16 years ago,Resident Evil 4set an industry standard forAAA survival horror gameswhen Leon Kennedy’s latest endeavor took him to vastly different frontiers from the ones seen previously inResident Evilgames. The majority of levels in the original trilogy took place in dimly lit claustrophobic corridors, whereasResident Evil 4, taking a leap in technology and fidelity, shoved players into more open spaces that shifted things quite a bit.
Resident Evil 4’saction-focused campaign came bundled with some tense set pieces and anxiety-inducing quick-time events that took the series veterans by surprise and enticed an entirely new set of audience. And whileResident Evil 4’ssuccess inspired many other popular video game series later down the line, includingDead SpaceandThe Last of Us, not everything it did was perfect.
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The Infamous Ashley Graham
Resident Evil 4was, all in all, an escort mission forLeon Kennedy. Leon, now a US government agent, is sent to a mysterious rural village in Spain to rescue US President’s daughter Ashley Graham. While this sounds simple on paper, rescuing and escorting Ashley wasn’t that simple due to her tendency to get easily caught. It’s believable that Ashley’s vulnerability was part of the gameplay experience and was there to keep the tension at its peak. However, it didn’t take long for this to become a redundant and frustrating affair.
Modern classics such asThe Last of Us and Bioshock: Infinitewere also an escort mission in a sense, but character AI in those titles was far better than inResident Evil 4. For a significant chunk of the campaign inThe Last of Us, Ellie wasn’t useful during the combat, but she at least stayed out of enemies' way. While this was also immersion-breaking, given how enemies would walk right by her, it wasn’t as frustrating as Ashley shouting inResident Evil 4every now and then. On the other hand, Elizabeth inBioshock Infinitewould toss health packs and salts to the player that could prove essential in a tense combat encounter.
Refining the Experience
Ashley isn’t nimble like Elizabeth, nor she’s ruthless like Ellie, but most of her problems boil to the outdated AI the game uses. WithResident Evil 2andResident Evil 3 Remake, Capcom has proved that it can make some quality of life changes to make these twenty-year-old experiences more accessible to the modern audience.Resident Evil 3 Remakewas different fromResident Evil 3in several ways. For instance, Jill Valentine could perform a swift dodge which served as a welcome treat while dealing with the Nemesis.
Although improving Ashley’s AI inResident Evil 4 Remakewould significantly alter the gameplay, there are still ways to refine the experience. Capcom could give Ashley a small defensive object like the torch Moira Burton has inResident Evil: Revelations 2,as one potential example. This could give a little room to defend herself while Leon makes her way towards her. Obviously, she isn’t going to be a character to kill and fight, but a few fixes in her behavior would go a long way.
Recent rumors suggested thatResident Evi 4 Remakeis undergoing major developmental changesas the game’s development transitions from the hands of M-Two to Capcom Division 1. Unlike M-Two, reportedly, Capcom Division 1 wants to make necessary changes to the original game to make the remake a unique experience of its own. While there’s plenty of room for skepticism, this could also mean that Capcom is committed to fixing this major issue that still plaguesResident Evil 4years after its release, among others.
Resident Evil 4 Remakeis rumored to be in development.
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