The Good
The first thing you notice about the game is the graphics. The immense detail on everything is astounding, and you'll just simply love the game for it. Voice acting is good, although some moments 'lacking' (that's the only way I can explain it), however, this only seemed to occur on one occasion so it didn't really affect the overall acting. Thank god.

The nest thing (which is hard to miss, considering that it's the main focus of the game) is the horror, action and survival. It takes everything good from the past games, makes them better then adds more. The scare and horror aspects are great, with things that create a lasting effect. For instance, the village. I play the game numerous times just for that segment of the game. It's great how you can go around blasting the locals, or make a stand and line them up like a shooting range, or you can lock yourself in a house and let them all invade from the doors and windows using ladders and various weapons which really will make your heart pound as they all seek your blood. Oh yeah, be sure to stay away from that chainsaw maniac (the main reason your heart starts to speed up).

The story is simplistic, but more than enough for you to still be interested and play right up to the end. For extra replay value, there is a mini-game in which you go around as any character and fight for survival, in an addicting and exciting way. After completion of the game, there's also a side-quest from the view of a different character which will add a few minutes to its game life.

For further in-game extras to keep you interested, you can kill for money and buy, sell and upgrade your items. Also, the shooting range mini-game is quite fun with collectible rewards for your efforts.

The Bad
The only thing I felt lacking was the fact that, whilst the Resident Evil remake released before this had smooth dark graphics, this installment seems to have some things 'rough'. For instance, the ground, the trees and some other things seem to be rough, whereas the previous game had its things more smooth. You tend not to notice though as only a few buildings and items have this 'rough look'.

Whether this 'rough' look was intentional or not, I don't know, but I though I'd state it anyway.

The Bottom Line
This is a huge step forward for horror games, and especially the Resident Evil series. Although there is a distinct lack of the undead foe, the villagers and the mutant creatures make fair replacements. This game is probably the killer app of the Game Cube (killer app = best game of the console / best game of its time / a game that made the console stand out). This game, simply put, deserved all of "the game of the year" awards that it won and was nominated for. If you love horror, or action games, you WILL buy this game.

The Good
The game looks absolutely gorgeous, I didn't even know the GameCube was capable of producing anything that looks like this, hell I didn't even know the Wii could handle these graphics. Everything just looks insanely awesome and it was during a boss-fight with a giant fish that I was halfway expecting the system to just explode because of all the awesomeness on the screen. Yes, everything is brown and a lot of character models are recycled, but I don't give a damn, it's great.

The best part about this game is its variety, you never solve the same puzzle twice or encounter the same scenario more then once. I was always filled with glee once a certain section was finished, just because it meant I could discover what the game had in store for me next. The earlier mentioned fight with the giant fish is a great example, but there was also a great scene in which you and a support character hide in an abandoned building while dozens of angry peasants try to enter it from all sides.

I also really love the characters, while the story is what you expect from Capcom (it's absolutely retarded, but that's why we all love the company so much). The mysterious Luis felt like a true friend and Ashley was much more enjoyable to have along then I expected. Salazar was also just a barrel of fun, but I won't spoil him because that might rob you off the biggest "rofl" you'll ever have.

The inventory screen is revolutionary; the idea is that you have a suitcase and every item (bullets, weapons, herbs etc.) takes up a certain amount of spaces. A herb is only two spaces, but a pistol already takes up four and if you want a rocket launcher (or some other big weapon) you'll have to cut corners. Items can also be stacked and combined in order to save space and you can also destroy anything in your inventory at any time you wish. It's also interesting to spend a few minutes puzzling around with all the items in an attempt to still fit another gun somewhere.

Because of all the different weapons in the game you are able to decide your own style, you don't have as much choice as in an RPG, but you can still throw away all your weapons in favor of an SMG if you really want. Personally I stuck to the always reliable pistol and shotgun with a sniper and rocket launcher as back-up. Here is a little hint though: Always have a sniper on you, if you don't, you will not make it past the sections in the military base.

I don't get why this game is filed under the horror category, there were maybe two sections that made me feel afraid were that one part where you have no weapons and one moment very early on when a farmer I presumed to be dead placed a pitchfork in my throat while I was looking for secret coins. The crowning moment of this game is in a boss-fight with the village elder that looks like a scary enemy at first, but after a few shots his lower body will drop off and he will swing around the barn like a hyperactive monkey on Red Bull.

This game was a gift from a good friend, so it will always be a cherished part of my collection.

The Bad
Every once in a while this game will pull a dick move extraordinaire and randomly throw a Quick-time event at you. There are the standard ones like spam a button to free yourself from a grip and kicking a stunned enemy, but during some cutscenes you will also have to quickly press a button combination in order to avoid an instant kill. However not all cutscenes do this, even if Leon is in danger, so you never know when to be ready for it. The game also cheeky habit of placing a snake in like six boxes spread across the entire game, so if you are low on health and hoping a box will have herbs in it, you'll get to eat shit.

The controls are horrendous, is there any other game out there where you use the right-trigger to aim your weapon and A to fire? If so, then that means that more then one developers needs to start making sense. The now free left-trigger is used to ready your knife instead which is also fired by tapping A, can we leave the A button alone for mercies sake? The A button is for performing actions like jumping and crawling, that's what it's comfortable with! Aside from that there is also the slow movement, the fact that you need to arse Leon to open the door faster even if a mad Spaniard is throwing axes at him and the lack of precision when trying to navigate past traps.

Talking about traps, why the hell can enemies walk over them without hilariously screaming as the sharpened metal chops off their feet? When they walk over them nothing happens, even if you join them it still doesn't work (the metal only hurts you). You can cause some traps to explode and that will hurt enemies, but it still doesn't make much sense.

The game has no autosave, so if you start playing this game at night and get stuck halfway through the chapter, I hope you weren't planning on going to work the next day. There are typewriters which can be used to save progress mid-chapter, just like the radios in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, but they are hidden (oddly enough also like in MoH). You can see them on your map, but I forgot I had the map because finding the right way to go on your own is much more fun than opening your inventory every ten seconds. Also, this is the kind of game where a boss-fight can be around every corner, so don't ever skip on a chance to safe.

The game kind of collapses when you arrive at the military complex, the problem is that from that point onward you won't see any of the peasants and cultists anymore and you'll just end up fighting lots of armed soldiers like every other damned shooter. At this point I was ten hours into the game, but it felt like freaking thirty and then there were the regenarators... oh Christ. Here is the deal, these bastards have parasites in them that regenerate all their damage, so in order to kill them you have to kill the parasites (not the parasites doing the actual healing work, those are somehow unrelated). The only way to see the parasites however is to use a scope that turns the game into a blurry episodes of "My Little Pony", but the damned scope only fucks ON SNIPERS! If you were planning to go through this game without using once, well too bad, you won't. After running into yet another one (I checked his body, no parasites, but he still activated when I opened a nearby door) I officially quit this game.

The Bottom Line
I don't know why everybody is complaining about Ashley, throughout the game she was only captured twice. There was one time when my Viking background got to her and she suddenly attempted to block an incoming boulder fired from a catapult with her face, but it was well comically timed, so I didn't hold it against the game. I am the only one who doesn't seem to love this game, which places me in an awkward position as a reviewer, but I think it is because I have so many games I'd much rather play waiting to be reviewed (Majora's Mask OMG!!!!).

The bad timing aside though: Resident Evil is without a doubt one of the best shooters you can possibly find. There are lots of flaws. but it's also completely unique and the amount of variety will guarantee you a good time. The game also looks spectacular, so if graphics are a big deal to you, you won't have to miss out on this game (as opposed to say... Psychonauts).

A fan of the Resident Evil franchise may dislike the lack of zombies or the distance from the original plot (Wesker is only briefly mentioned and Leon and Ada are the only characters in the game that appeared in other RE games). This is however the perfect game for new people like me who want to give the long-running Horror series a try. Just remember, you will have to pay for the privilege and I didn't :D.

The Good
From the first few seconds of this game, you are pulled into a world filled with pure dread. Not so much as what may be lurking around the corner anymore, but above you, below you, and just anything in the general vicinity. Gone are the days of cramped hallways and tight spaces. Leon Kennedy now deal with sprawling woods, expansive lakes, caves, villages.... And if you think these wide open areas diminishes the fright factor in any way, you'd be dead wrong.

The new enemy is not longer slow-witted or sluggish anymore. This new threat will chase you down, screaming to its kind to join in on killing you. Locking yourself in a place doesn't work anymore. They'll throw bombs through the window. Running upstairs doesn't help anymore. They've already put up a ladder outside, and are coming through the windows for you. It's not so much little jumps and scares anymore. It's a swarming, overwhelming "I am totally screwed" attitude that perseveres throughout the game.

Graphically, this is about as good as it gets for Gamecube. Sure, games like Metroid Prime, Final Fantasy, Soul Calibur II, and the other RE games are stunning, but this looks like an interactive movie. The transition between cinematic to gameplay is seamless. It's beautiful. Detailed, disgusting, but just jaw-dropping.

The same goes for sound. The silent ambiance while walking through the woods is creepy. So are the moments of wading through water, or passing a creaky door. The music, when it happens, pushes up the tension as it always has the the previous installments, and it works just as well here. And the voices? No more goofy "Master of Unlocking" comments. The new dialogue is intelligent and well-acted. It keeps the mood with the more "serious" approach to conversations.

Gameplay has been so defined for this, it needs its own paragraph. Gone are the days of stiffly moving troopers who take forever to get through a door or climb a ladder. Same for not being able to climb over something that should be, or pointless puzzles to solve, or even the common sense question of "why doesn't he just shoot the lock off?" It's addressed. And it puts the game on a whole new lever. Game for aiming weapons. So much better done. So more intuitive. Not to mention being able to buy things now, and upgrade weapons. Plus, the knife is no longer a stored item, but a secondary one that can be used at all times.

The Bad
There's not a lot that I can say in this category.

I miss the storage boxes, though you can increase and rearrange items and item space. But there are times that I wished that I had the convenience.

The game is also presented in widescreen. Some people may not like this, but after years of watching DVDs, it wasn't until much later until I realized this.

People may also miss the "zombie" aspect that has always been Resident Evil, but this new alternative is in many ways, much more disturbing. The slow-moving and groaning zombies could send chills, but screaming villagers running full speed at you, especially in packs, gets pretty intense.

The Bottom Line
Resident Evil 4 has taken everything good about the RE series, threw it in a blender, and the results are astonishing. This sequel improves on the entire series in such major ways, that it's very impressive. And yet, it stays true to its roots, which most majorly reworked games have difficulty remaining to. The changes are intelligent, well executed, and long overdue.

If you like RE, the changes are going to keep you involved. If you've had issues with previous RE games, there's enough differences to warrant a look at this game. It's no longer zombies and cramped hallways, or illogical puzzles and bad voice acting. And the main character now moves and reacts sensibly. More than ever before.

It surprises me that people can still criticize Gamecube for having "kids games", or not being able to reach a broader audience. Critics should be silenced after playing this game, and Nintendo fans should rejoice for having such a brilliant game to call their own.

When the dust clears, this will become one of the newer "classic" games, and a high mark on the series as a whole.

Highest possible recommendation, with a few more positive comments thrown in because it deserves it.