Resident Evil 4's control scheme translates over very well to the Wii. Since both movement and aiming are assigned to the left control stick in the GameCube and PS2 versions of the game, there is no need to reinvent the game's camera control to incorporate the remote; rather the remote's pointer functionality is layered on top of the existing control to add free aiming that is always available rather than being relegated to an aiming sub-mode. A new aiming reticule suitable to the pointer-based aiming has been added, replacing the original laser sight.

With the control implementations seen at this stage in the system's life, the Wii remote has seemed better suited to aiming within a given screen rather than to control the screen view itself. This meshes naturally with a game such as Resident Evil 4, whose gunplay revolves around running from point to point and setting up positions from which to take well-aimed shots rather than taking a constantly mobile, strafing-and-shooting approach. Pulling off pointer-based headshots is as satisfying as one would expect.

The game does still feature a separate shooting mode, accessed with the right trigger, which adds camera control to the pointer, but now it is more practical to shoot outside of that mode as well, since fine aiming is always possible. The pointer-based aiming has been well tweaked and feels smooth and consistent, rather than making frequent noticeable jumps at the slightest hand movement.

The other main control addition in Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition is its "search knife" feature. Shaking the Wii remote will cause protagonist Leon to swipe his knife, and by default that swipe will essentially "target" the closest enemy. Most of those who played Resident Evil 4 likely had the experience of missing an enemy in close combat due to the camera aim being a bit off, and Capcom hopes to eliminate that occurrence with the search knife. Players who prefer the original system have the option of enabling that instead.

Most other controls, such as running and the quick 180 degree turn, translate over directly. Unlike in many games, sub-menu control, used to arrange or select items and weapons, has wisely retained analog stick control rather than being pointer-based. Reloading still happens automatically when attempting to fire on an empty clip, but now to reload manually one gives the controller a quick shake while in shooting mode rather than pressing a button while in shooting mode.

Interactive cutscenes play out the same as in the GameCube and PS2 games, with a variety of button presses or button combinations required at crucial moments to keep Leon out of trouble. Now, certain actions such as wild knife slashes or shaking off enemies are mapped to shaking the remote rather than hammering on the action button.

Graphically, the game uses RE4's GameCube engine; Capcom noted that most of the development effort on the game has been spent tuning the controls, so there were no graphical upgrades. That said, Resident Evil 4 on GameCube remains one of the best looking 480p-native games around. Thankfully, true 16:9 support has been added, making up for a frustrating omission in the GameCube game. It also retains Dolby Pro Logic II sound. All of the extra content added to the PlayStation 2 version of the game--including the Separate Ways campaign revolving around Ada Wong, and the new weapons and costumes--has also been included in the Wii Edition.

Those who have managed to avoid playing through Resident Evil 4 on both GameCube and PlayStation 2 may at this point simply want to wait for Wii Edition when it ships this summer. Retailers are listing the game at a budget price of $29.99, and if that holds true, those who have already tried the game out may be tempted to give it another go as well.