Fifteen minutes into Capcom's Resident Evil 4 I was thinking perfect score all the way and for good reason. Everything about the game was so impressive that I thought my emotional high would last me all the way through, but you see, that's why it's so important to beat a game before reviewing it. Over time, as I blasted apart another poor sap's head and narrowly cheated death for the umpteenth time, Resident Evil 4 was starting to take its toll on me, and I don't mean the psychological breakdown Capcom had hoped for. Rather, the game's flaws were becoming more of an issue, and hopes for a perfect five were quickly fading away.

Resident Evil 4 is the most radical in the series. After reaching dead ends on several occasions, Capcom decided to take the game in a wonderfully new direction, the end result being a breath of fresh air that's set apart from the other games because it's less constricting, but more important than the new gameplay additions is the story. Gone are the evil Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City, and the hordes of undead zombies (though in a looser sense you're still fighting zombie-like creatures). The scene has switched from America to Europe, where special agent Leon Kennedy (from Resident Evil 2 fame) is on a mission to save the President's daughter from a mysterious group whose intentions are shrouded in mystery, and after getting a rather cold welcome from a crazed village, Leon finds himself on the run through forests, towns, a castle, and other locales that are teeming with bizarre (albeit brilliantly designed) enemies that are going to need extreme amounts of firepower to put down.

Unlike the other RE games, Four is all about action. There is very little backtracking, the puzzles are simplified and some of them don't have to be completed in order to progress, there's no mad search for ink ribbons (you can save at a typewriter without one), and there aren't any more magical item boxes that transport herbs and guns between locations. The whole idea was to get rid of that stuff to make things less constricting, the result being a more realistic experience that is far more enjoyable than the previous RE games. I spent more time firing upon hordes of enemies and scoring head shots than I did wandering around searching for stupid items.

Speaking of hordes of enemies, 90% of the time you're getting attacked, and not just by one creature/crazed villager but by several at once, and you have some very cool options to select from. You can either stick it out and blast them to bits or press the action button to leap from windows, knock down ladders, and jump across gaps. The very first area is an excellent example of this, as Leon must survive an onslaught from an entire village by launching himself over fences, diving off roofs, and decapitating his foes by any means necessary. Over time the game throws many similar situations at you and they're all wickedly intense experiences, not scary per se but definitely nerve-wracking.

The primary reason why RE4 is so good is because of the numerous small things that go a long way. For example, I previously mentioned how there aren't any item boxes. Instead, there are gold coins and various treasures scattered throughout the game, and you use them to buy items from these creepy merchants. It's here where you'll be able to purchase and upgrade weapons as well as pick up other helpful items like first aid sprays (though health is generously given to you in RE4). It's not that they make much sense (why are they helping Leon anyway?), but they are a hell of a lot more realistic than what we've been used to.

Also impressive is the ability to incapacitate enemies by targeting body parts. Shoot someone in the head and they'll grab their noggin and stumble backwards. Clip them in the leg and they'll collapse to the ground (where you can just splatter their heads like a ripe melon). You can also shoot weapons out of their hands (or the air), and perform kicks or elbows while they're dazed.

There are so many other cool things about the game, like being able to use the knife on the fly to attack enemies and break boxes and jars for secret items, splintering doors and blasting apart pieces of shields with the game's many weapons, and being able to re-arrange Leon's much larger inventory (as well as buying additional space). I even enjoyed protecting the President's daughter Ashley for the majority of the game because she's not as stupid as unarmed companions in other adventures.

Resident Evil 4's controls are another one of its best features, though I wouldn't necessarily classify them with "the small stuff" because they represent one of the biggest improvements. Capcom threw out the "tank" controls from the other games (that I honestly never had a problem with), and put in place an over-the-shoulder system that allows for more precise movement and targeting. It's still not as perfect as some of you may like, but that, in conjunction with the fact that the game's in full 3D, means you'll never be firing off screen or be unable to escape a fight because the controls failed you.

Like in all of the RE games, the weapons are just as significant as the enemies and creepy locales, except they've been seriously beefed up. There are numerous types of shotguns, pistols, and magnums as well as a couple rifles, and they can all be upgraded. It actually got to the point where I just fell in love with three guns and decided to go the rest of the way with them. In fact, there were a couple that I never used.

Without a doubt, Resident Evil 4's greatest feature is its visual and aural components. Point blank, it's the best-looking console game that I've ever seen. Everything about it, from the character animation, explosions, fire, head shots, lighting, fog, rain effects, and character models are in a class by themselves, and at no point do the graphics become boring or degrade in quality. Resident Evil 4 is the epitome of beauty in the most grotesque way imaginable. The creature designs are unparalleled and represent the most frightening that I've faced, the majority of which are the twisted boss characters that still send shivers down my spine. This is the bench mark against which all games this generation will be measured, because we're not looking at pre-rendered backgrounds. This is a fully 3D engine that's capable of pumping out at times near-photo realistic visuals without a hint of slowdown or pop up.

Just like in the other RE games, Four's sound is also exquisite. I don't think the music's as catchy as in the Resident Evil remake (also for the GameCube), but it's certainly effective, and the game's other bells and whistles (the monster sounds are just phenomenal) stand apart from other games in the genre. Even the voice acting is impressive, but you'll really have to experience everything for yourself to appreciate the game's beauty. The first time you see lightning flash off a crazed villager as he (or she) hisses and stretches an arm in your direction, you'll see what I mean.

Even more than half-way through the game, I was convinced that it was going to get a perfect score, but then certain things really started to annoy me. In truth the story is quite boring and it's the game's greatest disappointment, especially since things start off so promising. But as I played I realized that the game's just a mish mash of popular sci-fi/horror films that have all been tossed into Capcom's stew, and I'm not sure whether the company's paying homage to the greatest of all time or ripping them off. Either way, the dev team does it in style, but this lack of originality results in the game losing its identity, its sense of self. Whenever something huge would happen I wouldn't put it into a Resident Evil context but instead automatically think, "Oh! It's just like in MOVIE X! Wait. Why'd they do that?"

Of course, the biggest, "Why'd they do that" has to do with the second disc, which really wasn't necessary because the game's just too damn long for an action-adventure title. There was a definite sweet spot where Capcom could've ended the game and I would've felt satisfied at 15 hours and change, but instead new characters are tossed into the game for no good reason in particular, and we learn that there's like a billion sub bosses that moonlight as the main boss. That's not to say that the second disc is a waste because some of nastiest (nasty meaning #$#^#%$ awesome) monsters reside on that circular piece of plastic, but I got to the point where I was done. No more stupid puzzles. No more President's daughter. I'm out. Peace. Goodnight. Sayonara. But no, it just keeps going, and it doesn't get any better, and the build-up's really all for nothing because the ending's pretty lame. Yes, Capcom's not known for its thrilling Resident Evil endings, but in a game that features so many improvements over its prequels, it wound up being extremely typical.

Then there's the voice acting. Believe it or not, it's actually the best in the entire series. Most of the actors are believable and deliver their lines with gusto, but therein lays the problem. RE4's script is at times more ignorant than a bad sitcom. Some of the jokes (be on the lookout for a "right arm" line) are so pathetic I couldn't even laugh them off, and the fact that Leon doesn't display any fear no matter what he sees is even more preposterous. But then again how could he when he's carrying over 100 rounds of ammunition spread across three hand cannons? That leads me to another issue: The game's not scary.

We can argue over whether the other RE games were scary to begin with, but considering the circumstances with RE4 and the enemies you face, this game should've been $#^#%#%$ terrifying. Instead, it's a shooting gallery, a title where 98% of the time you'll always have plenty of ammunition to rip apart the game's many freaks. I'm sorry, but it's hard to get into the mood when you can pick up a rocket launcher from some weirdo whenever you need one. Thankfully, you can unlock a harder game mode, but I wish Capcom wouldn't have made RE4 so action-focused. Had the developers trimmed-down the generous amounts of ammo laying about the game, it would've been the most frightening console title ever released.

Another strike against the game is how similar it is to the other Resident Evils despite Capcom's efforts to make this one different than the others. The longer I played, I realized that, though things have fundamentally changed for the better, the overlying gameplay mechanics have remained the same. I'm still searching for dumb artifacts in order to complete these nonsensical puzzles that prove nothing to me other than human beings don't believe in using safes and must therefore find the answers to all their problems through the use of bizarre traps.

Then there are the little things that bug me. Why is it raining on one side of the fence and not the other? Why can't Ashley use a gun? Why, if I kill a merchant, can't I steal his stuff? Why can't I pick up the chainsaws (as well as other weapons) that enemies drop? Why do I ALWAYS have to go into my inventory screen to change weapons instead of doing it on the fly? Why do dead crows leave grenades behind? Why can I save at the end of each chapter and then, right at the beginning of the next chapter, there's a typewriter? Why do the bad guys leave conspicuous notes lying about for Leon to find? In the past I would've shrugged off the little stuff and forged ahead (because we are, after all, playing a videogame), but I just can't let it go because of Capcom's aim to make this game the least "Resident Evil" of the series, but it's still very much like the others. You're still collecting stupid trinkets to solve corny puzzles, AND you'll still come across plot twists that are just typical if you've played the other games.

So in the end I slapped Resident Evil 4 with an impressive 4.5 score because, even though just like its predecessors it's a prisoner of its own design, it does so many things right that I couldn't sweat the small stuff. It's a highly enjoyable trek into a grotesque world whose horror yarn must be seen all the way through. Terrifying, hair-raising, and wickedly intense, Resident Evil 4, just like the first game did several years ago, has raised the bar for future games not only from Capcom but from the likes of Konami and Tecmo. You are about to enter the world of survival horror! Good luck!