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 games: resident evil 4 & devil may cry 3
Capcom rebuild Resident Evil. With Resident Evil 4, Capcom have created a masterpiece. A vigorous, rigorous, great-looking, great fun game that completely reinvigorates the franchise while retaining a sense of connection. They've essentially taken the franchise to pieces and put it back together again, shifting the camera behind the protagonist's shoulder, giving you a precise aiming system, introducing role-playing-game-esque upgradeable weapons, adding context-sensitive button presses for a variety of actions and, most significantly, replacing the zombies with... well, that'd be telling. Some quibbles – inventory management is a bit of a palaver still, there are also the familiar daffy puzzles (though less of them, and they're less convoluted), dubious English, gameplay linearity and invisible walls. But these are minor grievances in the face of the game's compelling grandeur and excitement. It's not just exciting to play, it's also exciting for Resident Evil fans to find their beloved franchise so comprehensively refreshed.  Resident Evil 4 I'm a long-standing fan of Resident Evil, but despite how much the recent remakes and instalments took advantage of the GameCube's graphical prowess they stuck to a formula that was growing tired. We're not in the Arklay Mountains or Raccoon City anymore with Leon Kennedy, the rookie cop from RE2, now a US agent sent to recover the President's daughter who’s being held in the Spanish backcountry. Controlling him is notable as it doesn't entirely leave behind the awkward old system, but it's simply more fluid now. And visually it's wonderful: the GameCube offering hazy, sepia-tinged environments and a sense of mood the PS2 just can't muster. The sense that Capcom, thought long and hard about what to do with their franchise is tangible. The years of development have paid off and they’ve reaffirmed themselves as one of the best publishers around: with the Viewtiful Joe games, The Minish Cap and now this, they're stronger than ever. The fact that Devil May Cry 3 is a winner too just adds kudos.  Devil May Cry 3 For many, Devil May Cry 2 was a disappointment. Devil May Cry 3, a prequel to the earlier games (which themselves originally evolved from the RE franchise of course), proves there's plenty of life yet in the cocky, acrobatic Dante. Here he comes into conflict with his brother and is now able to choose between different combat styles, depending on your preferred style of play. Frankly, it's the sort of fun I'd hoped to have with the Prince Of Persia 2 (which, guttingly, destroyed the charm of its forebear). Roll on Killer 7. Respect to Capcom.
Daniel Etherington
Resident Evil 4 is out now on GameCube. Devil May Cry 3 is out now on PS2.
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