The fourth in Capcom's classic zombie series took a rather different turn from its predecessors. Where the first three had pretty much single-handedly invented the survival horror genre and all tropes therein (mainly obtuse puzzles and the infamously unwieldy "tank" controls), Resident Evil 4 was more of a straight-up action game, a philosophy that has been adopted more and more going forward. Leon Kennedy now wasn't a slow moving ammo hoarder but a badass hero who could run and gun, kick people off of ladders to clatter into a heap on the ground, and deliver roundhouse kicks that smacked the undead's rotten bonces clean off. Many were worried this would negatively affect one of the franchise's biggest draws - namely, that they were absolutely bleeding terrifying. They needn't have worried. Whileas the fifth and sixth instalments have, admittedly, gotten a little stale, the fourth still had plenty of classically horrifying moments. You think you've found solace in an empty cabin, but then there's a sound in the distance. Like the revving of a car engine. You head to the door at the other side of the shack, only for it to be sliced in half by a chainsaw, wielded by a nutter with a cloth sack over his head who proceeds to turn his power tool on you. If you survived that encounter on the first try, well, you're a liar.
