Resident Evil 4

Terror finds a new home on GameCube, as we offer our final verdict on what has to be the best survival-horror title on the planet! All-new videos included.

	Version GameCube, PS2	Developer Capcom	Publisher Capcom	Genre Survival Horror

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The game opens up with a brief sequence of Leon getting dropped off in the outskirts of the village by two Spanish officers. Afterwards, taking control of Leon, we venture through the woods, making tracks to a small cabin house nearby. Quickly, we're treated with the unfriendliest of hospitalities by the local, so using the pistol's infra-red beam, and taking advantage of the game's tight, point-specific targeting system, we take our host down with relative ease, before cleaning his house of any useful items. Working our way out of the house, we collect more items amidst the inhospitable wooded environment, while dealing some unusual fellows lying in wait. Things, it seems at this very early stage of the game, are off to a fine start.

By the time we made it to the village, it became quite apparent that the villagers had all lost their damn minds. We're relentlessly pursued all throughout the village by the weapon-wielding savages, and no matter where we hide or how high we climb, it's just a matter of time before they either fire-bomb us or come climbing in up ladders and through windows. Already we have experienced one of the game's incredibly tense moments.

Amd this high level of tension pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the game. It's this type of tenacity that makes the enemies in Resident Evil 4 so much more appealing than RE enemies of the past. There are no slow-moving, mindless, flesh eating zombies to contend with here; the enemies encountered are significantly smarter and faster than your average zombie, with full control of their motor functions allowing them to run, put up ladders to climb, and even operate machinery. And because they're not zombies, looks can sometimes be deceiving - for all intents and purposes these guys look and act quite normal - but only from a distance...

From afar, the villagers appear to be a small farm working community performing their daily chores, mucking out, and all that. Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary, but get close enough to get spotted and they'll let out an audible alert to the rest of the village and you'll find yourself on the run for your life from the murderously persistent mob, all while trying to figure out what you did wrong - just what in the hell their problem is. Which is one of the more intriguing aspects of the game - uncovering the mystery behind the bizarre behavior of the locals. As players progress through the game they'll slowly piece together the puzzle with the help of traditional RE styled notes.

There's just so much to love about Resident Evil 4 and it goes way beyond just the new types of enemies you'll encounter throughout your journey. For starters, the camera has improved by leaps and bounds providing a much more solid third-person view of the action. On top of that, players are provided with limited control of the camera, allowing them to adjust their viewpoint anytime during play. This is definitely a welcomed feature that allows players to look in all directions while scanning the environments for treasures and other valuable items. The camera's zoom feature, when equipped with binnoculars or weapons, is another great way of getting some extreme close-ups of the environments, possibly uncovering hidden items or spotting enemies in the distance.

The environments are certainly not the kind of places you'd want to find yourself walking through in the dark of the real world. Eschewing the traditional pre-rendered backgrounds of its predecessors and going with full 3D, Capcom has effectively crafted an expansive, free-roaming, 3D game world where a creepy town serves as the terrifying new setting. This certainly isn't Raccoon City and Leon quickly realizes that, as he takes players on a journey through the village, hostile wooded environments, a huge, old castle and mountainous regions - just to name a few.

Dense fog, chilling wind gusts, thunderous nighttime rain and even moments of silence serve as the proverbial calm before the storm, as you cautiously work your way through these places. It's these atmospherics that help make for some pretty tense and terrifying moments, as you round each corner never knowing who or what you'll bump into. Enemies are relentless - and with no place to hide, you'll often find yourself on the run, making for a truly "authentic" survival horror experience.

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