Who didn’t love Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube? Or for those of us who own a Wii, with expanded controls and a nice port for the Wii? Well, all truth be told, there’s good news for iPhone and iPod touch owners as well: Resident Evil 4 has made its way to the app store. Now, let’s clear the record on the idea that this is a direct port: even if the 3GS is essentially a mini-laptop in terms of its processor, it in no way can handle the amount of processing required for a direct port of the game. However, Capcom has done an admirable job of creating a mobile edition of the game, sort of…
This review will be unusually short for me because the game itself is short as well. You can run through this in a couple of hours when you’ve got some free time on your hands, but only if you ignore the putrid control scheme. No offense, Capcom, but this control scheme had me wanting to chuck my brand new 3GS out the window on several occasions. The control stick is on the left side of the screen and the option of inversion exists, but there is no option to decrease sensitivity which in turn results in frustration. On the right hand side you’ve got your walk/run, aim, and melee buttons. Boy, does this control scheme give you headaches! In fact, in your first play-through of the 12 levels equipped in the game, you will notice that enemies seem relentless and that the camera does very little to ease the pain. Clearly, this is something that Capcom needs to improve in future releases. So in terms of gameplay, yes it’s still the Resident Evil 
we know and love, but a lazy mobile edition.
There is no bonus mode or extra setting, yet (if any updates are even on the way), so you are stuck with the 12 story levels of the game. The game redeems itself a bit by adding the merchant to the mix, with whom you can upgrade weapons and buy or sell merchandise. However, this is not nearly enough to save you from the painful control scheme and jumbled mess that is the story itself. Cutscenes are just that: cut. The same tired formula from Degeneration is utilized here, and if we didn’t like it back then, we won’t now.
The graphics, on the other hand, are fantastic. Textures and models are done well and Capcom solidifies that the game is certainly worthy of bearing the Resident Evil name, but gameplay outweighs graphics
and RE 4 does not provide. Sadly, not much more can be said as this review is directly relative to the content in the game. All in all, it was an okay purchase for $2.99 (I was fortunate enough to get it on sale) but certainly not worth $7.99 unless you are a hardcore RE fan, and even then you should only make the purchase if you have the money to spare.
Gameplay: 3/5, nice effort and the flow is definitely Resident Evil, but the control scheme ruins everything.
Graphics: 4.5/5, great graphics for the iPhone but maybe more cutscenes may help the mix. Stays true to Resident Evil 4 lore.
Sound: 3/5, the sound is okay, it feels as if they don’t have much to work with, but that eerie Resident Evil feel is there and the game partially captures the greatness of Resident Evil 4’s sound.
Presentation: 2/5, meh at best. Control scheme sucks, although it’s still awesome to be using a touch screen for navigation and such. Cutscenes would totally improve the flow of the story as opposed to the pictures with words that Capcom has provided.
Overall: 3/5, seemed to promise much more than it delivered. Game has little replay value and is not worth the $7.99 price tag. But a good purchase if on sale, especially for RE fans.
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