You're dropped off at the outskirts of a lonely looking village, complete with creepy sign-posts, a bunch of crows, and absolutely no one in sight. Stepping up to the first establishment you come across with great caution, and setting foot through the gaping door of the creaky old house, you find there is life here. Or is there? The man looks as rugged as the rest of the area, a none too friendly expression on his face, a vacant look in his eyes. Perhaps he's a touch upset that you're intruding in his house, interupting his business at the fireplace? Unperterbed by his stiff-lipped receival, you slip a photograph out of your pocket and show it to him, ask if he's seen the girl pictured. His response is a curt and vulgar-sounding phrase in spanish. No hard feelings, you back off and decide to look elsewhere. You turn just in time to see the man lunge for you, armed with a hatchet! Whipping out your handgun in turn, you tell him to freeze, but he keeps coming. Red laser sight trained between the eyes, you yell, "I said 'Freeze!'" as the man throws himself forward. It's all you now....
It's been six years since the horrifying events of Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy returns as the main character of this latest installment in the Biohazard/Resident Evil series, and his situations haven't improved much. Now an agent employed under the president, Leon's mission takes him across seas in search of the president's missing daughter. Things take a turn for the worse (well, what else did you expect?) when he finds himself stranded in a freaky little village, with residents that seem to have no more personality than the freaky zombie nightmares he's had to deal with before! But they aren't really zombies... are they? Leon's simple mission of tracking down a missing girl has landed him into something deeper and much darker than he's bargained for.
The graphics have greatly improved from the past games of the series, this installment emersing you into a dreary, almost monochromatic landscape where the brightest things you'll find are shiny red packs of handgun ammo, and the village people are as dead as the place they live in. The game has its moments of FMVs, triggered by entering a certain area, or after a certain amount of time has passed. All action is real-time, and depending on circumstances, an action command will be executable at the touch of a button. If them creepy zombie-types come too close, give 'em a good round house kick! Crash or leap through windows- even if they're from the second story! Kick open doors! Things get pretty crazy here, so you'll need every bit of an edge you can get. Use the extra-zoom on your binoculars to scout ahead for possible threats. Check crates and crannies for valuable items- never know what you'll find. One can just hear the choir singing when you first set eyes on that sparkling rifle that just 'happens' to be hanging up on the wall. And when all out of ammo- you always have your knife.
The enemies you face here aren't your average mindless zombies- they're not zombies at all, although their actions can say otherwise. They can think, direct others, and have enough sense to dodge a gun nozzle aimed their way for too long. Armed with anything from pitchforks to sickles to handaxes to chainsaws (!?!), these guys are a bit more dangerous, and even weaponless, can still grab and try to throttle poor Leon. The locals aren't the only things to worry about here. Even an empty scenescape can contain hidden dangers, such as booby traps ranging from explosives rigged to wire between trees, and gigantic bear traps. And then there's the giant hulking creature that looks suspiciously like the cave troll from the Lord of the Rings. Distant cousin, perhaps?
The demo doesn't take you very far of course, but the preview movies that accompany it scream of plenty more action for Leon as you delve farther into the game. Once you find Ashley Graham, the president's daughter (what is it about president's kids getting into so much trouble all the time!?), you'll have to protect her, as she seems to have the habit of being carried off.
Biohazard 4 certainly looks impressive visually, and promises a dark and twisted plotline. With third-person camera angles designed for the ultimate dramatic impression, lots of toys for Leon to make use of, and such muted tones that never allow you to shake the feeling of being very alone, it should be an insane ride. To quote from the game trailer: "You've never seen Biohazard like this before."
