After playing the game on the Gamecube I played through the bonus content on the PS2 version of the game and here are some impressions:
Resident Evil 4 is still one of the best action games in years, on any platform, and the game translates well to the PS2. It's a game you simple must own if you have either a Cube or a PS2.
The graphics of the PS2 version are comparable to those of the Gamecube. The colors are less vibrant, some of the lighting effects have been toned down and shimmering and aliasing are more apparent in this version, but it still looks hella good and many people would probably not be able to detect a difference. The sound has suffered a bit in the port, however, as a few of the sound samples have been down-sampled, but I've only noticed this with the commands like "wait" that Leon uses to order Ashley around.
The biggest addition to the game is "Separate Ways." This mode works a lot like the Opposing Force expansion for Half-Life 1, as you get to play parts of the game again from a different perspective (in this case Ada Wong as opposed to Leon). I must say that this mode is *very* impressive and the developers obviously put a lot of work into it (although the very first level is a bit clumsy). Although most of the levels have been reused, there are numerous new cutscenes that show exactly what Ada was up to (and in what unexpected ways her exploits tie in with Leon's) and one entirely new level featuring a giant battleship. The level looks absolutely amazing and you get to wreck havoc in it as well. There is even a boss battle with a familiar foe who Leon apparently didn't take care of well enough. You will also be able to take a look at "Ada's Report," a collection of 5 different reports (or narrated video cutscenes) that highlight additional details about the game's storyline, such as who Ada actually works for. Again, I was mighty impressed by the new content because of how well it was executed. They even recorded a lot of new dialogue and voice samples for Ada, Wesker and Luis.
The actual game took me 21 Hours to finish the first time (on the Gamecube). On the PS2 I rushed through the game (it was a rental) in just under 10 hours. Separate Ways took me 4 Hours and 23 Minutes altogether, so it has a decent length for a bonus addition.
In conclusion: if you don't own this game, buy it! If you own it on the Gamecube, the new content might not be enough to warrant a $40 price tag. I think a rental would be worth it, however, if you really liked the original (which you probably did).
Resident Evil 4 is still one of the best action games in years, on any platform, and the game translates well to the PS2. It's a game you simple must own if you have either a Cube or a PS2.
The graphics of the PS2 version are comparable to those of the Gamecube. The colors are less vibrant, some of the lighting effects have been toned down and shimmering and aliasing are more apparent in this version, but it still looks hella good and many people would probably not be able to detect a difference. The sound has suffered a bit in the port, however, as a few of the sound samples have been down-sampled, but I've only noticed this with the commands like "wait" that Leon uses to order Ashley around.
The biggest addition to the game is "Separate Ways." This mode works a lot like the Opposing Force expansion for Half-Life 1, as you get to play parts of the game again from a different perspective (in this case Ada Wong as opposed to Leon). I must say that this mode is *very* impressive and the developers obviously put a lot of work into it (although the very first level is a bit clumsy). Although most of the levels have been reused, there are numerous new cutscenes that show exactly what Ada was up to (and in what unexpected ways her exploits tie in with Leon's) and one entirely new level featuring a giant battleship. The level looks absolutely amazing and you get to wreck havoc in it as well. There is even a boss battle with a familiar foe who Leon apparently didn't take care of well enough. You will also be able to take a look at "Ada's Report," a collection of 5 different reports (or narrated video cutscenes) that highlight additional details about the game's storyline, such as who Ada actually works for. Again, I was mighty impressed by the new content because of how well it was executed. They even recorded a lot of new dialogue and voice samples for Ada, Wesker and Luis.
The actual game took me 21 Hours to finish the first time (on the Gamecube). On the PS2 I rushed through the game (it was a rental) in just under 10 hours. Separate Ways took me 4 Hours and 23 Minutes altogether, so it has a decent length for a bonus addition.
In conclusion: if you don't own this game, buy it! If you own it on the Gamecube, the new content might not be enough to warrant a $40 price tag. I think a rental would be worth it, however, if you really liked the original (which you probably did).
