Survival of the fittest

I'm an admitted survival horror junkie. The eerie atmosphere and deliberate pacing of a "Resident Evil" or a "Silent Hill" has always held me hostage in front of the console longer than any other style of game. That being said, I was amazed to find myself completely enthralled with Capcom's latest "Resident Evil" gem since it essentially turns the survival horror genre on its head and blasts it off on an entirely new and exciting path.\nAfter the first of many well done cut scenes, we're off and controlling Leon Kennedy, hero of "Resident Evil 2," on a search-and-rescue mission to recover the daughter of the President of the United States, who was apparently kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult somewhere in desolate Eastern Europe. No zombies in this one folks, just a constant onslaught of rabid, bloodthirsty cultists and primitive, ill-meaning biological mishaps.\nLong gone are the fixed and sometimes awkward camera angles, door-opening load times, 2-D gunplay, frustratingly small inventory sizes and those pesky ink ribbons. Saving now takes place at periodic, ink-free typewriters and occasional, convenient autosave points. The camera is now perched over our protagonist's right shoulder and is able to glance in any direction with cinematic ease. Movement and action are also far freer than before, with the ability to move from room to room and area to area with little to no load time, as well as interacting in different ways with almost all obstacles and surroundings using the new "Action" button. All guns are now complete with laser sights and 360-degree 3-D firing capability, rendering the dispatching of enemies far more exciting.\nHow Capcom packed this 24-plus hour (if you RUSH through it) experience onto two tiny GameCube discs is, outside of an iPod, the wildest feat of data compression that I'm aware of. The vibrant graphics and realistic, often unsettling sound are as good as anything that can be expected from any next-gen console, and better than 99% of all games out there. Yet the true draw of "Resident Evil 4" is the pure sense of adrenalized fear it heaps upon its players. Enemies no longer lumber forward aimlessly. They attack quickly, often in packs and more often than not wielding weapons. There are few if any "safe" places to be found and the only ray of hope amidst a sea of enemies is that, unlike past installments, guns and ammo are in no short supply. Believe me when I say you'll need as much as you can get your paws on.\nAs Leon explores environments ranging from rural to industrial to eerily dreamlike, players experience what, at least in my mind, could well be one of the top 10 video games ever created. "Resident Evil 4" is an adventure all at once beautiful, terrifying and essential.