VIDEO GAME 'Resident Evil' franchise gets great new game

Be prepared to be frightened.
By PHIL VILLARREAL
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
"Resident Evil 4." Rating: M for mature (17 and older). Publisher: Capcom. Price: $49.99. Platform: GameCube.
Video games can be much scarier than movies.
Take "Resident Evil 4" -- so vast it takes two discs to encapsulate the epic game -- in which you're forced to stalk through the night in a creaky European village packed with crazed, monstrous locals.
In the movies, you can only scream "Don't open that closet!" In the video game, you know what's in that closet, know you've got to open it, and are pretty sure whatever's in there will kill you, causing you to lose your past 30 minutes of frenetic work and start over from your last save point.
Now that's fear.
So pulse-pounding and visually gorgeous is the "Resident Evil 4" horror/survival game, though, that you won't even mind plowing through enemies and solving puzzles over and over until you get things right. The game is made not of microchips and source code, but pure adrenaline.
The hero is Leon S. Kennedy, whom hardcore "Resident Evil" freaks will remember as a rookie cop overwhelmed by flesh-eating zombies back in "Resident Evil 2." Now working as a government agent, Leon is dispatched to Europe to rescue Ashley, the president's kidnapped daughter.
What a task!
Armed with a handgun, a knife and your wits, you must brave an onslaught of enemies, piece together mysteries, find Ashley and get her to safety. She'll also help out in your quest, giving you advice on puzzles and calling for help when evil makes its residence nearby.
The bad guys come in hordes, and they're nothing like those dumb turtles from "Super Mario Bros." These opponents are loud, fast, and intelligent enough to work together in order to take you out.
It's alarmingly frightening to be bombarded by packs of pitchfork-wielding, torch-tossing villagers. You kind of feel like Frankenstein's monster. Some of the freakiest enemies are the chainsaw wielders. Most must be dispatched with a well-placed shot to the head, although panic will likely cause you to misfire as dashing enemies surround you.
Past entries in the series were notorious for their repetitive, yet addictive shoot-'em-up levels, which often amounted to little more than mindless dashes through mobs of zombies. The new game shatters the mold by requiring more strategizing and delicacy.
Tough times
"Resident Evil 4" is profoundly innovative for the ways it shatters players' comfort zones. The game design amounts to a thorough re-imagining of stolid video-game conventions.
Ever wonder how in most games, heroes can walk around carrying 60 guns at the same time? These programmers certainly did.
Instead of being able to stockpile weapons, ammunition and healing-herbs, you're stuck with an attache case with very restricted space. If you find a huge, awesome submachine gun or rocket launcher on the ground, you may have to leave it there simply out of prudence, knowing full well that you don't have the capacity to carry the firearm given the equipment requirements of the dangers ahead.