One of my favourite Super Hero's is Wolverine. It's not because of the obvious reasons (near indestructability and a hard-nosed attitude that would put Stalin in a sweat), it's because he has faith in himself beyond all else, more self-faith than even Muhammid Ali. His saying says it all: "My name's Wolverine, and I'm the best at what I do...."
Serving lollipops, cleaning windows, fixing cars, it doesn't matter, because whatever Wolverine tags onto the end of that (usually "...and that's gettin' mad!"), you know that he's the best at it. And it's something that's quite overlooked in a lot of aspects of life.
And this is Resident Evil 4's greatest achievement: it is without a shadow of a doubt the greatest thrill tride on any home console to date, and it has sacrificed absolutely nothing to do it. In other words, it's the best at what it does... and pretty damn good at everything else.
For instance, no other game has made you walk into a room and thought "Oh my holy cripes!" and have your brain send a rush of chemicals around your body to increase your responses so well. Maybe the first Resident Evil did it with the dogs pouncing through the windows (it's the videogame equivelant of Psycho's shower scene, in case you didn't know), but you were so crippled with poor controls that it took away from the experience, deeply. Instead of somebody throwing a spider in your face and you shrieking and jumping away from it giggling with fright, like in Res 4, Res 1 was like enduring a round of Fear Factor, sitting in a box of tarantulas.
Buy this game. If you like videogames: buy this game. If you have an inkling of maybe buying a games console: buy this game. If you are any way interested in interactive entertainment: buy this game.
I could talk about the fluid gameplay dynamics, serious advancement of console graphic standards, perfect use of audio, and the rest, but I feel that there's much more to the game than that. This is an experience, and to label it as a "videogame" would automatically turn a lot of people off. Would I be mad to say that it's a shame that it's a videogame? Maybe. Half the fun is in viewing the main characters, Leon Kennedy and Ashley, traverse three very inhospitable locations, but the other half is taking part, in being them, and that's difficult for a lot of people who don't play videogames. Aren't they missing out on a huge party! Some parts of the game involve the player to randomly bash some of the buttons to survive, for example, repeatedly pressing the A button to sprint for safety, or pressing a button at the right time to dodge an attack. If the whole game were to be played like this, a lot of 'low-level' players could really get into it. Some old games on the CD-i and 3DO tried this format of gameplay and they sucked, simply because they didn't have to astounding Hollywood standard of presentation that Res 4 has..
For us normal gamers, however, the controls, as they are, make it an unforgettable experience: tight enough to help you escape from danger, loose enough to make you always on the edge and never too content with Leon's current position. Having Ashley follow you is never a burdren as it ads an unparalleled level of excitement to the game. Capcom have made sure that she doesn't become a stupid AI bot that wanders aimlessly about, getting in the way or getting in trouble. You have to watch out for her at all times, but you'll never be put under unneccessary burden due to poor game design.
I will briefly talk about the graphics. They are so perfect that it eliminates the need to analyse them from a technical viewpoint. They create a world so believable that you cannot cast negative criticism, because that's exactly what graphics in this day in age should do. In fact, they do it so well that you forget about them, because you'll be so immersed in the enviroment. Technically, Doom 3 is still the king, but this is proof that more polygons are not what's neccessary.
Long story short, Capcom has perfected what Valve did with Halfe Life 2: take the player, place them in a string of exciting scenarios, and let them do the walking. It is also a testament to the validity of videogames as an artistic and wholly involving form of entertainment, and I urge absolutely anybody to do its creators and yourselves some justice by sitting down and taking the time to learn how to play and have an absolutely fantastic time. You will laugh, you will shriek, you will panic, you will be amazed. When you play this game you'll be the best at what you do...and that's having fun.
Quite possibly the greatest videogame ever made.