12. Resident Evil 4 – GCN/PS2

This game is what the Resident Evil series should have been from the beginning. I had never been a fan of the series, despite my best efforts. Enticed by the stellar graphics, unique game design, and intriguing story, I attempted these prior games on several equations. Despite their strengths, in the end I found the games to be unplayable. The human characters were difficult to control, aiming and shooting a gun was even harder, and overall gameplay itself was just tedious. Awful controls completely broke these games, which is a shame, because if under that control scheme those games offer half of what Resident Evil 4 does, those games have got to be stellar in their own right.

When RE4 came out for the Gamecube in 2005 (the game would later be ported to the PS2, and is soon to come to the Wii and PC), all rules were broken. Out were the old controls, and in was a far more fluid 3rd person experience. It still doesn’t control like an average third person shooter, but then again, this game isn’t a shooter. It’s a “survival horror” game, which is marketing-speak for an action-adventure game where you fight icky monsters and solve spooky puzzles. The controls finally worked, and well, finally making putting the challenge of the game in the actual gameplay. Equally worth noting is that this hard-M rated game was a Gamecube exclusive for the first year of its existence. For a console that often got a bad rap as being “kiddy” with the lack of a Halo or Metal Gear, Resident Evil 4 changed a lot of attitudes about what Nintendo’s purple cube could do.

Along with innovation, this game also brought series staples along, doing things RE fans had come to expect from the first game onward and doing them better than ever. The graphics and sound are among the very best of all time. The animations, environments, atmospheric sounds, character design – everything comes together to amount to a legitimately creepy experience. Which brings us to the story, which is incredible, but would be a sin for me to spoil here. Let’s just say that an investigation into the kidnapping of the President’s daughter brings our heroes to a remote location where Evil Resides (get it?).

Resident Evil 4 is challenging, gorgeous, innovative, long, with a memorable and engaging storyline. It’s one of the finest examples of what the medium of video games can accomplish. And it’s definitely not for kids.