Resident Evil 4

Magnificent. It's a terrific, if tardy, showcase for the GameCube, and it's every bit as worthy as the Halos, the GTAs, and the MGSes of this generation. This is a stunning return to form. (Happy Trails, GMR staff!) [Feb 2005]

It's not just an achievement in technical design and visual prowess; it's an entire masterpiece of game engineering. This is one of the finest videogame experiences ever crafted.

Best game on the GameCube? Definitely. In fact, if there was ever a game that required the purchase of its native console just to play it, then this is it.

And I still can't express how much I love it and how much I want to revisit the world again. Capcom has stepped everything up and have given the competition the new game to imitate for the next few years - and that is a good thing.

A revelation, a renaissance for the series and truly a next-gen Resident Evil that should re-ignite the franchise all over again.

There are no flaws in Resident Evil 4. It is the greatest horror game to date. I never thought that a game, or a movie for that matter, could deliver pulse-pounding action in such an awe-inspiring way. [March 2005, p.134]

Possibly the best console video game ever made, and definitely the standard that horror titles will be measured by for years to come. [March 2005, p.105]

A fresh and frightening perspective on the survival horror genre. Capcom has outdone itself with this one... [The bosses] are amazing. Not only are they truly hideous to behold, they are incredibly detailed and intelligent.

A completely fresh gaming experience that will both astound fans of the series and quiet its detractors. It's action/adventure gaming at its absolute finest -- yes, Action... with a capital A.

The best looking console game of all time. It is its franchise's redeemer. It is a masterpiece of video game storytelling. It is genuinely tense and occasionally even scary. It is one of the best action games ever released.

I have never had so much fun getting into a game as I have had with Resident Evil 4. Everything is just perfect about this game. The storyline, the graphics, the sound, the fear the game gives you. It is a A+ effort from Capcom.

Playing Resident Evil 4 is like reading an utterly compelling horror novel. This is the finest GameCube game for ages, and survival horror's most glorious moment so far.

Folks, if you were looking for not only the best survival/horror game ever made, and not only what is arguably the best game to ever grace the Gamecube platform, but one of the best action/adventure games of this current era of video games, your search is now over.

Resident Evil 4 is heartstopping moment after heartstopping moment, paced nearly perfectly and executed flawlessly. 2005 has its game of the year, and that game is Resident Evil 4.

What the hell are you still reading this for? Put your raggedy-ass jacket on and go out and buy the damn game already.

Of all the excellent Gamecube titles out there Resident Evil 4 is one of the few games to live up and surpass all of the hype around it. [JPN Import]

One of the most viscerally intense, emotionally entrapping, and downright gorgeous gaming experiences to ever hit a home console.

The best game of this generation, nothing more needs to be said.

Annoys you with anticipation, from the evil, hard-to-target grunts of approaching assassins to a percussion soundtrack that sounds like a desperate rendition of the theme to "Miami Vice." If it kicks in, you better be ready to rumble.

Be afraid. The intelligent, fast-moving fiends who stalk special agent Leon Kennedy will almost make you yearn for the embrace of old-fashioned brain-hungry cadavers.

With a bevy of unlockables and a single-player freak-out well worth playing twice, there is much bang in this macabre buck.

The ever-changing gameplay really keeps you riveted.

A relentlessly gripping ride that assaults the senses.

A triumph of epic proportions that is sure to go down in history as one of the greatest game sequels ever made.

I question if it goes too far to say this is the best single-player experience I've ever had on my GCN. No boring moments like "Metroid Prime," no extreme tedium like "Wind Waker." It's like a roller coaster that never goes up, only down.

More than a game, it's an experience that cannot be missed. This is the masterpiece that is Resident Evil 4.

The hit zone-based targeting system, for example, makes anything else in the genre seem obsolete and primitive. It's that sophisticated.

Resident Evil has reclaimed the throne from not only the survival horror genre but it's possibly even become 'the' quintessential Gamecube game in the process. Totally flawless on the Cube, this is one game you simply can't miss out on.

This is simply the best survival horror game ever created. In fact, had it come out in 2004, it would have been my pick for Game of the Year...You don't own Resident Evil 4. It owns you. An absolute must-have.

A breath-taking game. It's majestic in scale, beautifully realised and virtually flawless in execution. Scary, shocking, captivating and, in every sense, brilliant.

The best survivor horror game ever made. It's also one of the best action games I've played in a very long time.

I don't care how sky-high your expectations are, RE4 will blow them away again and again. 2005's Game of the Year might have come out just 11 days into it. [March 2005, p.130]

The gameplay here is spectacular, you will not find any better.

What RE4 does is put the "survival" feel back into the survival horror genre. It's nice to see the originator back on the bloody cutting edge.

It is a rare game to decide to completely break a popular formula in the hope of something better, and it even rarer for that to totally triumph in its aims. So I award this game the highest rating I have ever given.

Is it the best game ever? One of them, yes. Is it really that good? Yes, be prepared to soil yourself in distinctly un-adult ways – it's that good.

I have never before had a gaming experience like it, and may never again... Simply put, Resident Evil 4 owns our souls.

Offering 20 to 25 hours of splendid gameplay, RE4 is undeniably the greatest survival horror title on the market, and my new favorite game of all time.

You may not realize it the first time you play it, and you may not be affected by the first gruesome battle, but by the end of this game Resident Evil 4 will have left a mark that can never be erased.

A phenomenally high standard for survival horror, Resident Evil 4 is an intensely satisfying game of quite astounding quality. [NGC]

This game has officially spoiled me. Literally everything about Resident Evil 4 is oozing with style and meticulous attention to detail.

Resident Evil 4 displays such extreme mastery of the videogame medium that it deserves far more than any review could give it, which essentially makes the thousands of sycophantic words we've just battered out redundant.

As you walk through eerie forests, spooky castles and haunted mines, the game pretty much thrusts you into the feeling of despair.

Another technological feat which just adds to the frightening experience of RE 4 is the lack of load times. You won't be catching your breath waiting on a load screen. The action and suspense will be with you at all times.

An amazing achievement in a variety of ways, especially in how its inspired, state-of-the-art cinematic presentation works so well with its relentlessly exciting, white-knuckle action, all of which is wrapped up in a decidedly lengthy adventure chock-full of hidden secrets and bonus extras.

This reinventing of the wheel, so to speak, results in a fresher, more fast paced, and most of all more rewarding experience all around. Truly, everything old is new again... Resident Evil 4 is not only the new benchmark for the franchise, but for the genre as well.

An area that kind of let me down was the audio; it features support for Dolby Pro Logic II decoders but it doesn't take full advantage of the hardware. Yes, there's mulit-channel support and the sound does come at you from all sides, but it's not done all that well.

This is the type of game that can, and probably will, sell systems. Resident Evil is once again the king of survival horror. Welcome back.

The control scheme is better suited and more fluid on the GC than with the PS2 controller.

10 / 9 / 9 / 10 - 38 platinum [Jan 2005]

The atmosphere still feels tense, but you no longer feel like a helpless victim that has no hope of survival; rather, you feel like an action hero with all the right moves for a Hollywood summer blockbuster, big guns and all.

As close as games have yet to get to a true masterpiece - a towering achievement in artistic design, technical mastery and emotion-driven gamemaking. [March 2005, p.58]

The best looking GameCube game ever released and features a story better than 99% of those on the market. Most importantly, though, it does all the little things that allow the game to focus on letting the player enjoy the ride.

Resident Evil 4's gameplay is astounding.

A majestic work of gaming art, a true virtual masterpiece that simply must be played to be truly believed... It is apparent to me that this was a project that was loved from the moment it was dreamt up and that sense of caring simply shines through like a beacon in the darkness.

The visuals found in RE4 are stunning. Excellent character modeling and animation make the world come alive, while detailed level design and texture mapping set the stage.

Some people may have minor issues with the control and camera aspects, but once you get past the first hour or so they'll find yourself being sucked in a game which is so consistently excellent that it's suitable to call it a masterpiece. Hands down, the best game in the Resident Evil series.

The graphics are gorgeous, and it isn't an exaggeration to say that this is one of the best- looking Gamecube games ever. Quite possibly, this is one of the best-looking console games ever.

Everything – absolutely everything - works better in this game than in any RE title before. The end result is a game that is a total blast to play through.

This game has some of the best atmosphere of any game I've played in recent memory. Everything really builds into playing a really good horror film... The game is simply a work of art.

Few words can explain the sheer joy of playing it, because it's constantly throwing up new things to marvel at. And it just feels so affirming to play a game this confident, this well-crafted, this, well, fun.

The fact it is an excellent action horror game is secondary to the fact that it's simply a brilliant game. It's so well crafted, so brilliantly realised and so sublimely toned that anyone who enjoys good quality gaming will be both impressed and entertained.

An excellent horror adventure. It is actually scary and that is no small feat for a video game. [Mar. 05]

Capcom's reinvented the wheel in high style, and while they've traded in their usual attempts at horror in favor of intensely creepy action, the game's better for it.

Not since "Silent Hill 3" and "Eternal Darkness" has a survival horror game offered so much polish and fascination.

The combat gameplay is unrivaled, especially during some of the very creative boss battles. It's also the longest Resident Evil game yet, with 25 - 30 hours of gameplay on two discs along with a ton of unlockables that will make you want to do it all over again.

If first person shooters and other action games leave too much to be desired when it comes to story, pace and atmosphere, RE4 will be refreshing.

Had RE4 performed a little better in the scare department, and lost a few really annoying and frustrating moments, we would be talking about the best survival horror game around.

So, is this what we were expecting from Capcom – a revolution in survival horror? No... It's an interactive B-movie, but one filled with sights, sounds and thrills that will linger in the memory long after the content of more sophisticated titles has been forgotten. [March 2005, p.76]

It's easy to get swept up amongst the hype, but it's hard to deny this is arguably the survival horror genre's most significant landmark title since the original Resident Evil itself.

A relentlessly compelling title that feels so rich with atmosphere, breathless excitement and palpable tension that virtually all our minor quibbles go out of the window.

From start to finish, Resident Evil 4 exudes class and polish. Capcom has seemingly stopped at nothing in the crafting of every aspect of the presentation, from overall feel to a staggering attention to detail, and the result is not only one of the most beautiful GameCube games to date but one of the best-looking titles of this generation. [March 2005, p.92]

Part of Resident Evil 4's charm comes in recognising the various sources that have inspired Mikami throughout the development cycle. The initial stages of the game owe much to Tobe Hooper's horror classic "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," with the run-down houses and crazed psychotic villagers.

I hate survival horror games. I've found them to be tedious and unnerving. However, there's something about Resident Evil 4 that draws me back again and again. Maybe it's the action-packed gameplay, the execution of the story, or even the wonderfully vivid presentation. Whatever it is, this game is something special.

The creepy atmosphere remains, but puzzles, alas, are few and far between, and so easy that they function only as lulls in the action. Yet the game is so riveting that this is forgivable.

It has freaky monsters that pull out new surprises just when you think you're used to them. It has interesting boss battles. It has vile villains you really want to smack down. It has desperate battles where you're trapped in flimsy shacks while psychotic villagers break through doors and windows.

The game for the first time ever actually has a counterpoint to these [hopeless] moments; the ying to that helpless-and-hopeless yang. That ying is an exhilarating sense of heroic empowerment.

If RE4 has any problem, it goes on a little too long (it spans two discs), with one boss battle and plot twist too many. However, there's an extensive reward system, including unlockable content that adds excellent replay value.

By ditching tired and overdone conventions and replacing them with a new theme and a more action-heavy style, Capcom has created a half-familiar, half-original masterpiece of atmosphere and menace.

While RE4 has a spectacular opening, the game's plot is at times as boring as a shambling zombie, and while the developers did a marvelous job with the game's graphics, its memorable boss battles, and some of the gameplay mechanics, the emphasis on action somewhat demeans the overall experience, leaving me to conclude that while Resident Evil 4 is one of the greatest games ever made it's by no means a perfect one.