On Tuesday, survival horror is going to undergo a completely fundamental shift. On that day, Resident Evil 4 will be released on Gamecube after a painful 3 year wait, and it seems like it's going to be worth all of it, at least judging from the first three reviews that are out on IGN, Gamespy, and GMR magazine. Not only does the game look fantastic, but it completely changes what all of us gamers think of as the "survival horror" genre.
The biggest thing I've noticed from the reviews is how you actually feel like you're being chased during the entire game by all of the bad guys (not zombies, but mad villagers or something like that, who cares though, their heads all explode just the same) so that you never really feel "safe". If you've played the demo, you know how this works. Once you get to the village, you can't really take a breather or just take your time or something. The villagers are running to chase you down, not to mention to take a big chunk out of your flesh. It's this new sense of panick and urgency that really makes this one seem like it's going to put survival horror on its head.
But oh well, it's not out until Tuesday, so I guess I just have to keep watching video reviews and the like until then. Oh yeah, and did I mention it ties up a lot of loose ends from the ending of Resident Evil 2? And that Resident Evil 2 is my favorite in the series up to this point? Hehehe…next week is going to be a fun, but scary week indeed.
-Jack
