You owe it to yourself to pick up this modern classic. It’s truly the 'killer' GameCube app of 2005!

The Resident Evil series made its debut on the original Playstation console way back in 1996. It sent shockwaves through the gaming community with its violent and gory imagery and it established an immediate following among horror fans.

Over the past nine years, many sequels, prequels, and spin-offs have borne the Resident Evil moniker. Unfortunately, each iteration in the series seemed reliant on stagnant controls, fixed camera views, and an inconvenient inventory and save system.

As a result, many former fans had begun to look elsewhere for their digital scares. With the 2005 release of Resident Evil 4, GameCube owners around the globe have a reason to rediscover the franchise all over again. Resident Evil 4 is not only the best game in the series, but it’s the best reason to own a GameCube.

The game starts off with a rather predictable premise: the president’s daughter has been kidnapped, and former S.T.A.R.S. agent Leon Kennedy is sent on a black ops mission to infiltrate a backwater European town. Why the leader of a world superpower would send only one man into a hot zone to rescue his blood kin seems a bit of a stretch, but who cares?

Within moments, the action heats up leaving you little time to ponder the story’s plausibility as rabid townsfolk turn their murderous rage your character. Unlike previous games in the series, RE4 gives you plenty of ammo to deal with the situation.

You start your adventure toting nothing but a 9mm automatic and a commando knife. Weapon selection has been intuitively mapped to the shoulder buttons. Pressing the L Button will unsheathe Leon’s knife, while pushing the R Button will draw the selected firearm from your inventory. Aiming is done while you stand in place, so you won’t be strafing your prey a la Halo 2 or Ghost Recon.

You’d better hit your targets quickly, or else they’ll close the gap and disembowel Leon with all manner of scythes, sickles, pitchforks, chainsaws and flaming arrows. This is where location specific hit detection comes into play, as enemies in RE4 will react depending on where they’ve been hit by a particular weapon.

Headshots aren’t always the best approach, however; shots to the knees will cause most aggressors to drop to the ground, and you can even shoot dynamite-toting baddies in the arm and cause them to self-destruct. Each enemy has a weakness that must be learned and exploited quickly, or else you’ll take serious damage.

You’ll find or buy (yes, there is a merchant who’ll sell you arms in exchange for gold and antiquities) many different types of weapons including a mine thrower, riot gun, RPG, and machine pistol. These armaments can be upgraded to increase magazine size, speed up reload times, and improve power and accuracy.

Some weapons allow you to attach scopes and stocks as well. You can also buy larger attaché cases, which will enable you to carry more inventory (which is highly recommended). This level of customization alone makes this game leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors, but the improvements don’t stop there.

The visuals found in RE4 are stunning. Excellent character modeling and animation make the world come alive, while detailed level design and texture mapping set the stage. Volumetric fog and particle effects further increase the level of tension, as far off enemies are barely seen while their incessant moans grow louder with each plodding step.

The game is no slouch in the audio department, either. Resident Evil has long been known as a campy series light on quality voicing, but here it’s evident that much time and effort has been spent on top-notch dialogue and professional acting. Leon is the “master of unlocking” with his foot instead of with cheesy lines.

Control has been tightened in several ways. Though Leon cannot strafe, he can run like before. Since the camera is now fixed behind his body, the world swings quickly into view. He can execute a quick 180 to escape tense situations.

It’s not a perfect arrangement, but it’s a huge improvement over the sluggish “Atari 2600 Combat” mechanics of the original. In addition, Leon can perform different actions based on context. If he’s standing near a window, he’ll have the option to jump through it.

If he’s standing at the top of a ladder, he can knock it down and send his pursuers crashing to the ground. He can block attacks from some enemies, and he can even outrun rolling boulders with repeated tapping of the A Button. Each situation is different and requires the player to be on his or her toes almost constantly.

Save stations and checkpoints are spread liberally throughout each of the game’s huge and wonderfully detailed environments. The map system clearly designates your current objectives and it will guide you along during your horrific 25+-hour adventure. One play through won’t be enough, since there are unlockable weapons and play modes to be acquired.

Resident Evil 4 improves on every imperfection that’s plagued the series from the start, and it introduces some novel gameplay mechanics and role-playing elements that will satisfy action fans as well as horror aficionados. Puzzles and traps are sprinkled lightly throughout the game, and won’t stump most people.

They do add a nice variety to the experience and offer a brief pause in the usually frantic pacing. That doesn’t mean the game is easy, though. There will be times when Leon will take the big dirt nap violently and unexpectedly. Thankfully, the game will let you continue as often as needed from the last checkpoint, which is usually closer than the last save.

In total, there are many reasons why Resident Evil 4 is a must-have classic. If you’re of the right age and sound mind to handle the game’s mature subject matter (parents, this is not a game for children under 17), you owe it to yourself to pick it up.


Review by Franklin Beans.