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You can use more strategy now thanks to weapons with laser sights—find a nice crack through a window and snipe villagers; take the hands off dynamite-holding ones, and watch them blow themselves up; and pop a couple rounds into their knees, finish them with the knife, or roundhouse kick their heads off. Did I mention this is a "mature" rated game? And rightly so.
The game implements action scenes like those in Sega’s Shenmue, where you have to press certain buttons at the right time to avoid falling boulders and other traps. Did I mention the environments are much more interactive? A grenade sits behind the glass of a cabinet—no special key, no puzzle to solve, just smash the glass with the knife and take it. Simple and effective.
What more is there to say? I don’t want to give away any more of the story, just know that to play Resident Evil 4 is to experience one of the smartest decisions Capcom has made in a long time. And for all the naysayers who for whatever reason feel the series still belongs on the PlayStation, fire this up in 480p progressive scan and witness the true power of the Gamecube.
This is the ultimate evolution of a genre that started strong and sort of leveled off. Resident Evil 4 should be hallmarked for its innovation and I think as we look back at the way the survival horror genre has changed, we will view Resident Evil 4 as that second step in such an evolution.
Turn down the lights, fire up the surround sound, kick on progressive scan and prepare for an experience you’re not likely to experience again this year (oh and if you don’t have any or all of the above equipment, well know that I play most of my games on a 13-inch Commodore monitor and well, the experience is so much bigger than the TV, you won’t even notice!)
Game of the year? We’ll see what can possibly top this in 2005.
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