Reviews

Suspense gameplay could hardly be bettered in this the best of the RE series. Chilling audio cues are used throughout to indicate that undead foes are near, and yet Leon's third-person/first-person controls always afford him limited view of his foes. Ammo is in short supply too, and foes approach Leon sometimes slow and sometimes in a hurry, often lunging at him after a burst of acceleration. Seat of the pants stuff. MORE

The soundtrack to this game is integrated into gameplay in a masterful way. Unsettling noises prevail, mixed together and rising and falling as the Leon gets deeper into trouble. Character dialogue is delivered in a Balkanized gibberish, the appropriate language for deranged mutants. Turn the visuals off and you still feel the threat. MORE

I'm a big fan of the art direction in this game. Characters and environments are weathered and decaying, with jewel colors and rich textures reserved for deeper levels where evil prevails. Many of the monster designs are deeply disturbing, with heads popping off and mutating when Leon hits the target. Character animation is also unnatural and frightening. MORE

Hats off to the level designer in RE4 for putting Leon through an astonishing series of challenging encounters and levels, repeating some elements while upping the challenge as the game progresses. Leon gets to revisit areas as he traces his way through a labyrinth of truly bad places. MORE