Resident Evil 4 (Cube)

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Oooh. Scary!

Few of the franchises of the 32bit era have endured as well as Resident Evil. Now almost a decade since we were first unassumingly invited into the world of Survival Horror, four further games in the series, as well as spin-offs Dead Aim and Outbreak - plus the recognized success of the GameCube's Remake - have cemented the series as one of the most prolific of its genre.

And one of the most highly revered. Resident Evil is, without doubt, a system seller, and it's for this reason the capturing of its lucrative licence by Nintendo, as a GameCube exclusive for all official sequels, has been bemoaned by Sony fans the world over - and well might they do so. With the latest in the series, Capcom have ripped up the rule book and started afresh - Resident Evil 4 is Resi for a new generation, and deserves to redraw the boundaries - not only of Survival Horror, but the Action Adventure - every bit as much as the original, way back in 1995.

Fixed camera angles long-gone, one could be forgiven for thinking this was anything but a Resi title

Intricacies of narrative and setting have been well documented since E3. Resi 2's Leon Kennedy returns, six years on from Racoon, in his new capacity as government agent sent to rescue the President's daughter from kidnap in central Europe. Gone are Umbrella, in a government crackdown, as has the mansion setting; a familiarity Capcom obviously decided might breed contempt. And so at the beginning of the ECTS demo, we find our central protagonist being driven to the outskirts of a remote Spanish village. The camera swoops round, close in on eyes hair and hands, showing off the impressive character models. Leon exits the car, and we're playing Resident Evil 4.

The camera is positioned behind Leon, close-up, allowing only for vision of his upper torso, half way between third and first person. Fixed camera angles long-gone, one could be forgiven for thinking this was anything but a Resi title... but for the encompassing dread exuded by the dense, painstakingly detailed setting. In a visual sense, at least, series integrity is intact.

Kaboom! Action looks to play a bigger part in Resi 4.

As it is too, in control. We move Leon through the first forest area and find a pleasingly familiar feel to all initiated actions; B is still run, while the analogue stick still operates a pivot-turn function, the once rookie cop rotating with sideward flicks, backing up by holding the analogue down, and walking forward by holding up. Start now takes us into map screen, upon which a flashing beacon indicates our destination.

With this in mind, we move forward, a rickety, less-than-homely building to our left, the road ahead blocked by a parked truck. Looks like the house is the only option, then. We move inside and inspect the bookcase. "Nothing useful here" comes the text on screen, in familiar fashion. Moving into the next room triggers a cut-scene, Leon quizzing a hunched villager about the girl he has come to find, producing a photograph, only to be attacked. When we regain control, shouts of "get back" that hark back to the opening FMV of Resi 2 ring around the room - said villager, much like the zombies before him, paying little heed to Leon's warning.

Unlike any zombie however, this villager is sporting a rather ominous looking sickle

Unlike any zombie however, this villager is sporting a rather ominous looking sickle, and advancing at alarming pace - anything but an un-dead shuffle. Steadying our nerves, we pull the R trigger to get our first experience of the new aiming system. Zooming in to Leon's right shoulder, it all looks very Splinter Cell, while rooted to the spot, as with previous Resi titles, providing a comfortable familiarity (albeit with new, more involving perspective), the laser sight on the handgun tracking (with use of the thumb-stick, with the option to invert) across the screen. Resting on our attackers' upper torso, we hit A to pull the trigger - the gun producing a satisfying splatter when the shot connects. The villager stumbles, but keeps on coming, dodging our next shot and getting violently close. We panic, he slashes, Leon stumbles... we use our veteran experience of the series, turning to run, putting space between us, gathering composure before lining up our next shot. Square in the head. Red hits the wall, he goes down. Thank god for that. Nonetheless, an unnerving initial encounter against what are promised to be only the basic foes to feature in the final game.

Counting our blessings, we walk upstairs, exploring the house. It is at this point we notice for the first time the HUD in the bottom right of the screen, including an on-screen indication of character health (a first for the series) via an energy bar - which in our case, has decreased significantly. Coming up to an upstairs window, an icon comes on screen prompting a press of A; the context-sensitive action button that is yet another new addition for Resident Evil 4. We follow the prompt, triggering a cut-scene involving the road-blocking car revving to life. Leon dives out of the window, action hero style, only to find himself confronted by several angry villagers, all boasting weapons as pointy and deadly as their felled counterpart indoors. Shit!

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