Review: Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (Wii)

Thankfully, Capcom haven't decided to tack everything on and turn the whole game into a gimmicky mess, which is the trap so many Wii titles fall into. Instead, everything you thought would work well with 'waggle' does - shooting being the main use. Just aim the Wii remote at the enemy and pull the trigger to (hopefully) blow their heads off. It's simple; we find ourselves utterly bemused when people complain about it not being as accurate. As far as we're concerned, it's far easier than just using the stick to aim and will immerse you even more as your arm will start to twitch with fear as you're overrun by raging mad villagers and Regenerators (the scariest creation in the entire series). To quickly reload, just shake the Wii remote while aiming, which is also accompanied by a nice reloading sound effect coming from the remote's speaker. When not aiming your gun, just shake the remote to lash out with your knife, and there are also the QTEs that now require a lot more arm movement.

Aside from the controls, everything else has been left untouched, which is perhaps a good thing. The story still centres around Leon Kennedy and his search for the president's daughter in a village overrun with mad farmers and cult leaders; and, graphically, the game looks identical. Not that we were expecting a graphical overhaul (this is the Wii we're talking about, not the Xbox 360), but a few areas could have been tidied up slightly. This game pushed the Gamecube to the limit and unfortunately it doesn't do that to the Wii.

If you were never that familiar with Resident Evil 4 when it first came out (or if it completely passed you by), then it's worth mentioning how much it revitalised a flagging franchise. Gone is the static viewpoint of old Resident Evils, as well as the archaic control system, now giving you far better control over your central character. However, many people still bemoan the fact that you can't move while shooting, something we're not at all bothered about because it would make the game stupidly easy.

We were especially pleased to find that you no longer had to hunt for ink ribbons to save; just approach a typewriter (of which many are scattered around the game) and save instantly without the hassle. Then there was the improved, grid-based inventory system and the ability to upgrade, sell and buy new weapons thanks to a handy merchant. Capcom really excelled in taking apart the core structure of the original Resident Evil and rebuilding it in a fashion that pleased most. The hunt for ammo is now no longer a problem, unlike previous games, as enemies drop them as they die and they're easily found thanks to an enormous glowing light that shines from them. Good job, because instead of being a horror game that sits back, this one absolutely hammers you with a constant stream of assailants. It's no longer about conserving ammo, it's about killing everything in your path. In a way, Resident Evil 4 is like the Aliens to the originals Alien.

Those who played the GC rather than PS2 version will be pleased that a number of features found in the latter are included in the Wii Edition, including the side story revolving around Ada Wong and her involvement with everyone's favourite RE character, Albert Wesker. Along with this, the main game itself is quite lengthy and bound to keep you hooked until the very end, with various twist and turns in the story.

By this point, you've probably already glanced at the score and noticed that, despite our positive comments at returning to the world of survival horror, it’s still a point less than we gave the GC original. The answer is simple: it doesn't give us anything new. RE4 is still a fantastic game and one of the best games of the last generation, but a few extra play modes wouldn't have gone amiss. Still, if you missed out on the horror the first time then this is the perfect way to catch up. Now if only Capcom would give us more details about Resident Evil 5, our lives would be complete.

Rating: 9 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver