Gaming Target - GameCube: Resident Evil 4

Written by Chris Reiter on July 03, 2003

First Impressions: Yet another reason to beg your parents for new tighty whities, you wuss.

Evil is an entity that beckons us. It's inconceivable by many means, yet evil manages to force its very self into our minds and our souls. Through us it continues to endure. As there are many known evils in the world, Capcom started a franchise that revolutionized the way we speak to evil through the end of a gun. Ever since Resident Evil first materialized on the PlayStation in 1996, the zombie infested horror series really opened the doors to a whole new genre: one known today as Survival/Horror. Capcom's latest entry in the "Evil" series has been one that has been in production for years now. Originally what was to become a PlayStation 2 release, the game became Devil May Cry instead. But now with Capcom's pledge to keep Resident Evil a GameCube exclusive property, you can bet your heart attack that Capcom's keeping their promise to bring gamers the next in line for a zombie coated blood bath of terror with Resident Evil 4.

Raccoon City and its S.T.A.R.S. Special Forces members have tolerated enough of the evil Umbrella Corporation's plans to infest the human race with zombies. Creating a virus that not only destroys human life, but also mutates it into a mindless, undead creature of unnatural abilities, Umbrella has gone too far. Still on the hunt to put an end to Umbrella's wrong doings, Leon Kennedy (the rookie cop from Resident Evil 2) has tracked Umbrella's head organization into the depths of Europe. Even here things aren't quite too different from home, as Leon will find himself infected with a newborn Progenitor Virus while having to battle through all the uglies' to get back at the people who did this to him. Leon must accomplish this goal all before time runs out and his human body deforms into a new breed of death carrier.

Resident Evil 4 is really a first for some avenues in Capcom's zombie populated franchise, even though you may think that everything in the series has been done to death already. First of all, this game isn't going to be anything like your typical Resident Evil adventure. Yes, there are still zombies and other mutated nasty things, but think about this: have you ever fully controlled a Resident Evil in 3D? That's right, Resident Evil 4 will tear off its almost robotic-like control scheme shackles and instead cuff on a pair that more gamers' are used to in this day and age. Camera-wise too, the fourth Resident Evil will no longer restrain players from being able to look in a fixed direction as the game will now inject a Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty first person view into its core.

These certain development changes are being directed by Hiroshi Shibata of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis fame, replacing the series' creator Shinji Mikami's long time status in the chair. One may wonder how this new Resident Evil's metamorphosis could affect such a puke face, piss pants, scream-worthy release if whether or not they're for the better or worse cause in the overall effect. Could the ability to view whatever morose being and controlling Leon in the now defunct-to-modern-day maneuver lessen the chances of the player's ability to fear the unimaginable fear itself? Only time itself can tell as more of Capcom's developmental details unfold.

Known for its stage of brilliance in bringing to life intensifying, richly superb pre-rendered backgrounds and the butt ugly monstrous models that pace through them (the nastier they look, the better), the Resident Evil you once knew is also being thrown out. Capcom is once again doing what many players thought would be a fairy tale out of the nightmare they've been slugging through, but Resident Evil 4 will be the second fully 3D rendered horror spoken title of the series (with Capcom even aiming to one up Resident Evil 0 in the same department). Like Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem before it, every object in reaching distance can be touched. Skeptics may curse Capcom's decision on this, since pre-rendered models tend to appear immensely superior to those of the 3D universe. However, Capcom's always amazing gameplay footage in progress tends to shut up any disbelief that anyone may ponder. Resident Evil 4 is progressing phenomally with an eerily beautiful quality that's looking to turn out just-as-good-or-even-better-than the other two GameCube Resident Evil titles: the Resident Evil remake and Resident Evil 0.