Inspired by the somewhat heated debate in the official Resident Evil thread. This week's poll will hopefully urge you guys on. :D

Although the fourth installment kicks all kinds of arse, for me it has a completely different ambiance to the originals. At some points it was almost a chore killing enemies which definitely obstructed the scariness, whereas genuinely killing to survive makes for a much more frightening atmosphere. I guess I just prefer the creepy appeal over frantic action.

As for my overall choice. "Barry, where's Barry?", 'nuff said.

Resident Evil 4! :D

Whilst it changed things from the older games, I felt it changed them for the better, since it is the most enjoyable game in the Resident Evil series, not exactly a survivial horror game and more of an action game perhaps, but nevertheless RE4 just does so much things right, going back to the old system just doesn't feel right.

I enjoyed the old style as well, particarly Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil 0 on Cube, they looked amazing :woot: but then RE4 achieved this look in a full 3D environment.

RE4 also has in my opinion enough references to the older RE games, some familar characters show up of course, and so the game does kind of tie together with the others, hopefully Umbrella Chronciles on the Wii will connect the dots that remain.

In closing, I'd say if a game makes radical changes and becomes a better game because of it, then it must be the best game!

Resident Evil 2 wins for me as my personal favourite, however I challenge any man woman or child to look me in the eye and say that the first zombie dogs smashing through the windows in Resident Evil One didn't scare the sense straight out of them.

I have RE0 and REMake on GCN, and RE:CV and RE4 on PS2. I've also played RE2 and a little bit of RE3 on my brother's PSOne.


While the whole Zombie thing in RE0 to CV was freaky, and the games had their "HOLY SHIT!" moments, I prefer RE4 because of the superior controls.

RE4 had a different type of scariness behind it to the others, probably more eerie than scary.

You can't tell me the first time you heard those priest guys chanting you didn't find it freaky.

Yeah RE4 does still have its freaky moments, like the Regenerator, and those Monk chants :D . It was also a lot more intense, because you were facing so many enemies at once, it would "scary" in the sense of how the f**k do I get through this!!!

Though this intensity diminishes as you get used to the game and ease in it, the most intense moment was probably the first village section with the first encounter with Chainsaw Man! Hearing the roar of the chainsaw, sets your heart pumping!

So it was normal to not know what the hell was going on then find that your head had suddenly been chopped off? Because that happened to me the first time I got up to that bit :P

After the freshness of the first area, it fails to build upon its success, instead choosing to repackage the first level endlessly with variously distracting coats of gloss, desperately fighting a battle to keep the player's attention as the gameplay grows tired and stagnant. While I agree that the series was in need of some refreshing, Capcom's idea of revitalising the series basically involves throwing everything which made the older games decent out of the window (metaphorically of course). Resident Evil 4 can not be called Survival Horror. The previous Resident Evil games all had an element which made them spooky but not once, in the 20 some hours of playing through RE4 on my first run, was I scared. I'm telling the truth.

Yeah I did the same :D

Drake: Everyone agrees Resident Evil 4 isn't Survival Horror, but most also agree that this is a good thing :P

Yeah it's an above average action game for sure, it's just not the masterpiece most people regard it as...that's all. I hope 5 returns to its roots, that would be awesome. :)

RE4 - even though I haven't beaten this one, or the original RE for that matter. RE2 looked sweet but I had to watch somebody else playing it which is probably better anyway since I suck so much at these games :P I really hated the respawning zombies in the first game, it forces you to do more playing and less saving. I'm just too used to those PC FPS genres I guess..

As for all the others I'd gladly watch someone else playing it but otherwise I'm simply too damn scared :D

I've played them all and finished them all except for CV and 0 (I only hired 0 out) and I must say that RE4 is the best. It's just more entertaining and it keeps things intense and exciting the whole way through. The boss fights are epic in size and style, the action buttons (though sometimes annoying) keep you on your toes and the weapon/inventory system is a brilliant improvement.

REmake comes in second as it's probably the scariest of the series. I enjoyed all of the games (though so far I've been a bit bored with Code Veronica).

Resident Evil 4 for me, I think.

While sure it wasn't as scary as it could be, I personally prefer atmospheric games and RE4 had heaps of atmosphere. The other RE games relied on more cheap scares and thrills to keep you immersed, plus obviously you were trying to survive horror. In RE4 though, you weren't just trying to survive while the game tried to scare you, you were on a mission to get to Ashley and save her. Along the way you aren't scared in the 'BOO!' sense, but the atmosphere of the game kept you on your toes the entire time and you never knew what was coming next. For that alone, I think RE4 is the better game. When you consider that it had some awesome boss battles (lake monster for the win) and the game felt (read: controls) better too, well that just seals the deal really.

I do however agree that it wasn't the best thing since sliced bread like a lot of people believed back when it was released. In the year that it did release (2005), I actually found MGS 3: Snake Eater to be the more enjoyable game. Everyone else that I can think of preferred RE4 and therefore think I am nuts.

Just watch the replies to that last bit in this thread. :P

Ah one of my favorite series and one of the classics. Having played the Resident Evil REmakes and all of the new GCN RE's i have to say that RE4 is far and beyond the best game of the series, let alone one of the best games ever made. Looking at how well executed Resident Evil 4 was i feel that it should be the best in the series, and it will open up a vast array of new chilling and fun experiences in the series let alone the entire industry.

It's ALL about how much I was scared while playing through each game and Resident Evil Nemises is the most frightening in the series to date.

I'll admit, I haven't played a single Resi game, purely because I'd be scared shitless if I did. I have Project Zero (it came with my Xbox) and I did have a demo of Nightmare Creatures on the PSOne, and that's as far as the genre goes for me. Please don't lynch me :(!

I've heard alot about the dogs bursting through the windows. Just how scary is that?

Honestly, it's nothing that bad. It gives you a bit of a scare, since you don't expect it. But it's not so scary that it would stop you from playing. You get your cheap thrill and thats about it.

The dogs are remembered because they are one of the first massive scares in the game. I just find the whole mood scary, the music plays a massive part imo.

I must say that I love REmake as not only does it look gorgeous, I came to like the controls even if they were designed by a half-asleep chimp.
In the end though RE4 gets my vote as its just the better game. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and I'm even thinking of buying it again on the Wii.

I am too, mainly because of the extra Ada missions from the PS2 version will be in the game :D

You'll be happy to know that the Wii version is also in true 16:9 widescreen and since it's the Wii will most likely support 480p as well.

The REmake was the perfect example of what a GCN should be, I really had high hopes after it was released but the cube died in the arse anyway. :(