TSA said:
Well, I'm pretty well versed in gaming in general, but honestly I don't follow Resident Evil as much as some of you (I only started on RE4, then Remake, then 0, then 5, then CVX HD), though I played the crap out of RE4 and RE5, even so far as to try doing speedruns on them casually for awhile.
On the flip side, you see me calling out crap other sites get wrong on Zelda all the time because I'm a little too "well" versed in that series. I do get where you are coming from. However, I can't really discuss these games with people prior to embargo stuff. Unless you guys knew definitively and posted about it ahead of time, I can't like show you clips and stuff.
I felt I had done my homework. Like, I did read luka's rampage against the claims earlier this year that RE4 HD was based on the PS2 port based on the screens, but that was based on pre-release screens. Played through the other versions again. Also, my roommate is a pretty big RE buff himself, and he saw me playing some and was convinced it was a hybrid of the Wii/PS2 versions. I originally thought it was the PS2 source code with modifications to the graphics engine to be as close to the GCN's superior assets.
FYI - None of you go by Archleon on Cosplay.com, right? Just curious...
This whole thing is getting pretty long winded by now, but I feel like I should clarify some things. First, you're probably 100% correct that they used the modified PS2 codebase for this port. I didn't deny that! I mean, from a development perspective it makes sense to use a base that was already modified rather than go back and once again re-engineer a highly specialized piece of software that used many GCN hardware tricks to pull off. My viewpoint was: why does that matter if the end result is a game that looks and plays nearly identical to the original? I mean, the ps2 version is nothing more than a stripped down version of the original, modified in a way so they could replace the geometry and effects with some that the hardware could handle (the PS2 has no shader units). In fact all of the original scripting for the cutscenes is still present in the PS2 code. If you remove all video files from the disc, the cutscenes will play out in real time, with camera tracking, but all sound and models will be missing because the high detail assets were removed. This works on the PC version as well. So yes, you were correct that all of the code referencing the original effects and such were still present (it won't suddenly reappear if you run it in an emulator though), but this only reinforces the fact that the PS2 port is a perfectly solid incarnation, and the restoration of the original assets shouldn't produce a less-than-accurate port.
Ultimately my criticism, like the CV review, was that of wording. When you say it's a "mere upscaling of the PS2 version,"
no one is going to understand where you're coming from. It's a very misleading statement and the reason people are in arms about it is for what you can see in this thread - half of it has been people asking the same questions over and over because none of the reviews can seem to keep their wording straight. No one is going to think "oh he's probably talking about the minute differences in movement speeds and hitboxes..." Like I said, the point of contention has always been the assets: geometry, textures, effects, and audio. If after repeated pro runs on every version of this game can't reveal to me any noticable differences in speed or responsiveness to the point where it affects how I play, then very few people outside of the most hardcore speedrunners will consider it an issue. I never used the el gigante lava room glitch anyway and it's really not a factor into what I consider the 'superior' version.
*takes a breath* That aside, I agree with you about the port job. I'm not crazy regarding my expectations; I don't expect any major upgrades or redone textures you can cut your eyes on - I only expect accuracy, everything beyond that is window dressing. I expect a port/"remaster" to be at the very least 100% identical to the original in terms of visual and mechanical preservation. Biohazard 4 HD does not achieve this. There are a few things that drive me crazy and do, in fact, make me prefer the Wii edition. Audio quality is the big one, and it's only marginally better than the PS2 port (but from what I hear the 360 version fares better). Regardless, if anyone came to me and asked which version to buy, I'd definitely point them towards the HD version. Audio issues and a few other inconsequential differences aside, it
is the best version.
That's what makes the whole thing so frustrating for me. It's easily my favorite game in one of my favorite series,' made by a company who obviously no longer cares about quality or large swaths of their fanbase. After Rockman dash 3's cancellation I was extremely apprehensive about my continued patronage - in fact I wouldn't have even purchased the collection had yesasia allowed me to cancel my preorder. I'm starting to feel like I'm white-knighting them or acting like a damn PR mouthpiece, and I'm beginning to hate myself for it so I'm just going to leave it at that.
