RESIDENT EVIL 4, Capcom
Well after you finish this installment of the survival-horror series, you may still be sleeping with the lights on. Resident Evil 4 is the most viscerally frightening game we've played.
Players once again take on the role of Leon Kennedy, the cop from Resident Evil 2. Now a government agent assigned to the president's daughter, he finds himself battling a fanatical cult, cruel monsters and other fiendishly energetic antagonists. It's grist for more than 25 hours of panic-stricken gameplay.
| | | | ___Personal Tech E-letter___ Washington Post personal technology columnist Rob Pegoraro answers reader e-mail and expands on themes he touches on in his weekly newspaper column. The e-mail version of this weekly feature includes links to the latest gadget and software reviews.
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Like previous Resident Evil games, the action revolves around exploring, solving puzzles and combat. But in this detailed 3D world, you can interact with anything you see, not just a handful of special items. You no longer sometimes feel like you're playing on a movie set, but in an unsettlingly real world, one in which you can take a moment to watch raindrops land on your shoulders -- then find yourself instantly overwhelmed when enemies rush into a room.
The zombies of earlier Resident Evil titles have been replaced by a variety of creepy beings -- neither human nor zombie -- that fight with smarts as well as speed. These gruesome creatures will organize their attacks beforehand, turning any convenient objects into weapons, and dodging blows as well as you might expect. Some will fight even after they should be dead: Blow a guy's head off, and tentacles will sprout from his neck and start thrashing you.
Both your character and your foes come alive in animations slick enough for the movies, better even than the Xbox's Halo 2. (Unfortunately, Xbox and PS2 owners will have to wait for Capcom to release this game for those platforms.) -- Tom Ham
GameCube, $50
SID MEIER'S PIRATES! LIVE THE LIFE, Atari/Firaxis
This swashbuckling update to a 1987-vintage classic is easy to like. The story is a snap to grasp (you go to sea to avenge your family's mistreatment by a noble and pile up gold), and the pacing won't stress anyone out.
Pirates starts you out in a gorgeously drawn version of the Caribbean, where you sail a sloop for the Dutch, French, English or Spanish. You rove the seas, preying on the commerce of other nations (and occasionally your own). Combat steps through a few distinct phases: First you must close with the other ship and disable her with a variety of cannon shot, then your sailors board the vessel, then you may have to duel her captain.
