Far and away, the best horror game ever made. Here's why:

"He's not a zombie..."

I laughed when I read this. Only a minute into the game, and the Resident Evil series had already changed completely. No more zombies, no more fixed camera, no more Raccoon City... I was starting to wonder if this game had anything to do with the RE franchise at all. Then the music kicks in, the ammo runs low, and the enemies start grouping up on you. The horror genre is back, and thanks to Capcom, it has evolved into something much more enjoyable, and will surely reign as one of the greatest games of 2005, and possibly beyond...

Presentation: 10/10
Presentation in this game is extremely polished, and it's what makes the whole game come together in a cohesive manner. The menu system is sharp, however, nothing spectacular happens until you start a new game. This is where the first of many cutscenes is displayed, and they are amazing for two reasons: the first being that, shot by shot, they are very well choreographed; and the second being that these beautiful movies are all rendered via the in-game engine. There's no FMV in this game. The whole game is played in a forced widescreen perspective, which was apparently done to help keep the framerate smooth, but also lends a bit of a Hollywood feel to the game. Though not presented in such an amazing fashion as some other Cube games (i.e. Metroid Prime), the presentation is rock solid and Capcom should be lauded for making this game seem, and feel, like a real horror movie, from the beginning until the end (even the credits).

Story: 7.5/10
It seemed that with each passing RE game, the story got more and more diluted and spread a bit too thin. I was a very happy person when I learned throughout the game that this story has almost nothing to do with the RE games of old. Taken as just the written script, the story of RE4 is massively cliched and not very believable... this is where the rock solid presentation helps out tremendously. The cutscenes and voice acting lend a helping hand to the story, making it very interesting and somewhat believable. Every location you visit further cements the plausibility of the storyline by letting you interact with your surroundings and understand the motives of the enemy a little clearer. It's not going to win an Academy Award or anything, but within the game it works very well and helps advance the action to new levels.

Graphics: 9/10
In most game settings, I'm not a stickler for graphics, as long as everything else it up to par. The atmosphere that Capcom is trying to convey here relies on lifelike and spooky lighting effects, coupled with lifelike and spooky sound, so, needless to say, the graphics engine in this game is absolutely incredible. Your point-of-view is now situated over Leon's shoulder, and I found only one problem with this: it is tough to aim normal guns if you're creeping around a corner slowly because of the angle your forced to view it from. This can be alleviated via sniper rifles in the later levels, as the rifle makes use of a "line-of-sight" scope, but it can be a tad frustrating at times until then. Character models are amazing, and the physics engine is very respectable (clothes and hair on main characters flow freely, as do curtains and flags in the later levels). There's a whole range of facial expressions on the enemies, and even crows, dogs, chickens, and cows act realistically. Parts of the game will be played at night, and this is where the graphics really show off. Enemies carrying torches are just downright realistic. When a storm hits, the rain falls on everything in a realistic fashion, and the lightening will be sure to light up the night sky for a brief second... enough time to make you second-guess what lies in the path ahead. Graphics in general were flawless, although there were two or three points where the camera angle caused some clipping. I'd like to recommend playing this game on a 27" - 32" television... that's when I enjoyed the graphics most. I also played a bit on my 50" rear-projection TV, but it honestly looked spookier on the smaller TVs.

Sound: 9.5/10
Too many folks are critical of the Cube's lack of true digital surround, and hopefully this game will be the one to finally put a stop to that. Anyone who doesn't think Pro Logic II encoding can work well can buy a plethora of Cube games that proves that theory wrong. Anyone who doesn't think PLII encoding can sound excellent just need to play this game, as it showcases excellent use of surround sound. Villagers yell out in Spanish from all around you, Cultists chant incessantly. You can even hear other creatures breathing. Mix this with crows, wind, chickens, machinery, and your own footsteps and you have a truly great sound atmosphere. The RE series is notorious for awful voice acting, but this game is not that bad. Ashley may become annoying after hearing here call out to you a number of times, but the acting in the cutscenes is usually quite good. Music comes up in certain places, and for the most part it works well (even a Rambo style background tune that plays in the last level). It's always fun to go walk into a save-point and hear the music change from an anxious beat to a soothing melody. The best music, IMHO, is during the credits, and the whole credit sequence adds many kudos to the production value.

Controls: 8/10
As with all RE games, you just need to learn to live with the controls you're given. RE4's controls are a HUGE step up from the controls of previous RE games, but they still pose some problems. Many people have complained that there is still no dodge or strafe button. I'll agree, it could be beneficial in some areas, especially when all the enemies you will face have the ability to dodge and strafe! Whenever dodging is a necessity in the game, the game provides context-sensitive buttons that appear on screen... the majority of these buttons are for dodging or jumping. That, for me, was good enough in place of true strafing ability. You can also use context-sensitive moves when you need to: double-tapping the "A" button when opening a door will kick it in, and shooting someone's kneecap once will drop them to the ground, allowing you to walk up to them and roundhouse/suplex them. This is a great addition, as it helps conserve ammo, which is still a RE mainstay. Speaking about ammo, it is easy to accumulate ammo, as almost every kill will produce ammo or money (the money can be used to buy weaponry and upgrades from Merchants located throughout the game, adding a simple, yet effective economic system to the series). I believe the bosses in the game are specifically tailored to make sure you're always running a bit low on ammo. You can walk into these boss fights with all the ammo in the world and walk out with only a few shotgun shells left. If you're out of ammo, or just want to conserve ammo, the left trigger of the controller can be pressed to bring up Leon's knife. It's not very powerful, but it comes in handy when you need to break open boxes or barrels, or when your confronted with only one or two enemies. There's even a specific boss battle where using the knife is the most effective weapon to fend him off. There are certain points of the game where you will be in control of Ashley, who happens to be weaponless. These scenarios require you to basically run and avoid enemies while trying to get back to Leon. Running is another thing you will become very accustomed to. When you pull the right trigger of the controller to aim, you lose your ability to move. You'll find yourself standing and shooting until the mobs get up to you, then turning around and running for your life until you find another safe shooting point. This adds a nerve-racking "true survival horror" feel to the game, and it's the nerve racking, "OMG where can I hide" sensation that truly makes the controls tolerable... you're getting alot out of them. I was disappointed to see that Capcom did not recognize that the control stick is analog. You need to press the "B" button to run... it really wish you could just push the analog stick to change your speed (the very last section of the game allows you to do this, but you're not on your feet, your on... well, I'm not going to spoil it for you). Overall, I enjoyed the new elements of the control scheme, which really helped to add to the gameplay. Being able to target individual body parts to get certain results is a great touch that needs to be added to more games. The only element to the gameplay that was bothersome were the puzzles. Luckily they were insanely easy, but they feel so out of place that just seeing them is fairly frustrating. Overall, the controls are tight, and I liked them. They never become truely bothersome, and actually added the the game experience.

Replay Value: 10/10
RE4 owned me for 3 weeks of my life. My first play through took a little over 21 hours to complete. I played through the game twice (the second time was much quicker, as I knew exactly what to do and had all of my updated weaponry from the first time I played). The game is not entirely difficult, although I did die a good 20-30 times. There's a secret mission to beat, where you play as a "certain-secretive-character-who-saved-your-ass-in-RE2", as well as a Mercenaries mode, which is quite fun and challenging. Playing through a second time allows you to buy some awesome new weaponry from the Merchant, as well as play in your cop uniform from RE2. Ashley also has a new outfit... it's, umm, quite nice. The game is definitely worth the $50, and if you're not a GameCube owner, it's definitely worth the $200 it would cost to buy a Cube setup. I'm looking forward to coming back to this game at the year's end and playing through again. I really want to get a hit percentage in the 90th percentile.

The Final Word...
I was very afraid as to how RE4 was to turn out. Having played through it, twice, and loving every second of the experience, I can safely say that I once again trust Capcom to deliver in the clutch. This game far exceeded my expectations. I was hooked from the opening scene until the closing credits, and I'm still contemplating going through the game one more time! The graphics, sound, and story are not perfect, but put together in the package presented to us it's almost a game of perfection. Survival horror has been revived, and I'm very satisfied with my RE4 experience.

On a scale of 1 - 10, I wholeheartedly give this game a 9.7, and it truly is an Exceptional title. I look forward to future RE installments following the formula of this game.