Technologies

Resident Evil 4 Remake Takes the Horror Level of the Original Up a Notch

It’s scary good.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is a significant improvement over the original game, but not in the ways Resident Evil fans might expect.

With its over-the-shoulder camera and precision aiming, Resident Evil 4 revolutionized not only survival horror but the shooter genre as a whole when it was released in 2005. With this remake, developer Capcom included a slew of enhancements and optimizations that make this once revolutionary game even better.

Buy Resident Evil 4 Remake

$60 at Target

With its previous remakes of Resident Evil, Capcom mainly focused improvements on three areas: controls, presentation and mechanics. This time around, the control and presentation advancements are a little less dramatic, mainly because Capcom is updating a newer video game.

Improvements to presentation in RE4 Remake focus mostly on mood. One issue I and many other Resident Evil fans had with the original RE4 was simple: It wasn’t that scary. This remake, however, addresses that. Capcom ups the fear factor with several improvements to the mood and setting, from the horrific-looking monsters to nerve-wracking areas where Leon’s flashlight is the only light source. These enhancements make RE4 Remake a wonderfully horrific experience for any Resident Evil fan.

The biggest advancements in RE4 Remake are in the game’s mechanics. Capcom has fixed the «Ashley problem.» For those unfamiliar with RE4, Leon from Resident Evil 2 returns to the series. He’s on a mission to rescue Ashley, the president’s daughter, from a cult in rural Spain. After he finds her, Ashley becomes his partner, adding an escort mechanic to the game. In the original, Ashley was controlled by AI and there were many frustrating moments when she’d get in the way of Leon’s shots or be quickly snapped up by enemies, leading to a game-over screen.

In RE4 Remake, Leon can now order Ashley to stay further behind him so she rarely gets caught in the crossfire. She also does a good job of avoiding enemies, making it less likely for her to get abducted. The improvements to Ashley transformed a character who was disdained by fans of the game into someone who’s both charming and endearing.

Capcom also beefed up the backstory and motivations of other characters in RE4 Remake. New documents and files from the villagers and others make them more sympathetic. In turn, the bosses who took advantage of those people feel even more evil than originally depicted. These compelling characters made for a more emotional playing experience, unlike the original, where they came off as campy and hokey.

a chainsaw wielding man with a bag over his head — Dr. Salvador is back and creepy as ever.

Screenshot by Oscar Gonzalez/CNET

I had developed a distaste for the original RE4 because it led the series down a path that took horror out of the franchise. The remake revitalized my fondness for the game, taking me back to 2005, when I first played the original. Back then, seeing a game play so differently from the older Resident Evil titles was mind-blowing. Now this remake creating a true horror vibe with interesting characters is giving me a lot of that same joy.

RE4 Remake comes out on Friday for $60 on PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 20, #1766

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for April 20, No. 1,766.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle has a couple of rare letters in it. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels, and then one of those is repeated, so you will see that one twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with W.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with E.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to forming fabric by interlacing long threads, perhaps on a loom.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is WEAVE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 19, No. 1765, was STAND.

Recent Wordle answers

April 15, No. 1761: BEGUN

April 16, No. 1762: CUBIT

April 17, No. 1763: BELLE

April 18, No. 1764: TOADY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 20 #778

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 20, No. 778.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle offers an interesting mix of words, and they all begin with the same two letters. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Gloriously glaring!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Shimmery.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TEAM, MATE, HATE, GATE, LIST, LISTEN, GLEE, LINT, CHEAT, HEAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GLOW, GLEAM, GLINT, GLITTER, GLISTEN, GLIMMER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CATCHTHELIGHT. To find it, start with the C that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Turn up the Volume With These EarFun Air Pro 4 Earbuds While They’re Down to Just $63

The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are the perfect choice for budget-conscious shoppers who still want every audio perk available.

Right now we’ve spotted EarFun AirPro 4 earbuds for just $63, which saves you $17 with Amazon Prime. In addition to this discount, shoppers can save an extra 5 or 10% when making other eligible purchases. Though not exactly its lowest price, it’s just $10 previous short of its previous low record price and one best deals on audio gear we can expect right now.

The earbuds are frequently discounted from their $80 list price, but that $63 price is a significant discount. CNET Executive Editor David Carnoy reviewed the Earfun Air Pro 4, noting that its wireless charging, ear-detection sensors and multipoint Bluetooth pairing for using with multiple devices are all very useful perks.

Carnoy does note that voice-calling performance for these earbuds doesn’t come anywhere close to premium earbuds like Apple’s AirPods Pro, but when these earbuds cost a fraction of that, they could be a good value for someone who just wants something easy to use for listening to music and podcasts.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

This earbuds offer many of the same features as those found in top brands, all for a fraction of the price. Be sure to lock in this low price, as we doubt it will fall any lower anytime soon.