Resident Evil 4 (PS2)

This game took a long time to make the transition to PS2, but it was worth the wait. I must admit that I was sceptical that the series could survive such a major overhaul. The game reunites us with two of the main protagonists from RE2: Leon Kennedy & Ada Wong. A Resident Evil with no zombies seemed practically unthinkable as they're a RE mainstay. However, the Ganados are an apt replacement, moving more quickly and being more dangerous than their predecessors. RE4 undergoes a major change in location dispensing with Raccoon City to embrace Europe. This incarnation of Resident Evil is more heavily geared towards combat and action than previous RE's with enemies coming at you constantly. You have the weaponry to deal with this though and ammunition isn't as scarce as before. The suspect camera angles of the past have been dealt with, RE4 utilises an over the arm perspective as opposed to a 3D action perspective. The storyline is very powerful with the Ada/Wesker subplot fitting in seamlessly with the main story; the storyline is complimented with superb cutscenes. You have have to rescue Ashley the president's daughter. Once you've found her an Ico type feature kicks in as you are required to protect her and then take control of her in certain areas of the game. Another new introduction is the live action button, where you have to press a sequence of buttons in quick succession to avoid an immediate, untimely death. This is a positive innovation and makes the gaming experience more exciting. RE4 is difficult with lively opponents and some ultra tough bosses, representing a sizeable challenge. Once you complete the game you unlock a whole host of extras . Seperate Ways is like playing RE4 again almost in its entirety but this time from Ada Wong's perspective, representing a fine mini-game. You also have Assignment Ada and the Mercenaries extras to enjoy. To conclude, Resident Evil returns bringing fine style and plenty of gore to the table.

Don't get me wrong, I love this game, and think that the gushing high praise it receives on some of the other reviews is justified, at least in part. There are points where the suspense and atmosphere do actually leave you feeling a little frightened, and a few things will definitely make you jump first time round, but in other ways there just isn't enough mystery in this mystery. For a game that is aimed primarily at older teenagers and adult players, I do feel that the game holds your hand a little too much. The treasure maps take away a lot of the fun and that sense of acheivement you should feel on uncovering secret areas and hidden treasures. There's a "find so many tokens" subgame that is also ruined by the fact that you can see them all there on your map, which otherwise might have been fun. Also, when you find treasure or keys, the game invariably hints so strongly at their uses, or what you need to combine them with, that there's no challenge there, either. The level maps are huge and well thought out, but your progress through them is so linear that you have no sense of freewill or doing it "your way". Personally, I found that managing my ammo was the most challenging thing about the game. You can buy power and capacity upgrades for weapons, but not additional ammo, so you will find yourself running short from time to time, and it can be a bit of a challenge trying to deal with hordes of enemies with your handguns, just so you can reserve some shotgun ammo or that last grenade for the more nasty surprises. This is actually quite nice, as it's one of the few things that makes you think creatively in this game. It's nice you can use a bit of hand-to-hand combat, too, but using the knife is a downright pain, as apparently your character can't hold it ready and move about at the same time, so you spend a lot of time hacking away at thin air, then stepping forwards and hacking again... Overall, don't let these comments put you off buying what is, at the end of the day, a fantastic game, but just bear them in mind when you read all the other hyperbole.

A departure from the old RE games that were focussed on horror and atmosphere with slow pacing, this game's just a classic in every sense. Challenging enough to play through many times on the higher difficulties, hoards of enemies to kill and enough reward for doing so that you always want to stand and fight rather than run away. I remember this as one of the first games I played where enemies will sidestep, dodge and cover their faces as you aim at them, to throw you off. Plus plenty of rewards for completing the game and the bonus missions to give it more replay value. This was the of days before paying for DLC, a happier time :) The cons? Well RE4 began the trend in throwing quicktime events into games, even where they're most unwelcome, but on the whole this is one of the very few games that pulls them off fairly well. The story, voice acting and characters are all a pile of giant garbage. So many cliches packed onto one disc it's a wonder anyone could carry it home given it's weighed down my the massive gravity of it's terribly written dialogue. That's how good the gameplay is though. Even with these two fairly glaring issues I've played it through over ten times. You'll always come back to it.

I love resident evil 4 but the ps2 although good has nothing on the other ports such as the gamecube, wii and especially not the xbox 360/Ps3 version so id only buy it if you only have a ps2.

I bought the game which was meant to be new, but it was actually a reseal and arrived damaged. I literally only bought this as it was meant to be brand new. Absolutely fuming.

I'm a long time fan of the Resident Evil series... but I'm honestly not sure about this. I loved RE1 & 2, and I even enjoyed Nemesis and Dead Aim. Graphically, this is a solid game. The music is good, although it could do with being taken down a notch or two. There are plenty of jump scares. So what's the problem? Firstly, no zombies. Instead it's cult-villagers who are being mind controlled. And they've taken the President's daughter. And Leon Kennedy must go and get her back. If it wasn't for Leon, this game would have no tie to the Resident Evil Universe. Secondly... well the plot doesn't make any sense. The story is that the President's daughter had been kidnapped so that she can be infected with a parasite, and then returned to the POTUS in order to demonstrate the power of the cult. Except the cult spends the whole time trying to stop you rescuing her because... well, I'm not sure why and that is never explained. Thirdly, the puzzles are an after-thought. I really enjoyed the riddles in RE1 & 2 where your character constantly ran between rooms to solve puzzles and open doors. There are puzzles in RE 4... but they're all within the same area, and it's all a bit linear. The bottom line is this; is this a good game? Yeah, it is. But is it a good Resident Evil game? Not so much.

Bought for my son who tells me the disc is damaged with a scratch well into it so not apparent until you really get into the game.

Without a shadow of a doubt, probably the best game in the franchise. Realising that the Resident Evil franchise was going down quicker than a Texan hooker, Capcom took the bold step of jettisoning their continuation effort and instead gave the series a radical overall. The result? A game that saved the genre and spawned countless imitators. Set against a backdrop of an eerie village, and a brooding castle, Resident Evil 4 reunites us with Leon Scott Kennedy, no longer the rookie, wet behind the ears cop, from Resident Evil 2. Instead, we have a hard as nails, more cynical Leon, and it's just as well he is - finding himself up to the proverbial in hordes of zombies and mutant beasts. A decent story, a great action experience, and of course, inspired settings (you'll never forget the village) add up to one of the finest video games of all time. A bloody classic!!