Resident Evil 4
NOTE: This is written based on an actual play through of the Resident Evil 4 game for the Wii. All the events that happen more than likely transpired in the game. I am taking a few liberties on several things as you will see, but over all, I hope it proves a worthwhile read minus the grammar and typos.
All right, we are going to play through Pro Mode of Resident Evil 4 Wii Version. This means no special guns or starting equipment right away. Just the good ol' handgun, a health spray, and some ammo. I am already afraid. Let the Games Begin...
WARNING
This game contains strong language, and scenes of explicit violence and gore.
Cha pter 1- 1
1998...I'll never forget it. It was the year when those grisly murders occurred in the Arklay Mountains. Soon after the news was out to the whole world revealing it was the fault of a secret viral experiment conducted by the international pharmaceutical enterprise Umbrella.
The virus broke out in a nearby mountain community, Raccoon City. And hit the peaceful little town with a devastating blow, crippling its very foundation.
Not taking any chances, the President of The United States ordered a contingency plan - to sterilize Raccoon City.
With the whole affair gone public, the United States government issued an indefinite suspension of business decree to Umbrella. Soon its stock prices crashed and for all intents and purposes Umbrella was finished.
Six years have passed since that horrendous incident...
I received special training via a secret organization under the direct control of the president. I was to assume the new responsibility of protecting the new president's family.
Leon sat on the back seat of the van, his head resting on his fist, looking out the window. Two members of the hispanic police force sat in the front, probably talking away. Outside was a blur of haze, dying plant life and sparse woods. It looked drear and gloomy. His seat was not that comfortable either.
"Coño!" swore the driver, slamming his hands on the driving wheel. "Why am I one who always gets the short end of the stick?"
His friend turned to Leon. "Yo, who are you really? Come on and tell us."
Leon decided to say nothing. Their voices are creeeepy, just gonna stay silent, maybe they'll stop talking...
"You are a long way from home cowboy, you have my sympathies," the second cop said, his voice thick with a hispanic accent.
Somehow I doubt it, Leon thought to himself. He looked away from the window to scowl at the man trying to make small talk. "Guess that's the locals way of breaking the ice, anyways you know what this is all about, my assignment is to search for the President's missing daughter."
"What?" demanded the man sitting in the passenger's seat, staring at Leon. "All by yourself?" The cop broke out in a laugh. Leon sighed internally.
"I'm sure you boys did not tag so we could sing 'Kumbaya' together at some boyscout bonfire, then again maybe you did," said Leon dryly.
Laughing, the second cop said, "Ah, you crazy American, it's direct order from the Chief himself, I tell you it's no picnic."
In a sudden change of demeanor, Leon whacked the back of the man's seat with both hands in that friendly, manly gesture sort of way. "I'm counting on you guys," he said in a tone close to humor.
Leon watched with some amusement as the second cop shrugged to the driver. The car hit a bump in the uneven road as they drove deeper into the hazy woods. Suddenly the vehicle pulled to a stop and the passenger cop hopped out. Eyes half closed, Leon took to staring wistfully out the car window at the drab environment.
It was right before I was to take on my duties of protecting the president's daughter when she was abducted.
That's the ultimate reason I'm in this lonely and rural part of Europe. According to our intelligence – Leon's musing was interrupted when the driver turned to offer him a cigarette. Leon waved it away.
There's reliable information about a sighting of a girl that looks very similar to the president's daughter. Apparently she's being withheld by some unidentified group of people. Who would have thought that my first job would have been a rescue mission?
Leon barely looked up when the car door opened. Creepy cop number two was back. "Sorry it took so long," he said, closing the door. The engine revved to life and the ride began anew.
Staring out the window, Leon saw the swinging rope bridge ahead. The road led right to it. Now that does not look safe, he thought. I hope we aren't... The vehicle lumbered on to the bridge and slowly made its way across the ravine. Leon hoped he imagined the creaking noise outside.
Oddly enough, they made it safely to the other side without incident. The car pulled off the dirt road in what could almost be called a grassy turnaround. Leon shot a quizzical look to cops.
"Just up ahead is the village," said the driver.
Leon looked down the dirt road. Heaving a sigh, he said, "I'll go and have a look around."
"We'll stay and watch the car. Don't want to get any parking tickets," said the passenger, watching Leon.
Leon shot him a dirty look. "Right...parking tickets..."
"Good luck," added the driver.
Leon got out. "Jeez, who are these guys?" he muttered as he slammed the door and began to walk away.
"Did you say something?" asked the driver while rolling down the window.
Leon was about to turn and reply when his radio went off. He had to blink several times to make sure he really saw what he was seeing. A girl- no, a woman's - face was on a tiny screen of the communication device.
"Leon, I hope you can hear me," buzzed the female voice. "I'm Ingrid Hunnigan. I'll be your support on this mission."
"Loud and clear," Leon replied, still a little puzzled. "Somehow I thought you'd be older." Hunnigan adjusted her glasses at this added comment. Leon shrugged to himself and continued, "So the subject's name is Ashley Graham, right?"
"That's right. She's the daughter of the President. So try to behave yourself, okay?"
Leon harrumphed. "Whoever this group is, they sure picked the wrong girl to kidnap."
"I'll try to find more information on them on my end as well," said Hunnigan.
Pleased by this, Leon said, "Good. Talk to you later. Leon out."
The image faded from the screen and after one final look of bemusement, Leon stored the device away on his belt.
So no one knows anything about this place? Awesome ... I feel so prepared, Leon thought darkly. Heaving another sigh Leon pulled out his attaché case to see what supplies he actually had for this mission. Hopefully something better than the information he had been given. A handgun (awesome), some ammo for said handgun (yay), and health spray? Leon stared at the can of spray. Shaking his head, he made to close the case.
On second thought, Leon snagged the handgun just in case. He looked down the road towards the village. Nothing but trees, half-dead plants, and mist. Then something moved on the trail. Leon had to squint to see... oh look, birds! So there was some life out in this godforsaken forest. Leon took a few careful steps down the path. Those looked like crows. Vague memories of the evil black-feathered monsters surfaced in his mind. His eyes narrowed. Crows should die.
Leon took careful aim with the handgun and pulled the trigger. The gun went off with a loud bang and one of three birds dropped. Neither of its companions seemed to notice its sudden keel over. With a small grin, Leon swiftly eliminated the remaining two crows. Well, wouldn't you know? A pile of money shone on the ground where the feathers littered the dying matter. To his surprise, a large gem sat amid the coins. Pleased with this find, Leon pocketed his treasures and moved on after close inspection of the surrounding area.
Dry leaves crunched beneath his boots as he walked carefully down the path. The dense fog made seeing anything difficult, but he thought he saw the silhouette of a house between the trees. A pile of chopped wood stood along side the porch while a broken wheelbarrow was parked next to the side of the house. Leon did not see any form of transportation, but perhaps someone was home. He had to be sure. Maybe they had seen Ashley.
Rescue mission forefront in his mind, Leon mounted the stairs to step purposefully up to the... already open door? Confused by this, Leon stuck his head in the doorway, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he snuck into the house, gun in hand and crow guts on his boots.
In one swift action, Leon stepped around the corner, handgun held high in both hands only to find an older man tending a fireplace. Heart rate slowly dropping to normal, Leon lowered the weapon.
"Hey, excuse me sir," Leon said softly and made to reach for the man as though to tap him on the shoulder. However, a table stood in the way and the man did not appear to hear him. Leon shrugged to himself and sighed a little before stepping around the table. He tugged a crumpled photograph from his back pocket as he drew near the fellow.
The man straightened, his back to Leon. Leon's heart did a skip when the gentleman finally turned to face him. There was something wrong with that face, Leon could not put his finger on it, but something seemed off. With scraggly beard and piercing eyes, the man scowled darkly at Leon's intrusion.
As though to assuage the situation, Leon held out the photograph. Maybe he'll forget that I just barged right in… "I was wondering if you'd recognize the girl in this photograph?"
"Qué carajos estás haciendo aquí?" the old man spat at Leon, fuming. "Lárgate, cabrón!"
Blinking, Leon thought, What the hell is he saying? The man's tone was a less than subtle hint that Leon took. Cowed, but trying not to show it, Leon muttered, "Sorry to have bothered you."
Just as Leon made to put the photograph away, he noticed what the man had deliberately reached for. Leon barely managed to dodge to the side when the axe came slicing down. "Freeze!" Leon yelled, pointing the gun at the man.
Axe held high, the man continued to lumber forwards, a nasty curl warped his mouth.
"I said freeze!" warned Leon, gun aimed at the man's chest. Maybe it was just the language barrier, or maybe it was Leon's sudden appearance in the man's house, but whatever the reason he continued to stalk towards Leon.
Leon fired once into the guy's knee, hoping to stop him then and there. Such tactics did not work. The man simply staggered once before lunging with the sharp axe sweeping for Leon's head and vitals. Not wanting his skull to end up like a ripe melon, Leon adjusted his aim and shot the man in the face. A second bullet sent the reeling man flying to the ground near the stairs.
Staring in shock at the crumpled body, Leon could only stand numbly until he heard the rev of a motor. He flew to the window where the blinds hung in a haphazard mess and peered through a break. An old truck jolted off, tearing around the bend towards the parked police vehicle while several onlookers turned to the house.
Unable to see past the trees, Leon could only listen to the shrieking brakes and wild gunshots. There came a grating crush of metal on metal followed swiftly by more screaming tires and intermittent crunching.
Leon turned from the window. "Shit," he swore to the room.
Suddenly his radio went off. Amid the static, Leon heard Hunnigan's voice. "Is everything okay?"
"There was a hostile local," Leon informed her. The static cleared and Hunnigan's worried young face appeared on the screen. "I had no choice but to neutralize him. There are still others surrounding the area."
"Get out of there and head toward the village. Take whatever measures necessary to save the subject."
"Understood," Leon said with a nod.
The connection ended and Leon stashed the radio away. He could hear yelling outside. Not wanting to face the locals head on, Leon ran back to where he saw the stairwell. He stepped gingerly over the body, but as he did so something shining caught his eye. Leon knelt down and picked up a handful of gold coins not yet covered in the man's blood. With a mental shrug, he pocketed the find and ran up the stairs.
The stairs led him to a window. Simple, four paned, and covered with gritty dust, Leon made a face. He did a quick search of the balcony and to his surprise found handgun ammo sitting on a small table. The man downstairs had no more use for it, so Leon took it.
With a deft flick of his knife, he shattered the windowpane and aimed the handgun at the men milling out in the yard. One yelled up at him, shaking a stained axe in Leon's direction. Unimpressed, Leon pulled the trigger.
In a skillful twirl, the man crashed to the ground. Blood and bits of skull and brain littered the leaf matter. Impressed but revolted at the same time, Leon shifted his focus to the two remaining locals who began yelling and pointing. One ran out of sight in the general direction of the door.
Leon swept the sight to the last man in sight. A single shot to the head brought him down too. Leon stepped back from the window and shot a worried glance at the stairwell. The man could climb up at any time. His other option was to leap out the window. Why not? It would be unexpected. Throwing his arm up to protect his face, Leon front flipped out the second story window.
Rolling to his feet, Leon backpeddled away from the house, his handgun trained on the house. He nearly tripped on a hidden tree root and fully expected the man to be alerted to his stumbling gait. Sure enough, that strange language used by the locals cried out in angry chords from the porch. Side stepping the tree, Leon saw that the man held a pitchfork. If he got impaled with that, Leon was sure the tetanus would kill him first.
Leon's first shot grazed the man's ear when he dodged awkwardly to the side. Leon bit back a curse and re-aimed. A bullet to the chest that would fall any normal man only served to delay the approaching two-pronged pain on a stick. Gritting his teeth, Leon pointed the handgun at the man's head and fired. Once, twice, three times.
The man dropped like a sack of bricks, groaned once, and lay still. Leon wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve and stood for a moment to take in what just happened. Three bodies lay in the yard with another on the floor inside. They did not act like zombies, at least not like the zombies he remembered from Raccoon City, but they did not act like normal people either. Leon racked a gloved hand through his hair in bewilderment and set forth to see what became of the two cops.
He found the wreckage of both vehicles in the ravine. "Oh, no…"
The swinging bridge was also out of commission. Leon shook his head and walked back.
Something gleaned from the jacket of one of the bodies so Leon leaned down for a closer look. More money. It seemed wrong to loot from dead bodies, but at the same time they did not need the money any more. He looked up to see ammo peeking from the pocket of the body by the tree.
After thoroughly searching the area Leon continued down the beaten path. A wooden crate on the wheelbarrow fell to pieces with a single swipe of his knife, but had proven empty. A ramshackle old shed sagged on his right. There he found a few breakable boxes on the shelves, one of which held a green herb and the other more money. The final was empty.
Still not sure what he was supposed to do with the herb, Leon set it next to the health spray in his attaché case. Back on the trail, Leon held his gun ready as he walked briskly through the hazy forest. Dry leaves crunched beneath his feet, but otherwise the forest was still.
Ahead, Leon spotted the dark outline of two crows: one upon a signpost, the other scratching at the ground. He was forced to reload before he could eradicate the two feathered fiends. Two rounds of gunfire later found two dead birds splattered on the ground in twin piles of black feathers.
Crows drop money...and grenades? I'm gonna have to watch where I shoot these birds, Leon thought while staring at the grenade in his hand. Shrugging, he pocketed the money and the explosive before continuing on his way.
What he thought was a signpost actually turned out to be a sinister red stained post adorned with several human skulls. Leon felt a chill go up his spine and he gave the disturbing post a wide birth. The whole place reeked of creepy. Leon began to wonder what he was doing here.
Further along the path Leon heard the distinctive whine of an injured dog. The mist made it difficult to see very far ahead, but following the whimpers brought him to a dog caught in a bear trap. He watched the injured animal skeptically. Dogs were known to bite and attack when injured. Leon stood in contemplation. The dog whined at him and struggled pitifully.
Sighing, Leon let the dog sniff his hand. If the canine decided to viciously attack, Leon supposed he could lose a few fingers. Instead the animal gave a small bark and waited with its tail wagging.
"Well, all right then. Hang tight, pooch," he told it and squatted next to the bear trap. Grasping the rusted metal jaws, Leon strained to pry open the trap. He managed to open it a few inches, just far enough for the dog to tear free.
It scampered off without a second look back.
"So much for thanks," Leon muttered. He turned back to the path, but a flash of color caught his eye. A vibrant red herb curled up among the gnarled roots of a dormant tree. He already had a green herb, why not have a red one to go along with it? The red herb was tucked in next to the green herb and Leon continued down a steep hill.
He slid through the brush and into a small ravine containing a couple of trees and a lot of overgrowth. Also dynamite strapped to tree trunks. Leon shot one and threw his arm in front of his face aw it went off, spraying splinters and bits of tree everywhere. The way clear, Leon ran up the trail only to run into another local who Leon shot dead without thinking. He found more money for his trigger finger.
A second shed stood on his left, which Leon promptly entered. The last sagging wreck held treasures. Sure enough another box that looked easily broken was on a half-rotten table and a second had been shoved on a shelf. A potted herb sat next to it. Leon broke both and found another pile of coins and some handgun ammo. Potted herb in his case along with the extra ammo, Leon turned to leave.
WHAT. THE. FUCK. He stared blankly at the mangled body of a woman skewered to the wall of the shed by a pitchfork. Leon ran screaming out of the shed.
He had just rounded a bend when he heard someone else yelling. Unable to see, Leon plowed forward until he saw the group of locals gathered about a rope bridge.
A disgruntled man pointing at him yelled in the same foreign language. To Leon it sounded like "Aye yai eedo". He had no idea what that meant.
When Grumpy and his small posse rushed forward with various farm implements raised to strike, Leon leveled his handgun at them and laid them low. He had to reload after the brief skirmish, but was careful to remember to loot the bodies for fallen treasures.
Leon stood at the edge of a narrow bridge that looked to have been thrown together with bits of leftover plywood and held together with old rope. He took a deep breath and ran across before it fell out from under him. Down a sloping path he went, rock faces rising up beside him, forcing Leon to keep to the path.
Another shed stood just off the trail, but just before he reached it Leon spotted movement in the window. Taking careful aim, he sniped what he thought could have been a human. Judging by the yell, he was right. Soon enough, an irritated hatchet wielding man came running out of the doorway.
As Leon backed away, he shot at his attacker. First aiming to disarm the attacker then when that did not slow him, Leon shot to kill. Four painful rounds later and the man stopped moving. Why was it taking so many bullets to kill these people? Generally a straight shot through the heart or through the head laid the average man low.
Leon sighed and nudged the body with his foot. No response. He ducked his head inside the shed. A box of ammo for his handgun sat on the table while two boxes were lined up on the creaky shelves. Leon snagged the ammo and then proceeded to destroy the boxes where he found more ammo and money.
Happy with his find, Leon continued on.
A pair of solid wooden doors enforced by metal rods barred his way. Leon looked up at the strange design engraved in the wood before pressing the doors open to the region beyond.
Through the trees Leon could see distant rooftops. That must be the village, he thought, rushing forward. As he drew near Leon dashed behind a large tree that stood at a fork in the path. Peering around the side of the trunk at the village's center, he whipped out a pair of binoculars. While the rough bark supported him, Leon swept the binoculars over the village.
It looked ordinary enough. Several buildings huddled close together with a large tower on the far side of the village. People bustled about while chickens pecked and scratched at the dry earth. A fire burned in the middle of the square. Leon jerked the binoculars back to the fire and zoomed in.
There was a figure attached to a post in the fire. A massive hook stuck out of his chest. Feeling a bit sick, Leon lowered the binoculars and put them away. There was something wrong with these people. Leon only hoped that Ashley was okay.
He checked is inventory: twenty-six bullets (not counting the ten in his handgun after he reloaded it), a grenade, one red herb, two green herbs, and a health spray.
With a nod to himself, Leon stashed the case away and cocked his handgun. A thought crossed his mind. I wonder if I can snipe some from here? Just going around shooting people seemed wrong, but the past showed that they would attack on sight. Might as well beat them to it.
Leon leveled the handgun and took careful aim at the man pushing the wheelbarrow.
The man reeled and grabbed his face. The wheelbarrow overturned, spilling its contents and sending a chicken squawking away. Work froze in the village. A woman in an apron happened to catch a glimpse of Leon peering around the tree. She pointed in Leon's direction and yelled something too distant and jumbled for him to make out.
"Shit," Leon muttered as people swarmed out of the houses towards him. He ran a ways down the trail back towards the gate. With his back against something solid Leon turned to face the village once more, gun loaded and ready.
Sure enough, a small horde of people came blazing down the trail, various farm implements held high. One held a nasty looking butcher's knife.
A thought occurred to him and Leon pulled the grenade out of his back pocket, pulled the pin, and lobbed it into the approaching mob. A second later the explosive went off, showering the area with bits of dirt, twigs and other unmentionables.
"Aha, suckers," Leon said under his breath only to yell with surprise when someone grabbed him from behind. While fighting the chokehold, Leon saw the five new arrivals who had snuck up behind him. Either they had crawled over the gate very stealthily or they had appeared by magic. Either way, Leon had not heard them and this was a sudden problem especially with the new batch of yelling coming from the village.
One of the new arrivals charged just as Leon snap kicked the man off him. Both men went sailing into a third, putting all three temporarily out of commission. Leon spun to the two remaining and saw to his shock one of the victims of the grenade blast getting to his feet and rushing forward. Leon shot a bullet at the man's kneecaps before back kicking another attacker away. Someone yelped in pain.
While the earlier three struggled to their feet, Leon slashed at the man at his feet. The body no longer moving, Leon looked up in time to see grubby hands reaching for his neck. Several well-placed shots from his handgun at pointblank range took care of that threat.
By that time the new swarm was upon him.
"FUCK!" Leon yelled. He pulled a magazine from the ammo case and tried to jam it into the handgun as fast as he could. He got a shoulder full of rusty pitchfork for his trouble.
"Ow…" Leon groaned, staggering to the side holding his bleeding chest. A second lunged at him, knife in hand. Leon did what any other respectable person would do: roundhouse kick to the face.
Leon heard a nasty crack as gore flew everywhere. The woman's head just exploded, but Leon did not have time to ponder the mechanics of that. The mob fell back under the body, giving him time to deal with the people on his flanks. One lay dead on the ground, the other two were sprawled in the woods. Peeking out of one's jacket was the telltale sign of a grenade. Leon grabbed it and immediately chucked it at the recovering swarm.
Fire ignited everything in a blaze of death and destruction. Leon threw his hand in front of his face against the explosion and the sudden blast of heat. People screamed and waved amid the flames. A groan alerted Leon to the two men still alive next to him. Leon steadied his handgun and held it level at them.
A bell tolled.
To Leon's surprise, the two men walked right past him as though he did not exist, heading back towards the village.
"Lord Saddle…" one mumbled as they went.
Completely befuddled, Leon could only stare as they shuffled off. Shaking his head, he limped after at a respectable distance. All the remaining villagers stumbled towards a single building at the farthest side of town. The one that sported the same strange design that was on the village gate. In a matter of moments the village was abandoned while a bell continued to toll morosely in the background.
"Where's everyone going? Bingo?" Leon asked the empty village.