Posts tagged resident evil

Last night I ignored Mercenaries mode and decided to attempt mission six of the story again. I upgraded my shotgun and stepped into the church. Tch, these poor, poor European peasants. They can’t even afford decent textures in their church. They need a fundraising drive.

So, yes, I blasted some chaps in the head with my shotgun a few times. Might seem blasphemous, but I’d been starting to think that this church had been deconsecrated some time ago. After killing one of the Gross Tentacle Men™ I found a key, which let me into the room on the second floor in which Ashley was being held.

After, er, introducing ourselves it was time to leave the church. I found a nice spot to get out the rifle and shoot back down into the main body of the church. I then jumped back down to the ground floor, caught Ashely when she jumped… and then got stuck behind her and couldn’t move. I tried shooting the advancing peasants, but managed to shoot Ashely in the head by mistake.

Mission failed.

Escort missions, eh?

So, I started again and this time managed to get us both out alive. Phew.

Didn’t play any of the story last night, just levels in Mercenaries mode. First I tried out the Pincer Attack level again. I managed to do it, but I was stuck with just a handgun, my back to the wall and some scary enemies advancing on me when the helicopter finally showed up. Very tense stuff.

Though not as tense as the next mission, Sniper’s Hand. It is, as the name implies, a sniper level. You start on a ledge with the rifle and fair amount of ammo. There’s a ladder leading down to the ground that you can kick over. Then it’s a question of picking off the bad guys as they approach. It seems easy at first, but before too long the enemies have got the ladder back up. That’s still okay, though, because you can shoot them and kick it back down. That doesn’t last long, though, and eventually you’ll be unable to get to the ladder as more and more enemies approach and climb up to your ledge. They keep going down, but then the rifle clicks… you’re out of ammunition. Sometimes the enemies drop ammo, but do you dare to try and reach it with enemies approaching? Even if you do, you’ll run out again before long, so you switch to the handgun and keep firing as the final seconds count down, hoping that the rescue helicopter will reach you before the villagers. It’s awesome stuff, it really is.

And I didn’t even mention that now and again enemies can come from behind you and mess up your careful sniping. I’ve played this level a few times and it’s never been less than heart-pounding, terrifying stuff. If I was better at sniping people it would be a lot easier, but also less exciting. I’m actually hoping I don’t get too good at it.

Oh, and it also earns you a huge amount of money, due to the number of enemies and the amount of head shots you get. I’m building up a lot cash, which I’ll use to upgrade my weapons when I go and do the next story level.

Success! I played level three of the Mercenaries mode again, which gave me enough money to buy the rifle and a big stock of ammunition. Then I took it out and did the level pretty easily by finding safe spots and using the zoom.

I got surprised once or twice – just enough to make it fun! – and had to heal myself at one point, but it wasn’t too hard.

Look, I got my first S rank. Pretty good, eh?

I have to say, I am really, really enjoying this. I can see all the faults, but it’s just excellent fun. I think you should be cautious before buying it, because the controls and tiny, tiny arena-style levels will put people off, but don’t dismiss it out of hand.

So, Resident Evil 4 finally appeared on the App Store, after its little adventure a couple of weeks ago. (For those that don’t know, it briefly appeared on the Japanese store before being pulled.)

As I enjoyed the demo of Resident Evil: Degeneration, I decided to take the plunge. I’m glad I did. For the first minute or two I was all over the place, but the controls become surprisingly workable in a short space of time. There’s some nice functions based on double-tapping and, though clunky, it’s honestly not that bad.

Of course, you’re not getting the full Resident Evil 4 game on your iPhone. Only a fool would think that. (Or, indeed, someone who read Capcom’s somewhat misleading description on the App Store.) You get some small levels linked by bizarre little storybook pages that make no sense, even to someone who’s played through Resident Evil 4 a couple of times.

As you go through the story, you unlock levels in Mercenaries mode, which allows you to build up reserves of much-needed cash. I’m only level three of the story so far – I keep spending all my money on ammo then dying, forcing me to go back to Mercenaries mode to build up cash. I don’t mind, though. I’m throughly enjoying it every time – and I’ve even found myself shouting “No, no, get away!” as I fumble to reload my shotgun as the chainsaw man advances.

It’s a genuinely fun little game. No, really. I’m sure some people will hate it because of the controls, but then that’s the story of Resident Evil’s life. (For the record, I find the early Resident Evil games pretty unplayable, due to the controls and save system. I’m no rabid fan of the series.)

Anyway, whatever other people think, I’m glad I got it and I like playing it – so stuff ‘em.