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 Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10
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Nitro

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Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 19:02
I like Eurogamer, they write no-bullshit reviews, with a great example being their bang-on-the-money Resistance: Fall of Man review (6/10)

So when i saw they' d reviewed RE4 for Wii i figured i' d give it a read, only i now wish i hadn' t because they tell me the Wiimote controls not only don' t add anything, but actually make the game worse.

Now eurogamer game the Gamecube version 9/10 and described it as " a game worth buying a Gamecube for" , but they' ve given the Wiimake 7/10, shaving the points off because of the awkward controls.

Here' s the review in full:


You might remember a game called Resident Evil 4. You might remember it because when it came out on the GameCube it was an instant action classic, reinvigorating the Resident Evil series and bringing it right up to date with a massive bang (and then a sort of slippery noise as an exploded head drenched the floor). Then, when it came out on the PlayStation 2 with extra content, it took one look at the law of diminishing returns and gave it a massive roundhouse kick to the head, to became even more of an action classic, full of moody camera-cuts, conspiracy-theory cultists, shambling, leprous villagers, and some of the most heart-stopping set-pieces and frantic firefights in videogame history.
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You might remember, too, that one of Resident Evil 4' s improvements over previous games in the series was a new, improved control scheme. It granted players direct control over Leon Kennedy (and an assortment of others), and introduced precision aiming. Which is where Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition comes in. It enters with a quick nunchuk to the ribs, followed by a dagger slash to the throat to establish the definitive version of the game: like it was on the GameCube and the PlayStation 2 but with an even newer, more improved control scheme, thanks to Nintendo' s universally accessible Wiimote.

Except it doesn' t. It actually just trips over its own feet and flies off the wriststrap through your mum' s window. Because it doesn' t feature an improved control scheme, it features the opposite: a worse control scheme. Here' s what Kristan had to say about the game when it came out on the Playstation 2: " Being able to aim quickly and with precision is the key to enjoying Resi 4 - because that' s pretty much the bulk of what you' ll be doing throughout the game as you fend off a succession of demented plague-ridden Spanish villagers." Well the bulk of what you' ll be doing throughout the game is still fending off a succession of demented plague-ridden Spanish villagers. It' s just you won' t be able to aim quickly or with precision, so it' s slightly more difficult to enjoy Resident Evil 4 on the Wii.
Zoom in' ' Screenshot 1

Here' s how the controls work: you move with the analogue stick on the nunchuk, and you hold down the Z trigger (the one on the nunchuk) to run. To turn quickly you press the Z trigger and down on the analogue stick. Holding down the B trigger (the one on the Wiimote) brings up the targeting reticule (which, you' ll notice is much bigger than in previous versions on the game - a testament to how difficult it can be to aim. More on that later). Pressing the action button, A, fires your weapon. And you can open up your menus and maps using the other buttons on the face of the Wiimote, and adjust the camera using the d-pad. That all seems pretty straightforward.

The problem is that the aiming process is an uneasy conjunction between pointing the Wiimote and twiddling the analogue stick. You' ll point the Wiimote at things you want to shoot, but this is a wobbly, fuzzy experience, compared to the precision of the previous versions of the game. And you' ll twiddle the analogue stick to steer the screen round if you want to aim at something to the edge of your view or off-screen. And because you can' t move the camera round with the Wiimote the absence of a strafe function and the slow turning speed and the impossibility of shooting while moving feel even more backward and annoying than they did the last time around.

The disjoint between the analogue stick and the Wiimote also reduces knife combat to a horrible random confusion of spazzing around trying to line targets up without ending up staring at the ground, or up at the sky. It' s actually possible to quickly wield your knife by just waving the Wiimote, which sounds nice until you try it and it barely registers your wrist action. Which is problematic, because that' s the exact motion that you use to reload your weapons, too. And then there are the interactive cut-scenes, which now require you to shake the controller around and press buttons instead of just pressing buttons. Which might just be a cosmetic change, but it is a fairly annoying cosmetic change.

Apart from that, it' s exactly what you' d expect from Resident Evil 4: a hokey conspiracy plot, corny voiceacting, kidnapped president' s daughter rescued by a solitary agent, red herbs, green herbs, yellow herbs, inventory management, maps, the occasional puzzle, and lots of files left around detailing the nefarious plans of some mental evil types. Most importantly, it' s still one magnificent set-piece after another, and all the neat touches are present and intact (including one that I hadn' t noticed before: the cows sound like a distant chainsaw). So it' s still decent enough, if you can get your head round the controls.

And if you can get your head round the game' s appearance. Because now that our eyes are capable of seeing more pixels, the visuals feel a bit out of date. Even though it runs in widescreen in progressive scan, like the PS2 version, it still looks dated next to newer high definition games, and especially if you' re playing it on a high definition telly. The art style still has its own unique charm, obviously. It' s just that part of that appeal was the crisply detailed textures and whizzo lighting effects. They' re not so whizzo now that our eyes have adjusted to the future.
Zoom in' ' Screenshot 4

Maybe I' m being unkind. Maybe this review is nothing more than the out-of-date opinions of a gaming dinosaur, out of touch with the general gamer. Maybe Wii' s target audience will take to this like a duck to water, unburdened by hands that are semi-permanently contorted into a dual-stick controller grasp. Maybe it is, as many people are saying, the definitive version of the definitive game in Capcom' s superb survival horror series. But they' re not writing this review. I am, and in my opinion, bolting on an unwieldy Wii control scheme adds nothing to the game; it just makes it slightly worse.

Since it' s only £25, you might as well take a punt if you haven' t already played it. It' s just a shame that one of the best ever action games has become another casualty of the Wii controller. Indeed, for a controller that was supposed to herald a new dawn of inclusive gaming there are a lot of third-party publishers who have yet to get their heads round it. Presumably, when they decided to create a Wii version of Resident Evil 4, Capcom envisaged an even more inclusive version of the best ever action game. What they got is a game that now looks dated, and plays exactly the same but with worse controls. Not exactly a new dawn.

7/10


LINK

ginjirou

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 19:16
Status at gamerankings:
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/938877.asp
89.9%
Personally I can' t see how a game gets a score that high when it' s essentially the same game but a different controller.
Wouldn' t that mean that any great game on any of the previous consoles (like Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, Rouge Squadron, Splinter Cell and such) would automatically get great scores simply because it' s a great game with a new controller
Sounds stupid to me [:' (]
Abasoufiane

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 19:25
it doesn' t mater it' s still a great game, for people who never played it on gamecube or ps2, for them the wii version is a totaly new game and it deserve its score the graphics are outdated but they are somewhat pretty and the game is BASICALY the same... the reviewer gave it 7 because if the control and that' s his choice because he didn' t like the controler (which i think his right after describing the wii controls) , but some liked the controls and in that case the game still deserve 9/10 even today.
Nitro

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 19:30


ORIGINAL: ginjirou

Status at gamerankings:
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/938877.asp
89.9%
Personally I can' t see how a game gets a score that high when it' s essentially the same game but a different controller.


The controls are part and parcel of the whole experience. The controls in the Gamecube versions were taken into account, so the controls for the Wii version have to be taken into account, and since they don' t add anything to the experience, if anything making it worse, then the scores can' t be the same.

EGM gave the Gamecube version 98% and the Wii version 87%, both of which are good scores, but it does beg the question; if the game wasn' t a budget release, how much more would have been deducted?
ginjirou

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 19:46
Good controls in a NEW game would mean much.
But giving a high score to an OLD game with new controls doesn' t make sense to me.
If the controls were that great they should' ve done a NEW game with the NEW controls. And if not new, then at least semi-new, like based on the previous game or something.
Putting new controls in an old game is lazy and it' s simply a way to get quick cash.
Of course, for new players RE4 will be awesome if the controls are done right but to us that has already played it the score has to be dropped a lot since we will never be as immersed as the first time we played it. No new controller in the world can give that first-time experience as the one you got in RE4.
< Message edited by ginjirou -- 18 Jun 07 11:47:03 >
QuezcatoL

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 20:45
Eurogamer can fuck themself.

Halo 8/10.

Tomb raider anniiversary 9/10...

WTF=?
Eddie_the_Hated

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 18, 2007 22:33
What' s wrong with those scores?

Eurogamer is pretty good about looking at games without bias. I' m sure there are those who would give it an 8 or a 9 out of love for a great franchise like RE. Yeah, it' s a bummer the controls don' t work out. I was worried about the larger reticle, but I was hoping it was just me being paranoid, and that the game would be top-notch.

Silly Eddie.
Abasoufiane

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 10:06
well it seems that IGN does not agree with eurogamer or 1up (egm)


The GCN original scored a 9.8 and the PS2 iteration and 9.5 in 2005. The Wii title is the best of the three, but it also arrives two years later, which is primarily why we' ve dropped the score. The fact is, while an amazing experience, RE4 does not push Wii in the same way it did GCN or PS2.



Gameplay
Actually better with the Wii remote. Lots of variety in missions and challenges. Some waggle motions work well and others feel forced.


somebody is wrong
Demonoroth

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 19:29
Bah forget about Eurogamer, 1up and IGN

Famitsu is more reliable in giving scores (well that' s what I think) probably because I find myself agreeing with them almost all the time and they gave it a 10/10/9/9. So from the three above it seems IGN seems more right than the others.
< Message edited by demonoroth -- 20 Jun 07 11:29:53 >
ginjirou

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 20:07
It' s funny how you describe one' s opinion as being right or wrong...

I guess the usefulness of the Wii-mote depends much on your own preference, so the only way to really know how good the Wii version really is, is to play it yourself.
Demonoroth

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:01


ORIGINAL: ginjirou

It' s funny how you describe one' s opinion as being right or wrong...

I guess the usefulness of the Wii-mote depends much on your own preference, so the only way to really know how good the Wii version really is, is to play it yourself.


Heh sorry merely bad wording English ain' t my first language. What I was trying to say is that Famitsy is most likely the worlds most reliable gaming source. And I personally find their scores to be good for waht the games are. If Famitsu wasn' t that good it would have never gotten so big and have such a strong reputation for being reliable. Something IGN, 1up and Eurogamer don' t have well not as strong as Famitsu at least. Not saying you can' t trust them.

And true if you like using the Wii-mote this game will be worth it. I haven' t played RE4 before so I will probably have a blast with this. People who don' t like the wii-mote will say the original controls were better.

So as you said it indeed all depends on the preference of the one playing. Although getting such high scores from Famitsu for a simple remake ain' t bad at all. But that has more to do with the game just being good instead of the wii-mote making it very good.
Nitro

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:09
Famitsu are moneyhats. You pay them and your game gets good reviews. Easy.

Famitsu' s reviews are generally seen as being lame. Most people stick to sites like 1up, IGn or Gamespot, ...all of which i hate.

Eurogamer is usually pretty much spot on when it comes to reviews, but i' m not exactly a fan of reviews and review scores as it is. I like reading hand-on impressions because they' re factual. Reviews are just somebody else' s opinion.
ginjirou

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:20
That' s why I like video reviews because then you can much easier form your own opinion by looking at the game in action instead of what someone says about it.
I think that looking at the average score, like the ones shown at gamerankings.com, is the best way to get an idea of how good a game is.
Nitro

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:22
Actually, ...the only reviews i do trust are Joe' s.
Calintz

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:23
I' m still going to buy it, even not knowing how good the controls are myself, as I don' t have the PS2 version with all of its additional content and have heard that you can use the GC pad.
Eddie_the_Hated

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 21:48

If Famitsu wasn' t that good it would have never gotten so big and have such a strong reputation for being reliable.


Kikizo' s reviews are the only ones I trust wholeheartedly. I' ve never been steered wrong by them before.
UnluckyOne

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 22:16


ORIGINAL: Eddie_the_Hated


If Famitsu wasn' t that good it would have never gotten so big and have such a strong reputation for being reliable.


Kikizo' s reviews are the only ones I trust wholeheartedly. I' ve never been steered wrong by them before.


*cough*
Demonoroth

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RE: Eurogamer slates RE4 Wiimake - drops score from 9/10 to 7/10 - Jun 20, 2007 22:16
The only review I trust is my own.

After all people can say what they want for each person it' s different. Although good games generaly get praise from most gamers. For games that aren' t really the top you' ll see much more diffent things. Reviews might be good for a general idea if you' ll like the game or not. That is if you don' t just look at one and make up your mind.

A simple recent example would be Sonic and the Secret rings. Although many sites and magazines said it was the best 3d Sonic the scores were still rather low. You saw a lot of different opinions about the game all over the internet.

A friend of mine didn' t like the game at all but I blame that to him only starting to play Sonic when they created Shadow. He' s used to the adventure style and didn' t like this game at all. While many other friends who I knew grew up with Sonic loved the game while still admitting it wasn' t the second coming of the blue due with the ' tude. If I' m not mistaking IGN gave it a 6.9 while I personally would have given it an 8 (as unbiased as I can get about Sonic) as a sonic fan maybe 8.5.

The game did have it' s flaws and was indeed frustrating at times. But to finally have Sonic with his feet back on the ground and breaking the sound barrier again felt good after the years of crap I was served.

So all in all reviews and scores...you can either look up several to get an idea...or you wipe your ass with them. If a game got a 4 on many sites but you enjoyed it...then for you personally the game wasn' t worth a 4 but more. In the end it' s not the reviews and scores that determine how much you enjoyed the game and how good you felt it was but it' s you and only you who determine how good a game is. And there for reviews are actually worth almost nothing since it' s one, or at times a few diffent persons their opinion about it while trying to be as unbiased as possible.

Meh I' m ranting again sorry for wasting your time reading this.
< Message edited by demonoroth -- 20 Jun 07 14:26:54 >

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