Capcom made it very clear that they are the company to watch this millennium. They even scorned the rest of the industry for not taking chances and simply relying on sequels to keep the money rolling in. It's extremely ironic then, that the entire show was built out of Capcom sequels and spin-offs, including Megaman games that don’t even have freaking Megaman in them. So while they certainly talked the talk, they don't quite have the walking part down yet.
Case in point: the recently announced Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Ooooo, are you excited yet? After the ridiculous commercial was shown for this game, Destructoid had a chance to get all touchy feely with the Wii version of one of the highest rated games ever. Hit the jump for screens, impressions, and information about all the new content being added.
Wait, did I say "all" the content being added? What I really meant was "none" of the content, because there isn’t any. That's right; straight out of several Capcom representatives mouths (I had to ask multiple times just to make sure they had totally stopped trying), this game doesn't have a single costume, weapon, area, or mode added in addition to what was already in the PS2 version. Not a goddamn thing.
One rep simply said that the game had been "Wii-ified." So what is RE4 like with the Wiimote? I'm going to try not to exaggerate with this analogy... It's like driving through a mine field while some little brat covers your eyes and pees on the back of your head. Capcom is quick to defend the new control scheme by saying that you will eventually get use to it, there's really no point. The Wiimote does very little to add to the experience of RE4, but it does plenty to take away.
Most importantly, the Wiimote aiming creates a number of disadvantages that weren't present in the good ol' days of the Gamecube and PS2 era. For example, you can now aim directly in front of your character, but since aiming with the Wiimote does not turn your character automatically, you will often find your own avatar blocking your sight, which defeats the entire purpose of the new over-the-shoulder camera angle that RE4 is known for in the first place. If this game had come out on the Wii only, Gears of War would play a lot differently...
Additionally, your aiming is actually less accurate with the Wiimote. Unless you studied the art of concentration with Buddhist monks, you're probably like Summa's caffeinated arse and make the targeting cursor look like a glo-stick at a rave. To make matters worse, the laser sight has been removed all together, which creates even more difficulty when trying to line up those long distance precision shots, and has been replaced by a giant aiming cursor that interferes with the gaming experience.
Graphically, this game proves that the Wii isn't so much as two Gamecubes taped together, but actually one Gamecube with a carrot squished inside it. It looks virtually the same as the GC version, albeit now with widescreen and 480p support, but if you have upgraded your TV for one of the REAL systems, this is going to look just as bad as every other Wii game out there.
To top it all off, RE4 was a rather long and enjoyable experience, but most gamers will get tired of aiming the Wiimote after just a short while making it impossible to submerse yourself into the game. With literally nothing new to offer anyone who's played the game previously, there is no reason to pick this version up. There are, however, quite a few reasons not to.
Diversity my ass, thats why at least 3-5 days a week we see wii hatred.
How can this be a diverse community when the leaders are soo biased?
It's like I said a million times, and I'll say it again. The wii has some things wrong, but not to the point that this site attempts to push it. It seems that only the PS3 and 360 get the good press, and Destructurd has to shit on the wii as much as possible.
Unbiased reporting does not exist in this industry so please, get off your soap box.
Out of all the sites, our beloved 'Fox IGN' as you put it, has probably offered some of the best game reviews out there.
Guess what, Red Steel Sucked, it was reported that it sucked. The Godfather was a Great game, it was reported to be a great game. Zelda was mediocre, it was reported as mediocre.
I think you are just upset because you are losing your zealotry foothold with the masses. The truth eh? I think it's all about your version of the truth.
At least I will give my hats off to Rev Anthony, from what I have seen, he isn't that big of a Wii fan, but at least he can admit when a decent title comes along.
'Stop trying to invalidate our opinion just because FOX IGN or AOL ZIFF DAVIS 1UP had a different opinion.'
If you can't handle different opinions and being flat out told you are wrong. You are in the wrong business.
In the end, opinions are like assholes everybody has one, but from your comments, you are angered that people do not agree with yours.
I find it's easy to tell when somebody is biased when you never see an mediocre opinion of a product. It's usually "extremely horrible" or "super great". As far as I can tell, the Wii gets the short end of the stick here. There doesn't seem to be much middleground, even when describing games that have been generally accepted as decent to good (Twilight).
When you consistently focus on the exaggerated bad for a certain product, namely the Wii in this case, it's called being biased.
People aren't trying to invalidate your opinion, they're trying to point out that it's just YOUR opinion (or Haley's in this case). Other sites are disagreeing, so it's just not smart for DToid readers to completely write off this game based on one poster's hands on. Nor is it smart for them to declare it the most awesome thing ever just because another site loved it. People should read this article and treat it the same way they should with a review for any site or magazine - realize it's one person's opinion (although with much funnier analogies than most), and if they want to find out what other people think they should do further research. Making decisions on ANYTHING in life based on only one source of information is exceedingly stupid. Why shouldn't it be pointed out when Haley's or anyone else's impressions are in the minority? We're not sheep, and we don't want the other DToiders to be either. Knowledge is power.
And sorry, but just because a site has a corporate owner it doesn't mean their opinions are automatically invalid, nor are they "sugar coating" previews (please). I do come to DToid largely because of the independent voice. That doesn't mean it's the only one I listen to, nor should anyone else.
I see that alot of sarcasm was lost on a few of the readers, and I apologize for that. I waited in line for a Wii on opening day just like everyone else, and I pray everyday (okay, every month) for a game that truly takes advantage of the Wii and all that that entails.
One thing to keep in mind about other sites is that they often skim over games and give a half-assed "preview" on that alone. One editor barely even left the bar, let alone touched any controllers, and yet that site has plenty of previews up. Other sites and magazines also have an obligation to hype up games, even crappy ones, so that companies like EA and Capcom will send them prostitutes and chocolate. So who are you gonna to trust?
I played this game more than ANYONE at the entire event, trying out all the modes, characters, weapons, etc. I can also tell you that most of the people who picked up the controller were disappointed by the game and its controls, not just Destructoid. This is simply Capcoms thinly veiled attempt at cashing in on one of the few good games they've made in the past few years.
Do the industry and yourself a favor and dont get suckered in by another lazy, greedy game company. Show them that it takes more than widescreen support and lame Wiimote controls to earn your dollar, and eventually you will force them to make better games.
I agree with you, Mxyzptlk, for the most part (yes, every site and, on an even smaller scale, every site's reviewers have different opinions), however, I don't agree with the method of displaying the opinion in this case. Video game journalists as a whole should not go into looking at or playing a new game with an underline opinion of the console. Their underline opinion of the console also should not effect how they write about said game. If, for example, I hated the PS2 and was writing a preview of the RE4 port, I shouldn't automatically take every little problem I see and exaggerate them to bring them to the forefront. I should take the good with the bad and explain both sides, regardless of my opinion on the PS2.
If this writer is going to let his negative opinion of the Wii effect every writeup he does about the system's games, he should at least put a disclaimer before the article explaining his bias so people will realize he's not interested in the good as much as the bad. Yes, I can read elsewhere and find out that his opinion is not the popular one, but why would I read this blog above other ones when I have to fucking research to find out if his opinion is unbiased or not?
Thankfully he writeup bloated the supposed bad of the game enough that I instantly knew something was up, but still, my point stands.
I'm posting far too much, I know, but I like these discussions.
Mr. Haley, you make a good point, and you're right, there is another side to this coin that is equally bad, if not worse than what we're discussing about this preview.
But you have to understand Capcom's position as well. People want this. I can't play RE4 on the GameCube on my HDTV because of the screwy fake widescreen (made worse by blurry zoom), and I don't want to play the PS2 version for reasons I listed above (although the widescreen and progressive scan are appealing). But now I have a version of a game that I love that not only has the original graphical detail, it has widescreen and progressive, and it's not full price (as far as I know). Whether the controls are good or mediocre, I still want it, so there's a demand that Capcom is obviously comfortable taking advantage of.
This isn't RE5, this is a port. You can call it lazy, you can call it greedy, but this is an awesome game that now has an ideal version with an interesting new control scheme. This is what happens in any market and people don't seem to mind.
What Haley said was perfect. You guys have no idea what these events are like and how other publications/sites act. We were there, we saw what those individual people at those sites did.
I swear to God, if you can trust one person with this preview of what he saw, it's Haley.
I agree that Destructoid's opinion is just as valid as any other site but anytime there's even a remote sense of bias in the writing - the opinion because less substantiated.
And I must say, the writing on this piece did come across as slightly biased.
Regardless of how it plays... even if it happened to be the best game EVAR... the Wii seriously needs less "Wii-ified" versions of old games and more new games specifically tailored for the Wii. I'll be glad when this learning phase passes and developers finally start making real games for the Wii.
[size=150%]"I swear to God, if you can trust one person with this preview of what he saw, it's Haley"[/size]
I don't think anyone is dismissing Haley's opinion as truthful. It's just that if other publications are posting good reviews on what they saw and Destructoid is one of the few that didn't like it, maybe the majority of buyers will agree with what the other sites are saying simply because there's more concurrence.
On another note, a lot of writers are using the "we were there and you don't know what it's like" card. Maybe there were/are ulterior motives to what other writers say but the general public isn't aware of that. Maybe an independent free speaking blog like Destructoid can reveal some of those "secrets" if there are any.
Stop saying bias. There is no bias here. We are judging these games as games, we are not judging the Wii. If the game were on the 360 or PS3 and failed in the same way, then we'd say so. Get over this bias thing.
It's already floating around the intertubes, despite the official US release being still a month away. People are saying the graphics and controls are janked on the PC verison, so you might be better off picking it up for Cube/PS2 @ $20.
So hold on, the controls in game suck because -you- are a fragile nerd who cant hold a controller straight ? cause thats the only piece of evidence you seem to come up with when dismissing them, and thats pretty bias =)
You guys are incredible. Play the game yourself, then feel free to bash us. But please stop jumping on us for our opinion of the game that we actually played.
This is a Wii title. Whenever you say ANYTHING negative towards anything even REMOTELY dealing with Nintendo, you do so with the knowledge that there will be the fanboys ready to bring the backlash with their accusations of bias and tomfoolery.
Why defend your stance against the internets?
If these people can't accept the fact that the Wii is quite literally at this point (with VERY few exceptions), a dumping ground for half-assed last gen ports with awkward Wii remote functionality, then let them stay in denial.
Those of us who are objective, and see things for what they are already appreciate your honesty.
This is why I'm so unimpressed with Wii. I absolutely adored my Gamecube. It had so many awesome games on it, and really challenged, and sometimes even bested Xbox graphically. Now with Wii, it has seemingly become the shovelware system. RE4 was great on Gamecube. Now we get it for Wii? What the fuck? 6 months working on controls and not adding any content or beefing visuals? Weaksauce to the max.
I hope it's just the first year blues and some awesome games will come out. But with all these companies flooding it with ports from last-gen they might be few and far between. I really worry for Metroid Prime 3. I know that Retro *shouldn't* screw it up, but at the time of it's release MP1 was such an awesome visual and auditory experience, I'm afraid that may be lost with the lazy port-like nature of Wii.
Anyway, that's my rant. Now to wait for my broken 360 to arrive. God I hate this generation of gaming.
To be honest the debate if they are bias is dumb- THEY ARE!!! There are well known N-haters that blog here and it MUST cloud their judgement.I also hate the fact that as soon as you try to defend a nintendo game you are a n-fanboy. If anything I am VIDEOGAME fanboy, because I love them all. I also understand that I haven't played it yet so my opinion means nothing but I have read your blog for a long time and your so-called opinions have been very wrong before
The only problem with this now is the goofy target reticle on the screen the whole time. The laser sight was so much cooler. Having that green target on the screen is going to take away from the game and kill its creepy atmosphere.
@Mandle, those exaggerations were not meant to literally describe the experience, just point out that it was really clumsy, or poorly-conceived. I hope that you are aware no game can ever accurately convey the sense of someone peeing on the back of your head while driving.
I realize a couple of you WANT this game to be good, and WANT the Wii to succeed. I personally own one, and when a good game comes along, I will be the first person to pay for it.
The Wiimote functionality creates several disadvantages that simply dont exist with a controller. In my biased opinion, normally you're supposed to make games better, not worse.
The "Next-Gen" hesn't even started IMHO until this gets adressed.
IMMERSION, PEOPLE!!
Oh, and so many people say D-Toid (Summa in particular) are Wii haterz but they're forgetting that Summa was VERY positive about the system at launch and even MORE positive about Elebits, a game which other reviews didn't like very much in general.
Facts are facts and in the last few months, basically NOTHING of worth has come out for the system (Super Paper Mario excluded because it's just a GC game. Very literally a GC game). The same can be said of the PS3 since launch And IS said. FREQUENTLY!
Summa WANTS to get that same entertainment that he got at launch (as should everyone else) but the Wii simply isn't delivering it yet.
And for the record, D-Toid (Summa included) has called Sony on EVERY stupid step they've made (and epic task) and busts the 360's chops every time they release YET ANOTHER system bricking update or give us consumers shite about broken systems and microtransactions.
Lemme give you a little hint here people. 99% of reviews from "Big Name Game Sites" end with the line, "What we played was a pretty good game that, with a few tweaks before release, could become a GREAT game." AKA: Marketing BULLSHIT.
How often do you see those sites say (in previews), "This game SUCKED and has a LONG way to go if they want to release something better than a doorstop." Now, juxtapose THAT number with how many HORRIBLE (previously previewed) games get released every year.
Go to other sites to stay in your little sanitized bubble of rarely realised hopes. Come to D-Toid for the real f'n deal.
"Lemme give you a little hint here people. 99% of reviews from "Big Name Game Sites" end with the line, "What we played was a pretty good game that, with a few tweaks before release, could become a GREAT game." AKA: Marketing BULLSHIT.
How often do you see those sites say (in previews), "This game SUCKED and has a LONG way to go if they want to release something better than a doorstop." Now, juxtapose THAT number with how many HORRIBLE (previously previewed) games get released every year.
Go to other sites to stay in your little sanitized bubble of rarely realized hopes. Come to D-Toid for the real f'n deal."
Actually I've seen quite often where gaming sites say during previews that games have a long way to go. The problem with titles in development is that changing a few things can sometimes break the entire game. Look at what happened to Too Human this past e3. The previews before the show were very positive, but the demo at e3 ended up with the viewpoint getting borked and journalists shit all over it. Then Denis Dyack cried about the whole thing, to much hilarity.
The problem with previewing games is that much of the time they really only come together in just the last few weeks of development. Crackdown wasn't on anyone's radar until a month or two before it was released. The first e3 demo of Halo left a lot of journalists unimpressed. And so on, and so on...
I'm sorry, I love DToid... But this whole "WE'RE THE ONLY SITE KEEPIN' IT REAL YO" thing: give me a break. When professional journalists preview a game, they present their impressions with balance knowing that a lot can change in a short period. They usually say that games have a chance of getting better because they often do. Ultimately that depends on whether or not the development team is giving enough time and resources to do so. And yes, it isn't smart for them to shit where they eat either if they want to continue to get access to titles in development. They're going to often be civil about it, but that by no means invalidates their impressions as "marketing bullshit". This isn't Australia.
So Mr. Haley, what are your thoughts on Wii Godfather or SSX Blur. The latter especially got panned by these "marketing bullshit" critics due to the controls. That is something I found to be untrue after playing it.
All Im saying that these other sites have shit on games I particularly like, so when I hear them praising a game, it really piques my interest.
I believe the disadvantages you speak of are due to the controller inviting more room for human error. That is something that can make games a better, more satisfying experience.
Fuck! No new content? The PS2 content wasn't all that great. This is funny, I JUST bought RE4 for GC to play on my Wii. Without any added content, except for the new shitty controls. I utterly refuse to buy this game. Do I at least get to see Ashley's incredible tits? No? C'mon, give her a bikini or something. And titty-physics. God dammit I love tits.
I really thought that Wii controls would work well for the game. I guess not. But maybe they will fix things and hear complaints.
Capcom, add some content and fix the controls or porting, greedy FUCKS!!!!!!!!!
Since additional content would have been a major selling point, what would you guys have liked to have seen? What kind of costumes or new modes? The PS2 version also added a new weapon, so what else could they have put in this?
I personally would have liked to have seen the gatling gun from the earlier games. The chaingun zombie (Doom 2 anyone?) even carries one, why cant we?
As for costumes, I could probably make a list longer than this article, but perhaps some sort of futuristic suit a la Ayane's final unlockable costume, or perhaps a cute little Merchant-type costume for Ashley.
Hmm, I sold my Wii last Christmas, and I still think I made the right choice. There still isnt a game worth owning a Wii, just to play. I'll just keep the PS2 version of this...
At least they're charging $30 for this with extras that weren't available on the GCN version (although it is extreme bullshit that there's not even one new costume), in contrast with the GCN ports of RE2 and RE3, which didn't even include the Dreamcast or N64 extras, and were priced at $40. The port of RE C:VX was a bit better, but it got rare, the price never went down, and thus it's still not worth it.
I agree with the frustration that nothing truly new and worthwhile seems to be coming from third parties. Not that The Godfather isn't worthwhile, especially since it never hit the Cube, but the trend is worrying. What's also worrying is that the ol' voting with the wallet thing can backfire. Sadly, there's a possibility that if these ports are not moderately successful, publishers may get the wrong message and drop Wii support altogether; likewise, if a port is moderately successful, then developers may get the idea that they can shovel ports for quick cash. However, ease of development and sales like hotscakes make the former unlikely, as opposed to Gamecube which didn't have such a jump. In reality, these are probably first year growing pains just like the DS had.
That said, adding Arthur from Ghpuls 'n' Ghosts to Mercenaries mode would instantly secure my dollars.
I just need to see more must-have titles before I make the jump to the Wii. I like the 360 too much to try and introduce another system unless it stands out.
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Diversity my ass, thats why at least 3-5 days a week we see wii hatred.
How can this be a diverse community when the leaders are soo biased?
It's like I said a million times, and I'll say it again. The wii has some things wrong, but not to the point that this site attempts to push it. It seems that only the PS3 and 360 get the good press, and Destructurd has to shit on the wii as much as possible.
Unbiased reporting does not exist in this industry so please, get off your soap box.
Out of all the sites, our beloved 'Fox IGN' as you put it, has probably offered some of the best game reviews out there.
Guess what, Red Steel Sucked, it was reported that it sucked. The Godfather was a Great game, it was reported to be a great game. Zelda was mediocre, it was reported as mediocre.
I think you are just upset because you are losing your zealotry foothold with the masses. The truth eh? I think it's all about your version of the truth.
At least I will give my hats off to Rev Anthony, from what I have seen, he isn't that big of a Wii fan, but at least he can admit when a decent title comes along.
'Stop trying to invalidate our opinion just because FOX IGN or AOL ZIFF DAVIS 1UP had a different opinion.'
If you can't handle different opinions and being flat out told you are wrong. You are in the wrong business.
In the end, opinions are like assholes everybody has one, but from your comments, you are angered that people do not agree with yours.