Just beat Resident Evil 4 for the first time... (Or, being late to the party)

[NerfedFalcon]

I bought it when it first came out on Steam, tried it for a bit, but couldn't get into it then. Just the other day, I finally beat it for the first time. That game was so good. I had a blast playing it, figuring out how to use Leon's controls to dodge attacks, experimenting with different weapons that feel different to use, collecting treasure and fighting off varied enemies that require different approaches... I don't know if it's the best game ever, but it's definitely in my top 10.

Discussion point: Any games that took you a long time to get into, but were amazing once you did?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's a Top 10 for me, definitely.
Couldn't get into Xcom. I know I'd love that game given the time but I just wasn't in the mood then.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I also played RE4 for the first time a few years ago. It's honestly a near perfect action game. I guess the last section isn't as memorable as the village and the castle but the Krauser fight pretty damn great..

 

[Casual Shinji]

Best action game ever made. Also one of the funniest. I still wish more third-person shooters would use a laserpoint aim rather then the onscreen reticle. It gives a greater impression of aiming your gun and not just aiming the screen. I'm secretly hoping Bluepoint is doing a reskin/remaster of this game like they did with Shadow of the Colossus.

I don't think I've ever been late to the party with games, just game franchises. I think Half-Life 2 comes the closest when I picked up The Orange Box, but that was because I couldn't play it before since I didn't have much of a PC.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Every Disgaea game. I always start each game, play for a while, then fall off of it at some point for a few months or even a year before coming back and then completing the game.

 

[stroopwafel]

Yeah, RE4 is immaculate it's been in my top 3 ever since it released in 2005. I skipped Symphony of the Night when it was originally released way back in 1997 as I kind of had my fill of 2D platformers with the advent of(now rudimentary) first-gen 3D graphics and was also mostly into JRPGs at the time. Played SotN as a PS1 classic on PS3 and absolutely loved it. I can see why it has become such a template like RE4.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

I should play it again sometime soon just to refresh my memory and see how much more (or less) I might like it. I remember some of the QuickTime stuff being annoying, and the escort sequences aren?t exactly awe-inspiring, but in general I remember it being a solid step up from the original SH (survival horror, not Silent Hill; odd, I never thought of that acronym before now and wonder if it was intentional) formula.

OT, Mad Max kinda started out that way for me. Wasn?t thrilled about the way Max handled mechanically, but after a second try started realizing how great the vehicle mechanics and combat physics were. Then also noticed how much more satisfying and crunchy the melee was than even from the Arkham games it was based off of.

 

[CritialGaming]

Funly enough someone in my middle school was telling me about how great Final Fantasy 7 was, and I didn't get it because it just looked like one of those games were you pick menu options. I didn't understand how it could be fun. "Don't you just pick menus and numbers happen? How is that a fun game? It's like math homework."

But he convinced me to give it a try....and now a 35 year old man cries over the remake. So I mean....it's alright.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I played RE4 all the way through for the first time a couple years ago. It was alright, but it didn't blow me away like it did others. Not really sure why.

OT: Lots of classic games that I've played would probably count for this and actually most games in general. I hardly play anything at release, I usually wait a couple years. However, the best example is probably The Last of Us. I had that game sitting on my shelf for probably 5 years, and I played through the first hour a couple of times. Then last year I decided I was going to stick with it and I ended up really enjoying the game. Not top 10 or anything, but it was a really solid experience.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Thief: The Dark Project. Maybe not as long as some of the other people here, but I ended up restarting the game three times before the stealth gameplay finally "clicked" with me- but once it did, it was a revelation, and ended up affecting how I play games.

Lemme tell ya, going back to Half-Life and listening to the clomp-clomp-clompsqueak of Gordon's HEV boots was jarring after that.

 

[Catfood220]

Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but the controls have aged terribly. Trying to control movement with just one stick is terribly confusing to me. I won't apologise for being trained by modern games to use both sticks at once.

Anyway, I really struggled to get into last years God of War game, I would play a little bit and then play for something else for about a week or so. I finally decided to get stuff in and once the game opened up, I got really immersed in this fantastic game.

 

[meiam]

It's so cool to play classic for the first time way after release and finding out that even without nostalgia they're amazing game.

I played the homeworld franchise and system shock 2 decades after they release and they held up amazingly well (system shock 2 could use a better UI).

There's this game called ring of red for PS2 that I think is really good, but I can't play it without taking long break between session. Combat is really fun, but takes literally minutes to attack opponent.

 

[Marik2]

Which is the best version of the game? Theres so many ports.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Which is the best version of the game? Theres so many ports.

I played it on Steam and didn't notice any major issues, and neither did my friend who played it on Gamecube. Just a note, though, playing on 30 FPS rather than 60 makes the AI behave more like the original non-HD versions, and also makes most of the QTEs easier to handle. Is what I heard, anyway; I played it with the 30 FPS lock and it still looked and played well.

Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but the controls have aged terribly. Trying to control movement with just one stick is terribly confusing to me. I won't apologise for being trained by modern games to use both sticks at once.

That's fine. But it's worth noting that the game is strongly designed around the tank controls, and it wouldn't be nearly as good a game as it is with 100% modern TPS controls.

 

[wings012]

It took me years to actually get into Deus Ex. It was kinda janky and was really hella dark and I kept getting stuck on the first level cause the stairwell leading to the NSF leader was way too dark to spot. I would like periodically install it and replay the first level and never really get anywhere, until I had the genius idea to turn up the gamma so I could see where to go. I have since beat Deus Ex countless times.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but the controls have aged terribly. Trying to control movement with just one stick is terribly confusing to me. I won't apologise for being trained by modern games to use both sticks at once.

They've aged, but I wouldn't say they've aged terribly. The only thing it's really missing is a strafe. Other than that it still has some of the best aiming of any third-person shooter.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but the controls have aged terribly. Trying to control movement with just one stick is terribly confusing to me. I won't apologise for being trained by modern games to use both sticks at once.

They've aged, but I wouldn't say they've aged terribly. The only thing it's really missing is a strafe. Other than that it still has some of the best aiming of any third-person shooter.

I'd argue it's not even missing that. The game is built around moving forwards and backwards, and turning. If you were able to just strafe on command, the game would become far too easy, since enemies aren't designed to attack sideways like that. It's still totally possible to dodge attacks by backing up or running past an enemy during their initial animation, and navigation isn't especially a problem.

 

[Casual Shinji]

They've aged, but I wouldn't say they've aged terribly. The only thing it's really missing is a strafe. Other than that it still has some of the best aiming of any third-person shooter.

I'd argue it's not even missing that. The game is built around moving forwards and backwards, and turning. If you were able to just strafe on command, the game would become far too easy, since enemies aren't designed to attack sideways like that. It's still totally possible to dodge attacks by backing up or running past an enemy during their initial animation, and navigation isn't especially a problem.

It's built around getting in the proper position to attack and avoiding danger. And the lack of a strafe makes that a bit awkward sometimes. As the game is now you need to first back up, then turn, and then run around when something dangerous gets too close, which in the heat of the moment makes for an unintuitive maneuver. Resident Evil 5 had a strafe and it didn't make the game far too easy by comparison.

 

[wings012]

I thought RE5 had a very different feel to RE4. It felt more like an action shooter. RE4 felt more tactical, I had to think my approach and play more carefully whereas in RE5 I can just waltz in and hose shit down. Yeah I prefer the controls too with a centered crosshair vs janky laser pointer and being able to strafe. But it could be that because of that I was very easily able to beat the shit out of everything.

RE4 with its more difficult aiming and movement lent itself to more tension. When enemies do get up in your face, it's far harder to respond compared to RE5.

I also had similar feelings with regards to Dead Space 1 and 2. 1 had the janky laser pointer aiming system and more clumsy movement. 2 had a centered crosshair and it overall felt easier to fight back.

It could also just be a problem with underlying game design. It's probably possible to create tension without having to deliberately jank the controls. But IMO the janky ass controls added to the feel of RE4 and DS1.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I thought RE5 had a very different feel to RE4. It felt more like an action shooter. RE4 felt more tactical, I had to think my approach and play more carefully whereas in RE5 I can just waltz in and hose shit down. Yeah I prefer the controls too with a centered crosshair vs janky laser pointer and being able to strafe. But it could be that because of that I was very easily able to beat the shit out of everything.

RE4 with its more difficult aiming and movement lent itself to more tension. When enemies do get up in your face, it's far harder to respond compared to RE5.

I think that has less to do with the controls and more with the level design and the fact that it was co-op. Also, not having an attache case took away the need to want to perserve ammo and health, adding to the tension. It's how the attache case became a little game onto itself. But in actuality RE4 is just as much and action shooter as RE5: If you mindlessly emptied your guns into enemies and splurged on health items the game would become aware of that and provide you with ample supplies. Also, RE5 still had the laser pointer, and I wish more (slower) third-person shooters would.