Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition Review

Some people would argue that Resident Evil 4 for the GameCube was the best game on the system. Others would say that it was the best game of the generation. And still others, the best game ever made. I would fall into the camp of the former. It was easily the best GameCube game and probably the best game in the generation. Now that it has been brought to Wii, the controls are improved and the game remains intact. Oh, and did I mention it’s only $30? What’s not to like? Read on to find out.

When Resident Evil 4 was released on GameCube in January 2005, I think we all were shocked. After seeing numerous delays and promising to be the best Resident Evil to date, Capcom fully delivered and then some. The over-the-shoulder camera was a first and a vast improvement from the horrible camera angles that plagued the previous games in the franchise. The rigid and often robotic movements were replaced with more fluid and responsive controls with Leon in Resident Evil 4.

For all of this, it is fair to say the Wii has only made the experience more enjoyable. The system is an attractive candidate for action and shooter games like Resident Evil 4. Seeing the game in action and controlling it with the Wii Remote is more intuitive and natural feeling than it ever was on the GameCube or PS2. Simply aim the Wii Remote at the screen, hold down B to holster your weapon and fire with A. Using the motion sensitivity of the Wii Remote, you can aim anywhere on the screen while controlling Leon with the analog stick.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a certain learning curve involved. For starters, Leon doesn’t adjust left or right by the direction of the Wii Remote like most shooters on the system. That is left entirely to the analog stick. Further, the camera is rarely a problem, yet the only control you have over it is the control pad. You can also holster your weapon and move the camera by moving up or down with the analog stick. Overall though, if the only thing that Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition teaches us is that the Wii has superior controls, then it succeeded in doing so.

Before I move on from the controls, which I realize is the biggest draw to the Wii Edition, I want to touch on the gestures used in Resident Evil 4. A simple flick near a crate will draw out your knife and cut it open. Want to slice an enemy? Simply press the C button and flick your wrist the same way. You can even aim the camera with the analog stick to reach someone laying on the ground. Finally, you can reload your gun when it is empty by doing this same motion, or you can press B and a direction on the d-pad.

If you are expecting a bunch of new stuff and improved visuals, you will likely be disappointed. This is a straight-up port of the GameCube version with the additional benefit of the bonus content from the PlayStation 2 version. That means you easily have over 20 hours of content to keep you occupied. Of course millions of Wii owners never played Resident Evil 4 before and for those that have (like me), it is just as satisfying playing it on the Wii as it was two years ago.

The bonus content from the PlayStation 2 version included in Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition is quite extensive. You have Assignment Ada, which has you infiltrate Saddler’s laboratory to obtain the parasite samples. Then there are the Separate Ways missions, which take place on a parallel time line as Leon’s where you play as Ada and help him along the way. This helps to intertwine the story the first time you played through the game. Finally, there’s The Mercenaries. This is a fun little mode with four levels to choose from where you try to kill as many Ganados as you can before an evacuation helicopter arrives. Successive kills result in more points and time bonuses help you extend your time to accumulate more points. As an incentive, high scores of 30,000 are rewarded with new characters.

While it might have been the best looking game on the market at the time of release, Resident Evil 4 is definitely not comparable to a next-gen game. It has a very moody atmosphere to it, a large variety of environments and a vast number of areas to explore. It really has me astounded to this day how little they make use of backtracking in a game that lasts as long as this. Many games like Metal Gear Solid, for example, will retrace throughout the game, but Resident Evil 4 constantly has you searching new places.

Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube is a historically significant game in the industry. It is one of the highest reviewed games of all time. I gave it a 9.7 out of 10 myself. The Wii version will not be remembered nearly as fondly, yet it is an improved version of the same game, thanks to the Wii Remote. For those that have not either played or owned Resident Evil 4 before, you are in store for as good of a treat today as everyone who played it was when it was released in 2005. This is easily one of the finest games on the Wii to date and should not be overlooked at its value price.