"Hello stranger! Got a REvolutionary game here that might interest ya!"

This is it. The highly praised and award winning title known as: "Resident Evil 4". This is the game has totally REdefined the series (dumb pun intended). It has been completely reinvented and re-imagined, in a good way. To put it simply, RE4 is incredibly different from the last 3. So if you're a huge fan of Resident Evil games you need to play this. If you aren't…you need to play this. I mean we knew that Resident Evil on the PS2 had possibilities but we weren't expecting this. This game is full of fantastic fun, suspense, horror, and action that goes above and beyond what most of us were expecting.

Characters: 8.5/10

The characters in 4 are great. You will play as Agent Leon S. Kennedy, the main character from the 2nd game (and my personal favorite). Mr Kennedy is back and better than ever. He's got awesome acrobatic skills, a cool personality, he's badass with a knife, and he's a hit with the ladies. How much cooler can a guy get? And above all else, he always seems to be fearless and in control of the situation. In fact there are times where you almost think he's enjoying the whole ordeal.

Then we've got Luis, the mysterious Spaniard (who wields an awesome magnum). He's very cool as well, and is kind of the game's comic relief…in an adulterated sort of humor. Ashley is the president's daughter who was kidnapped before you start the game. She's a feisty gal who maybe calls out for your name too much. And the last but not least, main character is no other than Ada Wong (also from RE2). The woman in red that can kick some serious ass but constantly leaves you at critical moments. But I guess that's what's always made her so appealing.

Story: 8/10

The story is quite simple, but on a big scale. Basically you are on a secret mission to save the Presidents daughter. At the beginning, Leon is driven to a foggy village in rural Europe and (surprise surprise) that's where things begin to go horribly wrong. So from there you proceed with the story… Which is to locate Ashley, protect her, get out of this hell hole, and leave in one piece (good luck)?

The game is full of some nice twists and surprises, even if the storyline itself is a bit predictable. But the story overall is pretty good for a RE game and manages to carry the whole thing quite nicely. Though it should be noted that this game is more of a RE "side story" and isn't essential to the Resident Evil Storyline.

Graphics: 10/10

This is definitely one of the best looking games on the PS2. The environments are extremely well done. (The village is FANTASTIC).The characters are so detailed and realistic (namely Leon). All of the bosses were designed amazingly and include mass amounts of detail. And believe me, these are some massive huge bosses. Everyone and everything in this game just looks so outstanding and real, even during game play. Especially the gore, blood, explosions, and the many decapitations. Overall this was quite an impressive graphical achievement.

Sound: 9/10

This is quite possibly where the game shines the most. Because the sound in this game is amazing. For example, whenever you are surrounded by a hoard of the villagers you can actually hear them talk and interact with one another. In addition to that, you will be able to hear things like: the footsteps of an incoming enemy or even a chainsaw in the background. And the worst part about this is, you won't be able to tell where it's coming from. Making you feel very uneasy. Which is fantastic. The only reason I docked off a point in this category is because some of the sound effects like jumping through windows and climbing ladders sounds oddly muffled.

Voice acting was well done too. I thoroughly enjoyed all the voices of the main characters. They all sound the way I would expect them too and manage to bring their characters to life (even if some of the lines are a bit cheesy). As for the music, it's basically just there to make you feel tenser during combat and does its job.

Gameplay: 9/10

This is what truly separated this RE from the others. The game play has been completely reimagined. There are less scares in this one so calling it a “horror-survival” isn't completely correct. It's more like “suspense-survival”. And there are technically no zombies in this game. Instead your main enemies (for most of the game) are known as “Ganado's”. Who act an awful lot like zombies anyway; the only real difference is that they can carry actual weapons.

Like I've mentioned before the game play's main focus is to create suspense. So you sort of get a "behind the back-1st person-3rd person camera" with a laser pointer. Making for some incredibly precise shooting that was not apparent before. Now you will get to aim for some enemy “hot spots” and they react differently depending on where you shoot them. You also even get unique reactions like "kicking" an enemy after shooting them, shaking one off, or even executing suplexes, which makes the game feel more fluid. And the game is always presented in "widescreen" format which gives it that cool, cinematic feeling

And fighting for survival is half the fun, because the game is pretty hard the first time through. But the real reason surviving is a challenge is because the enemies AI's are really amazing...They actually interact with each other and team up to take you down, which sort of freaked me out at first. Also don't even THINK about putting the controller down, because this game has what is known as “interactive cutscenes” so a couple buttons could mean the difference between life or death.

Replay Value: 8/10

The replay value is pretty good. The game is full of extra's and some notable weapons that are worth playing again for. You also unlock new modes that are well worth the time. And plus I think there are some really interesting scenes worth going through again from the storyline itself. Not to mention that it comes with a new game plus.

Overall: 9.4/10

This is one of the best game's ever. It had outstanding visuals, an intense game formula, sound that is so good it isn't funny, and great enemy AI. Capcom has proven themselves once again. It has brought Resident Evil to new heights and has opened up a lot of possibilities for the future of this franchise.

The only thing that the game lacked was a real scare factor that was apparent in the previous installments. But it still has a lot of moments that make you jump. And contains the scariest RE enemy of all time (in my opinion) which are known as “regenerators”. They're not in the game long but damn do they make an impact.

Rent or Buy:

This is a MUST buy in my opinion. Resident Evil 4 is the next step in ultimate survival horror. If you've never played a RE game, this is the best way to get you started. And I'm willing to bet that even most Resident Evil veterans out there will be surprised with this. If you have no money for some reason borrow it from a friend, you've at least got to give it a try cause this game is worth the buy. Hey that rhymed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/06, Updated 05/21/08

Game Release: Resident Evil 4 (US, 10/25/05)