn't own it before), so it was worth the $30 to me.

As for the target cursor, it's not an issue for me, but there ought to be an option to turn it off for those who don't want Capcom to hold their hands. Me, I'd like Capcom to send someone over to my house to tell me it's all going to be OK, where to go and what to do.

[nsps]

I noticed another control element that could have been integrated with the Wii: You should be able to look at and pick up stuff by pointing the wiimote at it, instead of just walking close to it. At least that's what I want to do after playing DS adventure games...

[miffy495]

Actually, the reticle makes sense to me. You have to remember that the wiimote is not a light gun, it uses an IR sensor bar. As such, you're pointing in reference to something, not directly at the screen. On top of my TV, I have a DVD player. On top of that sits the sensor bar. I always have to adjust a little bit when I start using the Wii and aim a little higher than I would otherwise. Even when it's not sitting on anything, it's not perfectly accurate. The reticle would let you know exactly what you're aiming at, rather than trying to guess exactly how far off the perfect position your sensor bar is. Was definitely a huge relief to have it in Elebits. I'm reasonably sure it's just as nice to have in RE4.