Two years ago during the Nintendo Media Briefing we were shown a video of Resident Evil 4 which we thought was what the final game would look like. It was not the first time I had seen footage of the game but what I saw was simply astounding. You can pretty much tell from my reaction (that "holy shit" is me and the thud afterwards is me getting smacked upside the head by Mike) that I was simply amazed by what I was seeing. However, as you all know, Capcom decided to scrap what they had and start again from the beginning; taking the story and gameplay down an entirely different route. Whereas the original Resident Evil 4 seemed to have Umbrella still at the helm of all things that were evil, the new revised Resident Evil 4 would have no Umbrella in it (from an economical and business sense). Last E3, 2004, we were again shown video of Resident Evil 4 but this time it was the new revised version. There is no reason to listen to my reaction on video, simply because I was too awestruck to even make a noise. I didn't think it was possible to make this game more aesthetically pleasing, yet Capcom never seems to disappoint.

Playing the new and revised Resident Evil 4 at E3, I was a little skeptical at the changes they had made. I am not an original fan of the series (mostly because I never owned a Playstation) but I decided to try the first game when it was remade for GameCube and have been a huge fan ever since. I have since played all the main story Resident Evil games and 4 just seemed a little out of place. The changes they made seemed a little too drastic. Classic door opening cut scenes had been completely removed, eliminating the tension and uneasiness that came with waiting for what was behind the door. Pre-rendered backgrounds had been removed and replaced with real-time graphics. The biggest change however was the addition of an "action button." This basically means that there are times in the game when you have to press certain buttons or a combination of buttons to perform certain actions in the game.

Oh, look! Leon brought the party favors.

I could keep going with changes they made, but I won't. I was at about the third or fourth noticeable change when I started to realize that, regardless of the changes and differences from the past games, this new game was incredible. They had brought new life to a series that was, for the most part, becoming stale. Almost everything they changed or removed was replaced with something better. This was the first Resident Evil game where the player actually has the ability to point and aim at certain body parts of the enemy. Anyone who has played an RE game knows that getting that precious headshot was damn near impossible. It was simply a matter of luck if you managed to pop their heads off. Now with Resident Evil 4 you can aim for the head and hit them every time. However, once you start to get the hang of nailing them in the head every time Capcom decides you've had your fun and they're not going to let you shoot for the head anymore. Oh, you can still take off the enemy's head but you are going to have more problems if you do then if you just decide to pound them in the chest. I won't ruin a very good surprise for those who haven't played the game but don't say I didn't give you fair warning.

I mentioned earlier that there are no more pre-rendered backgrounds, and I thought this would damage the beauty of the game, but the real-time graphics of Resident Evil 4 are far superior to the pre-rendered backgrounds of the Resident Evil remake and RE Zero. The way the game flows and moves, pre-rendered backgrounds just simply would not work. Like in Code Veronica, you find yourself outside a large part of the time in areas that are amazingly gigantic. I think that going with real-time graphics is a move that is going to pay off for Capcom in the long run. The attention to detail that they put into the game just goes to show that they really wanted to make the game come alive for the player. There were essentially no shortcutting details anywhere.

The first time turning on the game and playing through, you don't really notice the music and sound effects being any different from previous RE games. But as you continue playing, you'll notice something is slightly different. You can't tell what it is at first, but you know it's there. (Editor's Note: "…like a splinter in your mind." Sorry. Couldn't resist.) The eeriness of your surrounding environment and the knowledge that danger can strike you at any moment leads you to be more on edge, more nervous for almost the entire time during the game. There is no time for a breather, to explore what you want to explore; or at least you don't think there is. The music in the game pushes you to keep moving, don't stop, you have things to be doing and people to be saving. When enemies are near or when you are in a firefight with El Ganado (no more zombies) the music is right there telling you to hurry up, kill them and be done with it. But these are not zombies. They don't hang out by themselves; these guys aren't loners like traditional Resident Evil enemies. These enemies are intelligent, and you can tell this right off the bat when you encounter the first area of the village. They will work together and attempt to find a way to trap and kill you. These new enemies are highly motivated. They will continue to throw themselves at you until one of you is dead. But the entire time you're fighting you're just waiting for that music to stop, because when the music stops it means there is no more danger in the present area. So you immediately feel safe, but you shouldn't.

The game plays tricks on your mind. At the beginning, music stopping means the enemies are dead or running away (yes, they are smart enough to know when they are beaten) and you are safe. As you progress further into the game not all the enemies will come after you right away in an area. A few of them will simply hide in the shadows. If you don't see them you don't know they are there and when there is no immediate danger where Leon can see, the music stops. You think you are safe so you begin to wander about the area you just cleared and all of a sudden you are attacked by the stalking Ganado, the music starts up again and you kill the bastard. The music stops again. However this time you are cautious… how many more of them are hiding in the shadows? So instead running around freely you take your time; you are in fact genuinely scared. That was Capcom's main goal; put the horror back in survival horror.

He just wants a hug, dammit!

How does this all tie in to Umbrella and Raccoon City? I can't just come out and spill the beans, it would ruin everything. I think what surprised me most is that I found that the village and Ganado storyline was basically NOT the main story. At least not to the Resident Evil series as a whole. Sure, it's the main focus in Resident Evil 4, but for the most part it is a side-story further explaining more of the real main story to us. Do you remember a while back and even leading up to the games release Capcom was saying that Resident Evil 4 would bring an end to the main story of the RE franchise. I would just like to assure you that it doesn't do that at all. If anything, it complicates the story because now you have the Wesker story as well as what is going on in this remote area of Europe (which we learn is actually in Spain).

Having played the other games in the series, you would know that Wesker is trying to perfect the virus he has been working on for over twenty years. He is willing to obtain other viruses to use as research if it helps his ultimate goal. He did this in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, obtaining a sample of the Nemesis virus, and in Code Veronica as he was trying to secure a sample of the T-Veronica virus. The main story of Resident Evil definitely revolves around Wesker; he is always there in the shadows doing something that he shouldn't be. Again in Resident Evil 4, he is there but he doesn't have a major role. He is mentioned several times and it is vital to the series storyline but Capcom leaves us hungry for more. The ending of Resident Evil 4 is majestically perfect. It sets up another sequel in which Wesker is the principle bad guy. Hopefully a Resident Evil 5 is already in the works.

Surely this addition to the franchise has sparked new life in a series that looked to be on death's doorstep. It is so drastically different from any other Resident Evil game that it really cannot be compared to the others. Its purpose was to bring a whole new generation and group of gamers into the series as well as please the veteran fans of the series. It did just that, it seems to have pleased everyone as it has been called the best survival horror game ever. While it is surely a great game I am not quite sure if pleasing everyone automatically makes it the best game of the genre. It was different.