Sunday, December 4, 2016

Resident Evil 4 for PlayStation 2 (2005)

Original ad published in the December 2005 edition of EGM (no. 198)
Press to view or download image in higher resolution.

An absolute classic on the GameCube gets the triple A treatment for the PlayStation 2


The midpoint of the first decade of the new millennium was a fantastic year for gaming. Just of the the top of my head, avid gamers saw the release of the following games during 2005: Shadow of the Colossus, Psychonauts, Devil May Cry 3, The Warriors, We Love Katamari, God of War, Great Theft Auto: San Andreas, Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo 4, Fatal Frame III, Guitar Hero, Dragon Quest VIII, Jade Empire and Burnout Revenge.

And that was just on the console front. Handhelds by Nintendo received the high-ranking Mario Kart DS, Nintendogs, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, WarioWare: Twisted!, WarioWare: Touched!, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Advance Wars: Dual Stricke and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Die hard PC gamers were served Age of Empires III, Civilization IV and Quake 4, just to name a few.





The above titles were the pinnacle of either 2-D gaming or either the first true steps of high quality 3D games, a phenomenon jumpstarted in 1996 with Super Mario 64. Nowadays, most gamers would be satisfied with just three of these games being released in one year. But 2005 would be the last great year of gaming thanks to Residente Evil 4, quite possibly the most important game the horror genre has ever seen.


Critics loved RE 4. Check out this list ranking hundreds of games of 2005. Can you guess which game is at the top? Mind you, the original GameCube edition of Resident Evil 4, the killer-app for Nintendo’s purple lunchbox, ranks at the pinnacle of the long list. But the PlayStation 2 version of the game is at a close second. The legacy of the game spans still to this day when you consider that The Last of Us, possibly the best game of the PS3, borrowed the shooting mechanics of Resident Evil 4, as well as other gameplay elements. There’s a dedicated modding community that has embraced the obvious similarities.

The PS2 was the undisputed king of console gaming by the time 2005 came around. Most gamers were eagerly awaiting for the next console generation. And just as night follows day, as we all know, the best games of each generation are always, always, released during the waining years of the console cycle. Resident Evil 4 was such a game. The Sony version, being a port, features slightly lesser graphics than the GC version. Still, it featured some additional content, such as the Ada Wong missions. Other than that, Capcom made little effort to convince serious gamers to double-dip with this port. For PS2-exclusive gamers, however, it was an absolute must.

The official advertisement of the game drives home the point. This is RE 4, with slightly different graphics and the added Ada Wong content. The print material, heavily featured on the back-cover of the great magazines of the era, is a master-class on editorial design. Notice how nothing important is in the actual center of the page, nothing! The important elements of the game are smack in the intersection of the rule of thirds grid. Just as they should be. The face of Leon is in the right-hand intersection, while the fire from his gun on the left-hand. Ada is in the background and the lower third of the page sees a ribbon of actual in-game screens from the game. Superb artwork, very detailed, makes this poster-worthy material.


Resident Evil 4 for PS2 print ad copy


The award winning, must have action title of 2005 is now a PlayStation 2 event!

“…One of the most frightening and exciting experiences you’l ever have.”- Electronic Gaming Monthly

Exclusive for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system

  • New levels! Play as Ada Wong in 5 nail-biting chapters
  • New weapons P.R.I  412 laser cannon and gunpowder bowgun
  • New unlockable costumes!
October 2005

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