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Pvt_Minsk
Reviews
Biohazard 4 (2005)
A totally different direction gives new life to the series.
Well, wasn't Resident Evil 4 a total surprise? Capcom effectively published a game in a genre completely different from its predecessors, and it was even counted as a canonical sequel and not a mere spin off. The zombies were given brains, speed and weapons (and don't try to claim that the Ganados are not zombies at all, the lack of free will, relentless aggression and horde instincts fit the zombie criteria, even if they are fast and tricky little zombies), the player was provided more than enough provisions in firearms and first aid to wage war on the enemy masses, and the pace was amped to breakneck speeds. This was rather like when Halloween 3 came out, where the setting, characters and slasher monster were all replaced. It took guts from Capcom, and unlike Halloween 3 it really paid off.
The gameplay is much more action-oriented than the previous Resident Evils, where you actually take aim at the monsters and manouver through the environment to avoid the enemy. When shooting, the camera angle moves behind the player's shoulder as he lifts his gun up, and a little laser sight appears which can be moved to guide where the player shoots. This is a very original way of shooting and I can see it being used more often in future games. However, because it takes a moment to get into firing position (where the player freezes in place to take aim and is unable to move) and then draw a bead on the enemy, the gameplay does not support enemies which are very mobile nor enemies with ranged attacks.
Some enemies still attack very fast and occasionally some other threat occurs which needs fast reflexes which the player alone couldn't answer to. However, the game has a fun way of prompting you to press a small combo of buttons to dodge, which lead to the player automatically leaping to the side or parrying a blow or such. This reminds me most, odd as it is, of Dance Dance Revolution-type games, where you have to press the right buttons at the right time. Many people complain about it being an unnecessary evil, but I think it adds a fun element to fights, not to mention an action-movie coolness feel which would be impossible in conventional games.
Speaking of the action-move atmosphere, the surroundings are not static anymore and can be used to your advantage. Stuff like luring the violent villagers into their own traps, jumping out of windows to escape a crowded room (complete with cheesy commando roll on the ground) and knocking ladders down are all ways of maximising your chances against the brutal gauntlet of foes. Heck, even the foes themselves can be quickly dispatched with some fancier tricks than just shooting them dead, like shooting the dynamite guy's arm to drop the bundle of joy, or meléeing staggering enemies. Try shooting the later Ganados in the game and meléeing them to see Leon show off his pro wrestling skills!
There aren't a lot of different foes, but that's alright, because the varied gang of homicidal villagers, monks and soldiers are quite a challenge. They'll use tactics to dodge around, they'll come out from all directions and they'll be packing an arsenal of painful death in the form of farming tools, medieval weaponry and the classic chainsaw of insta-death goreness. The player's set of weapons is also very impressive, even if a bit conventional, and can be customised for maximum punishment.
The storyline is a bit of a weak-point. Leon Kennedy, the rugged cop from Resident Evil 2, is out to save the president's kidnapped daughter from some religious nutjobs in Spain. Turns out that a horrible plague has turned the locals a bit homicidal, not to mention mutated. It's no T-Virus, but it's just another scientific deus ex machine to create a horde of mindless killers. Leon runs the gauntlet of levels picking off the main bad guys one by one, all the while trying to escape with the girl. Although the gameplay is radically different, it's the same old Resident Evil, and the dialogue is just as wooden. I must say, though, the various characters were charming in their ways. The wicked little man suffering from progeria and his pair of hulking bodyguards hidden in Gothic robes were my favorites (fun fact: Mr. Salazar refers to the chap who always stands on his left side as his right hand man). In true Resident Evil fashion, the main bad guys mutate into horrible killing machines in a terribly gory way after giving their egotistical and scoffy spiel.
Don't get me wrong, I still pine for a classic Resident Evil with blocky controls, supply-saving and fixed camera angles. But Resident Evil 4 is still an excellent game and a feather in Capcom's hat. It's quite worthy of joining the ranks of the other parts of the series. Here's to the creepy merchant fellow making future appearances just for the heck of it!
Ozzy & Drix (2002)
Walk down the right back alley in Hector, and you could find anything... it is better than you'd imagine!
I have unfortunately never seen "Osmosis Jones", the movie which this series is based on, but I hear that this movie got a bad rap. If this is true, then Ozzy and Drix certainly redeems it's predecessor.
The plot involves the workings of the body of a teen named Hector. The "city" of Hector is depicted as a metropolitan city with all the cells and other fancy bits and bobs of the body working the boy that is Hector. Like any body, Hector is beset by diseases and symptoms. The show's main characters are the white blood cell, Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, and his companion, the cold pill Drix. Just like a real cold pill, Drix is armed with a 120 nm (nanometer) smooth bore cannon for an arm ;) . These two heroes work a private eye gig of sorts, facing all the syndromes that Hector gets (and Hector seems to have "getting sick" as a part-time job).
As you've probably deduced by now, Ozzy & Drix is an educational cartoon. Those cartoons have always done VERY well in the past (I'm being sarcastic here, if you haven't witnessed the horror that is a educational cartoon before). Indeed, the first time you see Ozzy & Drix, you'd think it's an incredibly embarrassing series. But the cleverness of Ozzy & Drix is that while you learn about the human body and what can happen to it on the way, this educational stuff is not so at the forefront that you couldn't enjoy the cartoon as a hilarious and humorous parody of cop shows. For Ozzy and Drix excellently parodies the typical cop buddy movies and shows, Miami Vice coming off the top of my head. The city of Hector is like a city out of Grand Theft Auto, except without all the naughty content. All the cop show stereotypes, like the copper with street smarts, the bumbling mayor who needs serious help to keep his face good in the public, and the trench-coated informant in a shady alley are all included. The viruses and other germs are all typical "gangtas" and other criminals, with a few exceptions, shining out the most General Malaise and his (literal) army of bacteria with fake French accents.
All the while this is going on, it's all tied into typical ailments of the human body, which, as I mentioned, are not totally budging in front of the plot. Sure, the show teaches that ingestion of lots of sugar causes a rush of energy followed by tiredness, but it is depicted as a city-wide catastrophe of all cells growing lethargic and not doing their jobs, leaving the aforementioned French Napoleon-wannabe and his army to prepare for a body-wide assault. How do Ozzy & Drix thwart THIS menacing threat?! (that is a favorite episode of mine, by the way)
So seriously, if you thought of Ozzy & Drix to be another tiresome educational cartoon (the only good cartoon of this genre before was the infamous "Duck and Cover!" cartoon, teaching you that hiding under a table will save you from a close-range nuclear blast, and this was only funny because of it's unintentional absurdity), you are totally mistaken. While the life lessons are an integral part of the series, it is as much, if not more, a clever parody of the cop buddy genre, and other modern quirks. Watch at least a few episodes before your final verdict. ...unless, of course, you don't like cartoons in general, but then, why would you be reading these comments then?!