If you thought Resident Evil 4 was going to be just like every other game in the series, but in full 3D, think again.

Because it really is like every other game in the franchise. Only not. Confused yet?

The demo starts off as Leon is making his way up to some boondock town in the middle of Paris. For all of you keeping score on the plot, Leon harkens back from Resident Evil 2 and was last seen on his way to take Umbrella's main branch down.

It looks like he picked up some new goodies, weapons, and attire for the trip. Not to mention some slick new visuals. Everything in-game comes through an ultra grainy filter, ala Silent Hill 4 and other survival-horror games. What's amazing is this 'gimmick' isn't used to cover up any visual faux paux, because the whole bloody thing is so detailed, so rich, so...bloody.

Yeah, it gets good and violent really fast, as Leon discovers that the citizens of this village are not human at all. They appear to be suffering the intial symptoms of the T-Virus, so they maintain all their motor-skills and speech, but have a tolerance towards bullets and want to gnaw on your head in the process.

The overall impact of the demo is startling, because it takes every RE convention and turns it on its ear. Enemies now run, regroup, and form strategies to come after Leon, as well as weild their own weapons. I never recall zombies having the gumption to take my head off with a chainsaw, but here I was, decapitated and jaw-dropped as the 'Game Over' screen washed over. Another new aspect (in a not-so-new sense) is that the camera follows right over Leon's shoulder, meaning you have no failsafe way to watch his back. In this respect, everything in RE4 is more frantic and claustrophobic, heightening that sense of tension that previous games in the series was sorely losing (or lacking, take your pick).

But Leon isn't defenseless. In the E3 build, he starts off with a handgun and quickly works up to the blessed shotgun. All weapons are handled with R to enter an aiming mode; this means no moving while firing (boo), but it also means the precision killing of a FPS (yay!). Headshots are now earned instead of lucked out over, and you have a much higher level of control than in any other Resident Evil to date.

Aside from the suprise beheading, the playthrough was everything I had hoped for. Capcom has finally pushed one of my favorite franchises in a bold new direction, and I can't wait until it all comes together in the final product.