Hi, 36PSWii. 36PSWii is one of my alter-egos from the GameTrailers days. He, EHeroClayman, Deadpool (yes really Deadpool. Shh... He's sleeping and if you mention his name, he will wake up and ask about the cheesy doodles...) and several other versions of me will occasionally pop up to help remind me about certain games.
Yes Mr. Wii, I'm breaking out another Keanu movie reference. Bill and Ted. I got my time machine ready.
Uhh... Dr. Who fans are gonna put you in an uncomfortable place talking about time machines and not using the correct term; Tardis.
Dammit... You couldn't help but drop a Metal Gear reference in a blog about Resident Evil could you?
Arbitrary rules for each of the defragmentations:
- I will try my best to recreate how I feel when I played these games. Some memories may be hazy but that's why I'm defragging.
- I have to had played each game and completed it. Unfortunately, The Last of Us will not be on this list, but I will stream it before this year is over with.
- I had a rule where I limited games with a once per franchise rule. As I couldn't use the same game franchise twice. That rule is gone...
- What was the impact of game not only in my life but what impact did the game have on the overall gaming culture. I.E. did the game do something to revolutionize game or is the experience very good that others should experience it.
- Finally, if a game came out after 2010, I will not spoil it. Metal Gear games I wouldn't dare spoil. Same with Spec Ops : The Line (MrKENnedDY used Foreshadow. It was super effective).
Stranger, Stranger. What are you buying?
It was the winter of 2006. I just came home from Fall Semester in college at Mississippi State. Christmas was around the corner and my people knew how much I loved video games. I went to Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve and checked out what games were left in the gaming bin. I was less than a few weeks from getting Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (more foreshadowing. I should be a ghost type Pokemon...) and my ultimate prize
Survival Horror Reimagined
I started playing Resident Evil 2 on my PS2 on Christmas Day. At first it wasn't nothing too exciting.
Going through a Spanish village, shooting the locals that was impeding my progress, and collecting Blue medals. I get to the main village in 1-2 or 1-3, in which you battle the horde of villagers. After that point, I think I quit until I got back to school in January. The PS3 was compelling me to play all my new games that I bought. So, I dropped RE4 until about the end of January and that's when it clicked...
(No joke or gag about me creating a Time Paradox with myself. The gag went overboard, but I do reserve the right to use the gag in the future)
After the end of chapter 1-2 (I looked it up. Thanks Resident Evil wikia), You battle Del Lago. That fight was pretty intense. I know I used a ton of herbs to defeat this guy. The pattern with it was pretty weird. After you chucked harpoons into it, the creature would dive into the lake and you had to track it. Track it correctly and you were rewarded with a little extra damage. Track it wrong and your boat was getting damaged and you were getting some health knocked out. It was a nice tug of war and ultimately after dying about 3-4 times I got the pattern and defeated it.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the first time I heard Chainsaw Man rev the chainsaw up. I had my surround sound bumping in my dorm room and heard the chainsaw, I thought to myself, "Well the villagers are setting up a trap and I can avoid it no problem. Then, I saw him running towards Leon and almost regretted that life decision. In the later chapters, I did get my head cut of by Chainsaw Man and I laughed/groaned about it.
Chapter 2 was crazy. I encountered my first El Gigante. That took about 5 tries to master it. Knowing what I know now, I believe in some speed run that I saw, you can skip the fight (a.k.a. use a rocket launcher.) The second encounter was the one I was thinking of with Ashley Graham. (By the way, I hate escort missions...) I also learned in Chapter 2 the golden rule of RE4, headshots aren't necessarily a good thing. When the first Las Plagas with a sword pop out, I trained myself to aim for the legs and use the knife to chop villagers up.
Chapter 3 and parts of 4 were set in a castle. That change of aesthetic was a bit jarring, but totally fits the creep factor in game. At this point in the game, Ashley becomes rather needy. You have all types of cultist after you. Even more creepy creations and abominations that want you dead or Ashley as their queen. If I had the option, I'd let them take Ashley and do God knows what experimentation on her. Funny moment that always made me chuckle and I wish I had the tools to record it back in the day. Ashley gets kidnapped and you have to save her with your sniper rifle. Once you free her, you have to protect her from the cultists. If you do this section right, no problem. However, in my defense, I was overwhelmed by the numbers and heard the magic words. "LEON, HELP!!!" So, I helped the damsel in distress and shot her in the head by accident. I was aiming at the cultist and he moved a tiny bit which caused Ashley to take the full force of my rifle. I probably couldn't recreate that moment again even if I had the proper set up.
After Ashley gets free, you get a section in which you control her. I hated it, but I was having fun with the Ashley sections truth be told. NO, I did not (REPEAT) DID NOT intentionally get Ashley killed. Despite my better judgements and almost failing a few Quick Time Events. I completed the section and took a deep breath.
Chapter 4 ups the intensity from the jump; fighting through cultist, avoiding rocket launchers, collecting treasure. Business picks up further when you meet up with Salazar's Right Hand. I love Leon's quip about Salazar detaching his hand. You fight Salazar's Right Hand in a claustrophobic situation. There's two ways to do this fight. Survive for 4 minutes or instakill the Right Hand with some conveniently placed Liquid Nitrogen and a rocket launcher. (I know the rocket launcher is a catch-all solution for most encounters in RE4, however getting rockets are insanely easy at least on normal.) After some more intense situations, you eventually make it to the mines and take a ride in carts and have to eliminate enemies including Chainsaw Man. To conclude this chapter, you finally face Salazar and unfortunately miss out on him taunting you for the rest of the game.
Chapter 5, or as I affectionately call it 'The Island of Dr. Moreau', throws more challenges towards you. A minigun maniac who happens to be a bullet sponge, chainsaw men and women, and the two creepiest enemies in horror games; the Regenerador and the variant Iron Maiden. The Regenerador is exactly what you think. It regenerates from any damage taken and if any limbs are lost, those are regenerated as well. The Iron Maiden is just like Regenerador but don't get in close because it gives nasty hugs that instakill you. After fight more Iron Maidens, Regeneradors, abominations, and a homicidal maniac, I made it to the end boss Saddler. Unsurprisingly, I used a rocket launcher to finish him off and for the record I did not buy this one.
Ah, I'll Buy That For a High Price
To say RE4 had an influence on modern gaming is putting it mildly. All sorts of Game of the Year awards (to those who care about those things), countless people putting among their favorite games of all time, and numerous remasters. The obvious influence RE4 gave was the over-the-shoulder camera that's standard in any action game. Everything from Gears of War and including the most recent God of War uses it. Also included in that influence was the precision aim mode that seeming every game that's action oriented uses.
There was also a design philosophy that completely overhauled the survivor horror and more specifically action adventure games. Instead of just having the player control the character and not being able to get out of tricky situations, we have prompts that allow the player to fend off those situations...
and of course what I used at the top of the blog...
We know them now as Quick Time Events or Q.T.E.s. In one respect, the player can't put the controller down to rest during cutscenes. It's a breathe of fresh when modern games don't have Quick Time Events (although if I'm being truthful, I did miss them in God of War 2018).
The other influence RE4 had was the creation of a certain guy wearing red and being a wiseass....
Contrary to popular belief Deadpool was a villain and also he was created in the 90s, so he doesn't fit this description...
Resident Evil 4 impacted me by helping get over some fears about horror games. I don't play them as often but if I need a good jolt of healthy fear and tension, I'm not apprehensive about playing them. I'm also asked about my PSN ID and people ask me is it because of Resident Evil 4. I have to tell them that it's not.
Closing Time by Semisonic
Resident Evil 4 was a fantastic experience and almost everyone can play it. I want to go back and play it again just to relive the crazy moments and white-knuckle intensity it gave. Unfortunately, my backlog says no and I try not go back and play games that I've already played before...
See, what had happened was I'm a hypocrite... Wait a minute... (Oh God, he's awake isn't he?)
Because we need some awkward transition to close out the blog and because KEN wants me to be polite, I'll sign out for him. DEUCES!!!
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