Resident Evil 4

I got this game yesterday, and already it is kicking a lot of ass. The action is already intense, and I know I'm am NO WHERE near the halfway point of the game.

Pros: Just about everything! Graphics, action, and enemy AI have never been better in the resident evil titles. Very few games out there can match the AI and action. The game even has a decent sense of humor, and the game challenges you from the start.

Cons: Saving is still not that easy. Though those annoying, horrendous ink ribbons are finally gone, you still need to find a typewriter to save the game. However, there are several located throughout the game. Like I said, the game challenges you... A LOT. This is one of the hardest games I have, and I own more than my fair share.

Overall, this game is easily the 2005 game of the year. If you have a gamecube and not this game, why? What are you waiting for? If you have a PS2, go out and get this NOW. I said the game was hard, but I, like many others, love a challenge. Though it may seem hasty to submit a comment the day after I get this game and haven't beaten it, this should give you the idea of how great it is.

10/10. Brilliant.

There's one standard that I always use to judge the quality of a game: If my girlfriend actually encourages me to play so she can watch, I know it's good. Very few games have passed this test - the original Silent Hill, Blood Omen, Resident Evil 1 and 2, and now Resident Evil 4. Not only is it totally immerse to play, but it's even fun to watch.

I'll admit that when I first played the demo (for about five minutes) I was a little nervous: The new over-the-shoulder camera setup was a little "un-Resident Evil," and the crazed hillbillies weren't comfortably familiar, like the lumbering zombies in the previous games. And some of the new moves (like diving through windows) seemed cheesy and over-the-top. However, after hearing from so many places that the game was great, and seeing so many reviews that had to rely on principle or nitpicking to find a problem with the game, I forked over fifty bucks.

And all I can say is, daaaamn. The only problem I've found with this game is that it'll make all the previous Resident Evil games suffer by comparison. This is what I really wanted - and just about got - from all of them. Who hasn't watched Dawn of the Dead and wanted to run around blasting the undead with a hunting rifle? Well, here's your chance, and you can even watch their heads explode in glorious 3-D. Ever wanted to shoot a monster in the knees, then mow it with an automatic weapon while it's down? Step right up.

Yes, lots of changes have been made to the game. Some of them seem like natural outgrowths of one another: It would be too easy to pinpoint aim and kill slow-witted, slow-moving zombies, so the enemies here are a little sharper and quicker. The camera no longer obstructs your view of a scene, which was frustrating but also a familiar hallmark of the previous games. And there are some RPG elements added that make the whole thing more "game-like," like a merchant who sells weapons and gun upgrades, and who buys treasures you find around the game. Enemies drop money, ammo, or health items when they die; the new "yellow herb" increases your maximum health. But all of these work to make the game a little more open-ended and a little more engaging (it's so much fun seeing in numbers just how powerful your magnum is). One mini-game, the shooting gallery, is unbelievably addictive, but well worth it: As a reward for completing each set of cheesy wooden targets you get money and a collection of "bottle caps" - little action figure-like models of enemies and allies from the game, who play low-fi recordings of their character sounds. It's downright hilarious.

For all its changes, though, Resident Evil 4 still FEELS like a Resident Evil game. It contains elements obviously important from the ultra-slick movie franchise - like slow-motion fight scenes and a challenging laser-dodge sequence - and other fun, over-the-top action movie tropes (pressing the action button near a second-floor window causes you to dive through the window, roll, and get to your feet), but it also contains the Resident Evil trademarks. The monsters are all weird perversions of real creatures - from humans to insects - the environments are atmospheric and creepy. the ever-more-powerful weapons are too much fun to play with, the characters interact in melodramatic shouts and cheesy one-liners, and, most importantly, you get the feeling that the enemy plans to win by sheer numbers.

It took me exactly twenty hours to beat the game: at the end my kills tallied up at just over 1,000: this game is huge. My girlfriend asked near the end of one chapter, "Is this the end?" and I said, "No, there's still another disk left." The graphics are so lush and beautiful that at least once I actually stopped between slayings to admire the backgrounds. The water effects and superb and the fire effects even better (the scene even wavers with heat); the environment is beautifully textured and some new elements - like destructible barrels and boxes and the ability to hop over obtrusive railings or fences - add an unprecedented (for a RE game) level of interactivity. When a beast dies its blood flies out in all directions; if your decapitate an enemy with your shotgun the bony stump spews blood with graphic detail.

After finishing the game you get a harder difficulty setting, and two mini-games become available: Assignment Ada, in which you play as Ada Wong through the final portion of the game, and The Mercenaries, a timed endurance round with four super-cool unlockable characters. I can't wait to play through it again.

There's also one other thing that, for me, really made the game. At one point you are in a run-down chapel inside a demonic castle, and you see an elaborate chest inside a glass case. Inside the chest is a (holy) hand grenade. I laughed out loud.

After thoroughly playing through Resident Evil 4, I still think that Resident Evil 4 is one of the best from of the Resident Evil series. It's nice to see Capcom taking a step away from the regular zombies which they regularly use.

You play as Leon S. Kennedy. You'll probably recognize the name from Resident Evil 2. Your assignment is to rescue the daughter of the President of the United States. After which, Leon travels to Spain to search for Ashley. The odds of success are strictly stacked against Leon.

You'll encounter many scenarios similar to the Resident Evil series, including the infamous "Avoid the Lasers" from Resident Evil the Movie. You'll have to get through several puzzles, dodging several obstacles and events within the cut scenes to avoid a gruesome death.

There's more to this game than just shooting enemies, there is a fantastic storyline to this game, but I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences.

STORY: 5/5: Leon S. Kennedy, four years after participating in the Raccoon City incident, is working for the Secret Service, and his first assignment is protecting the President's daughter, Ashely Graham. The day before he starts, she is kidnapped. Following a possible sighting, Leon is sent to what is apparently a small farming community in Spain. When he arrives, he is attacked by the villagers, and his two police escorts are killed. He must find Ashley, and unravel the mystery behind the village and its mysterious cult.

The length of it is good, as every step of the way uncovers new details and you are never left in an overly long sequence with no plot advancement. I am really surprised the plot was this good.

GAME DESIGN: 25/25: As you go through the plot, you are must go through five chapters, each with a certain number of subchapters. You will travel to three main areas, one of which is the village, one of which is a castle and a third which I will not reveal to you. The levels are somewhat free-roaming, as you can backtrack as you please, but eventually, areas will become cut off to you.

You will encounter many enemies along the way, of course. Don't think you'll ever be lucky enough to be one-on-one, however. Unless it is a boss character, chances are that the whole point of the encounter is to put as many angry villagers (called Ganados) in your path as possible, and make you go insane as you struggle to survive. The game is incredibly effective at making you panic, especially at times when you are inside a small house and surrounded by Ganados busting windows to get in. These are terrifying sequences, and they seem incredibly real.

The boss characters you encounter are very unique. Starting off with a battle with you in a boat, only able to use spears as a giant sea worm charges at you, sends you into driftwood, and opens its gaping jaws as you swim back to your boat, you are automatically given the impression that this game means business. The bosses that follow never quite live up to the uniqueness of that first boss, but still are all fresh and challenging.

Of course, with this many enemies there should be some cool weapons. The weapons are very traditional, which adds to the realism of the game. You will be equipped with pistols, machine guns, shotguns, rifles, magnums, grenades and the occasional rocket launcher, but it is never too far-fetched in terms of weaponry. Granted, you will encounter such odd weapons as the Mine Thrower and the Chicago Typewriter.

To give you due warning, never put down your controller. In the middle of some cinema scenes, a prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen for you to press buttons quickly to avoid death. In fact, one mini-boss battle is fought entirely in a cinema scene. This is exceptionally effective for keeping the gamer on his toes.

For much of the game, you will be with Ashley Graham, and be forced to protect her. If she dies, the game ends just like if you die. You will be only able to command her to 'wait' or 'follow' normally, though occasionally the need for other commands will arise. It is a working system, as anything more would distract from the fast-paced nature of the game. Luckily, before most big battles, you will be able to tell her to hide away in a dumpster, and once you progress further into the game, there will be more and more times where you will not have to worry about her.

The design has few if any flaws. The game is consistently heart-pounding, exciting, eventful and interesting.

PLAY CONTROL: 19/20: The controls for this game are very unique. It is from an over-the-shoulder viewpoint. You cannot move and shoot, but by pressing the right shoulder button, it will zoom in slightly and the control stick will move the gun you are holding. It is tough to explain, but while at first it seems very odd, once you get used to it, it is a wonder why this has never been used before. The only problem is that, because it is over the shoulder, most shots veer to the left. This may add to the realism and panic factors, but at times, it can be very annoying. Overall, fresh and original controls prevail, and this is a great flagship for this setup.

GRAPHICS: 20/20: The graphics are simply stunning. Looking over a village filled with insane residents carrying torches, pitchforks and the occasional chainsaw, is a very hard task to accomplish. It all looks completely real. You can sense the madness these Ganados carry with them just by looking at them. All the creatures look original and incredible. The environment has this kind of washed-out effect to it, and it seems as dreary as it could possibly be. This game is incredible at establishing a mood through the setting.

SOUND: 5/5: I never have much to say about sound, and this is no exception. The sound captures the mood perfectly, and the voice acting is spot on. But a single sound (or lack thereof) in this game can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight.

SATISFACTION: 24/25: This is a game that is as good as it gets. The single player is among the best I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and is very replay-able, especially once additional modes are unlocked.

TOTAL: 98%: There is very little wrong with this game. This is the best title there is for the Gamecube right now. Screw Metroid Prime, screw The Wind Waker, screw SSBM. Resident Evil 4 is the best gaming experience I have had since Ocarina of Time.

As an RE fan, Resident Evil 4 has truly proved to be the best in the series. It excels in all aspects, from the controls to the graphics, this game is amazing and extremely fun.

I was a bit skeptical about this game because of the changes in its story and all of the "no more zombies" rumors, but thank Capcom for those changes because they have taken the series into new grounds of survival horror and the gaming experience itself.

The best thing about this game are the graphics. The cut-scenes are rendered in such detail that they breathtakingly embrace the player. The dialogue is furthermore improved compared to the previous RE games. The story is fast paced and always keeps you on the edge of your seat. Resident Evil 4 is undoubtedly the best game of 2005, and of course the best in the entire RE series.

10/10 stars(personally I would give it 100:P)