Let's be honest: the 'Ultimate HD Edition' of Resident Evil 4 wasn't exactly HD. Sure, the character models were a bit smoother, and the game actually played in 1080p ... but that's about it. Looking at the textures, you'd think they were placeholders, not the final artwork for an HD re-release. Resident Evil 4's style always looked good, but when it came to the technical side of things, Capcom didn't do much to change anything for the Ultimate HD Edition.
That's why a group of modders are taking things into their own hands: If Capcom isn't going to redo the game's textures, someone has to, right?
PC gaming is no stranger to fan-made graphical overhauls, but the 'RE4 HD Project' is taking things to an entirely new level. These aren't just high-resolution copies of the already-existing textures: the group is completely reworking all of the game's textures for Resident Evil in true HD. It might be hard to believe that a group of fans can rival professionally made art assets, but once you see the new textures, it'll be hard to go back:
First and foremost: for a game that was made all the way back in 2004, Resident Evil 4 still looks good, if a bit blurry. The original game was made back when HDTVs were still in their infancy, so it's understandable that the game's original textures weren't built for such high-res pictures. Then again, one could argue that it was Capcom's job to update the textures for the Ultimate HD Edition....
Either way, the new textures look fantastic. While there are a few spots in which some of the picture's contrast is lost, the RE4 HD Project is off to a great start. Keep in mind that everything shown is still in-progress – there's a good chance that everything will look even better as the team continues its work.
There's still no word on when the rest of the game will be done – as with all fan-made projects, there are a litany of different things that could halt production. If you want to stay up-to-date on the group's progress, you can head over to the official RE4 HD Project site.
As for the rest of Resident Evil, it looks like Capcom might be thinking about remaking Resident Evil 2. Let's just hope that the textures are actually updated this time around.
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