RE4 shows to be a step forward for the series and a tremendous achievement from Capcom.
You take on the role of Leon S. Kennedy, the rookie cop for a day from Resident Evil 2. The game takes place six years after the incident in Raccoon City. Leon now works as a member of the Secret Service who is assigned to infiltrate a European village in search of the President's missing daughter, Ashley. However, moments after reaching the village something is horribly wrong. The villagers are now psychotic and are after Leon. So it's up to Leon to get Ashley to safety and figure out what the hell is going on.
The biggest improvement over the previous games in the series is its gameplay and controls. Rather than sticking with the classic fixed camera angles and tank controls players now have full control over Leon's movements in a 3rd-person over-the-shoulder view, giving the players greater control over what they are trying to hit. While this isn't the first game to feature an over-the-shoulder perspective, at the time this game pretty much perfected it. The controls are very intuitive and really help add a new level of depth into the core Resident Evil gameplay. The game goes in favor of this action oriented feel and less on puzzles, which really played a major aspect in the original titles. What few puzzles there are are not brain taxing and are really just there to give players a breather. Those moments don't last long since a majority of the game is spent fighting for your life.
You will come across a good variety of enemies. The most common are in the form of the psychotic villagers, but then things get nastier and more gruesome-looking creatures pop-up. Where you shoot these enemies can produce some different effects. For example, when you shoot them in the knees they will topple over or struggle a bit and you can give them a good roundhouse in the face. Or if you want to be old fashioned a few good head shots will do just fine (though it is not effective on every enemy). The boss battles are fantastic as well and they are certainly the most gruesome of enemies you will come across. Despite these creepy enemy designs the game is actually not that scary. There is of course tension to be had and there are a few moments to make you jumpy, but when it comes to generating pure fear you're not really going to find that here. This, along with the more action oriented gameplay, are the reasons why many fans denounce this as a Resident Evil game. However, I will say that, unlike its successor, it does manage to retain a good horror atmosphere that essentially still makes it feel like Resident Evil.
In the beginning you'll start off with a pistol, grenade, and a knife. During your adventure you will come across a variety of other weapons, like the classic shot guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, the works. It's a good idea for one to explore areas since there are many breakable crates that give you ammunition and healing items. Regular enemies, of course, do the same thing. At certain points you can find a merchant who will sell you new weapons and upgrade them as well. The choices you make on which weapons you take are important since Leon has a suitcase with limited space (but you can get larger ones later).
Later on in the game you will finally find Ashley. This is perhaps the biggest flaw I can find in the game, but even then it's not that bad. Once you find her you have to escort her and keep her alive. If she dies or gets kidnapped, then it's game over. It's basically another health bar you have to deal with, which means that you will often be desperately searching for more herbs for you to heal not only yourself, but Ashley as well. It doesn't happen that often but it can still be rather annoying when it does.
I suppose it goes without saying that this the best looking game on the Game Cube. Before the release of next-generation consoles like the Xbox 360, this was perhaps the most technically proficient game at the time of its release. The amount of detail that went in this game is simply jaw dropping. The overall atmosphere, the textures, the environments and character models, the lighting and particle effects, the art direction, everything. It is simply an outstanding looking, well crafted game. Just as good as the graphics is the sound direction. The incredibly eerie and haunting music and cries of monsters offer their fair share of tense moments. The voice acting and dialog are a much bigger improvement over previous Resident Evil games, which they were commonly infamous for. But staying true to the series the dialog has its goofy moments.
To sum things up:
PROS:
-The best looking game on the Game Cube
-Excellent controls
-Much improved gameplay over previous games
-Great sound design
-Good voice acting
-Offers plenty of tense moments
CONS:
-Dealing with Ashley
-Not that scary compared to other horror-themed games
People can denounce this game about being called Resident Evil all they want, but there is no denying that this is a truly remarkable achievement on Capcom's part. Until the day I can play more games in the series to make proper comparisons I hold this as my favorite as well. Fans of the series should still definitely have this game. It is a must own for them and a must own for Game Cube, PS2, Wii, and PC owners looking to get into the series.