Perhaps the biggest innovation here is also the most controversial. Making good on their ‘The world’s game’ tagline and pre-release promise that this would be their most inclusive iteration yet, EA Sports have now extended their integration of women’s football to Ultimate Team, the series’ most popular – and lucrative – mode which sees gamers collectively spending billions of real-world pounds buying virtual Panini-like packs of players to assemble the best teams possible.
I felt like a hero at every moment, whether I was saving the princess or exploring hidden passageways or helping rediscover the lost recipe for that aforementioned cheese. But I felt like a hero not because the game told me I was but because it showed me. It showed me that my wacky ideas for building silly motorcars were clever and fun. It showed me that with a bit of bravery I could beat a swarm of enemies with nothing but sticks and stones. It showed me that I could dive off a flying island into the unknown and find my way.
There is a mission relatively early on in Redfall’s tale that draws you into the mansion of one of the town’s main antagonists. It is a creepy, looming pile creaking with atmosphere and, once inside, plays smartly with Arkane’s knack for twisted level design; shifting time and space and spinning a hair-raising tale through gameplay and artistic direction. It is brilliant and, for a moment, recalls some of Arkane’s best work. But then it’s gone, fading in the wind as you return to wrestle the so-so shooting, lacklustre looting and barrage of bugs...Rather aptly, the mission is called The House of Echoes.
That a Resident Evil 4 remake is expectedly brilliant is a tough stick to beat it with. But while it might not have that extraordinary sense of upgrade that Resident Evil 2 did, it is important to realise what it represents. Resi 4 was the main driver of the third-person action revolution - the moderniser-in-chief. That its influence has come full circle into its own remake should be no surprise. What does shock, perhaps, is that even after all these years and all its myriad versions is that Resident Evil 4 still hasn’t been bettered. A smartly-executed upgrade has only thrown that into sharper focus. And, particularly for those that haven’t played it before, this is as essential as video games get.
Modern sensibilities may be shocked by the lack of checkpointing, but it is also crucial in creating the sense of tension and danger that ripples throughout Tallon IV...Few games can do that too. Maybe the closest touchstone in that regard --though they are very different games-- is From Software’s oeuvre. The success of which can only be a boon for Prime’s ethereal brilliance and a good sign for the upcoming and long-awaited Metroid Prime 4.
