Resident Evil 4

Survival/horror games come in many different forms. Konami makes theirs extra creepy. Tecmo's photography-inspired Fatal Frame series more subtle, shocking and surprising the player at the least-expected moments. Nightmare Creatures was cool but had more gore than scares.

Among the survival/horror games is one series that everyone looks to for inspiration. It's the series that turned the genre into a viable medium for developers, and it's the series gamers look to for the best in things that pop out and say "boo!" – Resident Evil.

Once a PSone exclusive, a Dreamcast exclusive, and most recently a GameCube exclusive, Resident Evil has slowly crept its way back to PlayStation. An updated version of CODE Veronica was released for PS2 about a year after its Dreamcast debut. Likewise, Resident Evil 4 has been updated and ported over to PS2, bringing the best of GameCube's best action game to Sony's console, minus a few significant graphic elements.

Redefined with a new camera perspective, Resident Evil 4 looks like a third- or first-person shooter. Don't be fooled – the gameplay is true to its roots. Strafing is not a part of this eerie world, nor can you run forward and back up with ease. Character movement is based on the original game. You still have to hold down a button to run and hold another to draw your weapon. This time drawing your weapon lets you aim and pinpoint the exact area you wish to shoot, a brilliant addition that makes the game so much creepier. As the enemy closes in, filling the screen with their ugly faces, the game convincingly makes you feel that you're the one being attacked, not Leon.

Resident Evil 4 is a game of big surprises, the first of which occurs after your first battle. New weapons, including more powerful shotguns and an excellent sniper rifle, seem like a dream come true until you discover why the game provides them: to take out the dozens of deadly new creatures that have been born. The snake from the first Resident Evil was just the beginning. Boss battles occur more frequently and have a greater advantage in size this time around.

The most common enemies are dazed humans. Surely you'd think they were zombies if Capcom hadn't been telling us otherwise. They wanted us to know that it wasn't some silly T-Virus turning humans into flesh-hungry monsters. These guys aren't hungry. Chances are you won't see them bite into a single human, living or dead. Their eyes are as black as night, yet some of them have an eerie red glow that makes you wonder what's really going on inside their heads. You won't find out exactly what they are until the end, but I can tell you that they're smarter, faster, and hit much harder. They carry weapons, break down doors, climb up ladders, and will do whatever it takes to get to you.

Shake to escape.

The most frightening enemy is a chainsaw massacre that takes multiple hits to be killed. Grab your shotgun (found seconds before the first massacre arrives!) and any grenades you have and prepare yourself for one of the most horrifying battles ever had in a survival/horror game. You hear him coming, you'll eventually see him coming, and that's what makes it so scary. Handgun bullets will not stop him. Flame grenades kill most enemies but will only damage the massacre. That wonderful shotgun of yours will have gone through five or six rounds before he's down and stays down.

Having played through the GameCube version I knew exactly what would happen and prepared myself accordingly. I cornered myself into the back wall of a building, waited for the massacre and his non-zombie friends to attack, then attacked with everything I had. It was quite effective. But on my first time through I must've been killed five or six times before I came up with a successful strategy.

Following this fierce battle is the revelation that in addition to finding the weapons the old way, you can now purchase them from a masked vendor. It's unknown why the vendor helps or how he gets in and out of each area without being killed. Each vendor location is lit with two blue torches, a visual that becomes a happy, relaxing moment whenever you see them. Handguns, shotguns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles – those are the basics. Within the first half of the game you'll be able to acquire a TMP (two machineguns for dual-wielding), a mine thrower, and a very powerful revolver.

None of these items come cheap. Upgrades should be considered the most expensive item in the game since you'll be spending most of your cash them. To earn money you must first collect and trade expensive items or kill enemies and hope they leave behind several gold pieces. Most don't. In my experiences with the PS2 and GameCube version, about 60 to 70% of the enemies left behind herbs, ammo, or money. All are extremely important. I can't tell you how many times I've died because I didn't have enough ammo to continue fighting. The knife comes standard, but it won't help you against a pack of angry non-zombies.

A look at RE4’s expandable inventory screen.

Leon Kennedy, the rookie cop we met in Resident Evil 2, is back as the leading character for his second term with the series. He's been commissioned to save the President's daughter. The story goes up and down from there, having some intriguing moments and others that are rather convoluted and do nothing to advance the series. You do run into some old friends, including Ada Wong, who has additional playable missions in this version. More often than not the dialogue is cheesy and/or lacks believability.

Toward the end of Leon's quest a few things happen that set the stage for Resident Evil 5, though at this point there's no telling where the story will go next. One thing you can be certain of: the past can be buried, but it's never really dead.

Gameplay: 9.7
As spectacular as the GameCube version and more impressive than any survival/horror game before it, Resident Evil 4 will leave you shocked, surprised, and mesmerized. The new gameplay perspective ingeniously reinvents the series without changing it to the point where you question whether or not this is a Resident Evil game you’re playing. There is no question – this is Resident Evil. The Resident Evil we’ve been waiting for since we first explored Raccoon City in 1996.

The new enemies are scary, overwhelming, and will (at times) have you running like a terrified mouse being chased by a snake. But these monsters … some of them are much bigger than snakes. In fact, one of them is big enough to swallow two of the snakes from the first Resident Evil. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Graphics: 8.9
Resident Evil 4 gets the most out of PS2 with horrific realism and character models that look as good as the GameCube version. Light, shadow and background detail are considerably lower only when compared to the Cube, which has more power for those effects. Compare it to other PS2 titles and it ranks up there with Metal Gear Solid 2.

Sound: 9.0
An incredible score that will envelops with new sounds that take cues from the past. It's clearly a Resident Evil game throughout, but the soundtrack is entirely new – no songs have been recycled. Dolby Pro Logic II is supported, for those of you who can afford the proper sound system.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The most balanced survival/horror game in years, Resident Evil 4 is filled with ultra-challenging battles that will terrify you for hours. The boss battles are a little weak but the thrill of fighting them is unbelievable. They’ll take your health, but it’s those dazed and confused humans that’ll make that infamous red screen appear, “You are dead!”

Concept: 9.0
Resident Evil 4 is converted to PlayStation 2 with the original gameplay intact and as many of the visual effects as possible, plus new weapons (including a bow gun better than the one your enemies use) and new playable chapters with Ada Wong.

Overall: 9.5
Millions of gamers lost touch with Resident Evil when it jumped ship. Here's your chance to make things right. Resident Evil 4 is Capcom's finest work. Everyone talks about production values, and as much as I hate to look at a game that way, there's no denying how much time and money was put into RE4's development. The graphics are beautiful, the monsters are unreal, and the gameplay is the most action-packed a survival/horror game has ever been. You're not always running, but you're constantly on the move and constantly in fear. It's a grand experience. Resident Evil 5 will be the series long-awaited return to the PlayStation brand, but don't wait till then to come back. The future is now. The future is Resident Evil 4.