It seems crazy to say, but March marks the return of Resident Evil 4, Capcom’s survival-horror hit that reinvented the genre. After varying degrees of success in the reimagined editions of of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, fans are patiently holding their breath in anticipation of how many changes will be present in Leon and Ashley’s struggle against the nightmarish cult.
The latest footage, courtesy of Game Informer, showcases a thirteen-minute walkthrough of the game’s fifth chapter. If there was any doubt that Capcom would make notable changes, the walkthrough completely shatters that in all aspects, as seen through the lenses of a torrential downpour.
The video starts with Leon and Ashley sneaking their way through the church, in an attempt to escape from the crazed fanatics. New enhancements show the conversations with Leon’s handler to be a seamless experience rather than a break in the action, as well as a much more modern take on the in-game map.
From there, the video focuses on other areas of enhancement. Leon is no longer an agent stuck in quicksand, as he can freely run and gun his way out of trouble. Something briefly previewed in previous trailers was the introduction of stealth, but there’s a better focus on it this time around as the player sneaks over to finish off an unsuspecting cultist. Interestingly enough, the commentator mentions they tried to sneak through the area with little success. Perhaps there’s room for this tactic to be viable in future chapters.
As their ramshackle cabin is surrounded by angry cultists, Leon and Luis must fight for their survival, which marks the end of the video. Dedicated fans may remember this portion, as it’s by no means a new segment, but when it takes place in-game is a different story. In the original, this sequence takes place in Chapter 2-2, but in the remake, it takes place in Chapter 5, which begs the question of how long will this revised experience be or if other sequences have been strategically shifted around.
We’re also eager to find out if inadvertently (or intentionally) shooting Luis enough times will still cause him to turn his gun on you in retaliation, or if other fun little quirks are still held over from the original.
It’s remarkable how Resident Evil 4 looks the same yet, so different at the time. Capcom has taken liberties to make this a much more modern experience, with this footage showing quite a few changes. It won’t be long until the Resident Evil 4 Remake launches, giving players the chance to discover what other surprises await them.
