The new demo begins the same as the old one. Hero Leon S. Kennedy, the star of Resident Evil 2, finds himself exploring a seemingly deserted European village in search of the President's daughter, recently kidnapped for reasons unknown. The former Raccoon City cop has in the six years that have transpired since Resident Evil 2 become a secret agent for the President, and a pretty skilled one at that. When Kennedy is cut off from the outside world and attacked by groups of crazed villagers, the dark and relentlessly intense experience that is Resident Evil 4 sparks to life, and from here on out you'll barely have time to blink, let alone scream.
There are some immediate differences in the demo, some of which we can write about now and some of which we can't yet detail at Capcom's request. This new version is more polished still, an accomplishment to be proud of when you consider that the previous incarnation was already pretty spectacular. The inventory and map systems have seen dramatic improvements. The former is particularly well designed this time around. Hit the Y button and the inventory screen comes up. Leon now carries weapons and items in a briefcase, as opposed to storing them in chests. As a result, you can more easily keep the character's valuables mobile. The drawback is that Kennedy can only carry as many weapons or items as the briefcase can fit -- quite literally. Certain guns, like the rocket launcher, for instance, are larger and therefore take up more space inside the briefcase, while herbs and collectibles like treasure are tiny and require only a couple of tiles inside the tool. You'll have to be crafty about how you arrange pick-ups so that you can fit everything. We've already had to figure out ways to rearrange items in the briefcase in order to squeeze another gun type or scope inside. Luckily, using the L and R buttons you can flip items vertically or horizontally so that they'll fit.
Uncut High-Res Resident Evil 4 is a very moody, immersive game. Although the shorter clips that are available in our media page are fantastic, what better way than to experience Capcom's atmsopheric work than via uncut, 640x480 movies? That means you get to see all the action and what leads up to it in these lenghty flicks.
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A slick new map system, activated by hitting the start button, is very refined. It also shows just how microscopic the village area from the old demo is by comparison to the rest of the world. You can zoom in or out and scroll around, and traveled routes are highlighted on the map. Markers highlight where you need to go next. A welcomed addition to the series, the map proves invaluable time and again, especially when you find yourself lost in the realistic world that Capcom has created.
In the previously released build of Resident Evil 4, the village lacked females. They're in this new version and every bit as vicious as their male counterparts. The older version tended to repeat sound samples more often. This one features quite a lot of new speech from villagers, most of it spoken in Spanish. A host of new samples include spooky human groans, growls, shouts and screams.
There are other differences to note. There is more ammo to be found throughout the initial village level, just as there are more herbs. This makes killing the villagers and the horrific chainsaw man slightly easier, but not exactly easy. You'll need to blast the chainsaw-wielding madman several times up close with the shotgun before he will go down for the count.
Naturally, the biggest differences show themselves shortly after the point where the old demo drew to a close. The church bell chimes and the villagers, seemingly under some kind of spell, drop their weapons and walk slowly toward a suspicious structure in the middle of town. The camera pans out as Leon wonders what in the world is going on. In the latest build, the action is only getting started, and the scares have barely begun.
After the villagers disappear, Leon is free to explore the village without interruption. He can go into the structures and look for item upgrades and treasure. The more money he comes by, the better. In Resident Evil 4, Kennedy encounters mysterious traders, draped in cloaks that are lined with goods, and the hero can actually purchase weapons and items that can be used from then on out. We picked up enough money to buy a rifle and scope and spent several minutes sniping possessed villagers from a distance. You can download a video in our media section that showcases the grizzly affair, in which we exploded the heads of six to eight enemies without breaking a sweat. We could have also purchased a rocket launcher had we managed to find just a little more money. In addition, you'll be able to buy upgrades for existing weapons like the shotgun, silencers for handguns, and a wide range of other goodies that will help Leon on his heart-pounding journey.
One of the doors locked in the previous demo is now opened, and going through it takes Leon to an entirely new area on the map. Another village. More cows, chickens and even a stray dog run around the disconcertingly quiet locale. But there do not seem to be any villagers. Ambient music plays moodily in the background and helps to create a very uncomfortable atmosphere. You're sure something is going to happen. You just don't know what, or when. And we're not embarrassed to admit that we found ourselves completely on edge even though there appeared to be no immediate threat. We explored a second tier level of a barn and then we heard angry shouts. A group of armed enemies entered below and attempted to climb a ladder up to our safe spot. We pushed it over and then threw down a fiery explosive. As they burned to a crisp, we made out way out of the barn and through another town door into another new area.
A stone path spiraled down. We started unto it and then an in-game cut-sequence kicked in. A group of nearby villagers sent a giant boulder rolling behind Kennedy and he had no choice but to run for his life. A new game dynamic ensued. We could make Leon run faster by tapping the A button repeatedly. If we weren't fast enough on the button mashing, he would be crushed. We know this because it happened to us once. Meanwhile, he'll also be crushed if you don't press another set of buttons at exactly the right time as they flash on the screen. Expect to die at least once learning the process.
If that weren't hairy enough, it gets far worse. Just beyond a dark tunnel into another opening of village structures, more enemies wait, and they're a lot smarter. These guys carry dynamite and they also hurl at Leon when he approaches. To maker matters worse, laser trip wires that trigger explosives and a series of bear traps surround the area. Check our video section to see what happens when all goes wrong. At one point, we walked into a laser trip wire, flew backward with the explosion, landed in a bear trap, and were blasted by dynamite before we could even tell what had gone awry. There's no doubt that the difficultly level in Resident Evil 4 is impressive, but thankfully the game is also extremely rewarding. You'll eventually figure out that if you shoot enemies from afar, they'll drop their dynamite and it will in turn explode, kill them and not you. You'll learn to keep a watchful eye for trip wires and bear traps. And you also discover when it's a good time to equip the shotgun and do some blasting. There's a lot of strategy to it all -- a surprising amount of depth, even.
There's much more to talk about. We'll be playing through the rest of the demo tonight so look out for even more movies and impressions throughout the week. But if you had any doubts about this game turning out, let them go. Resident Evil 4 is shaping up to be one of the spookiest games ever on any console, let alone for GameCube, and it could very well be the most intelligent survival horror outing to date.