While Resident Evil lead Shinji Mikami may have boldly claimed at one point that we wouldn't see a Resident Evil sequel on any platform other than a Nintendo system, PlayStation 2 fans should be happy that he didn't keep his word. Resident Evil 4 was the kind of game that helped sell GameCubes. So it isn't any great shock that the game has made its way to the PlayStation 2 and that it is totally awesome. Even though there are some slight differences with the game, The PlayStation 2 version offers some extra features that may have GameCube RE 4 owners wanting to buy it again.

In case you've never heard the details, Resident Evil 4 is set six years after the events of Resident Evil 2 and sees the return of the debonair Leon Kennedy. The Umbrella Corporation has since collapsed under government pressure and Leon is no longer a rookie cop from Raccoon City. It is present day and Leon is now a member of the secret service sent into Europe to find the president's daughter, Ashley Graham. Of course, things are never so cut and dried and Leon stumbles into some bizarre situations that reveal a larger conspiracy at work. We won't delve too much into the plot, but needless to say, Leon will encounter a menagerie of twisted freaks and mutants - the marquee theme of the Resident Evil series.

The first thing GameCube fans might notice is that change in the control scheme. Don't get me wrong, the controls work great on the PlayStation 2 version of the game, but they are different enough to illicit some comments. For starters, the looseness of the left analog stick takes some getting used to - aiming and shooting was a lot tighter on the GameCube controller. It doesn't help that there are also more buttons on the shoulder to contend with making finding the right ones tough in tense moments. Once you get acclimated to the differences (if you're a GameCube RE 4 veteran), the PS2 control scheme works pretty well.

The PlayStation 2 version isn't quite as tight visually as the GameCube version either. Because some of the in-game cutscenes look better than the game itself, there's sometimes a break from reality - something you didn't get on the GameCube. The game also uses less polygons which is slightly noticeable in the little things. The framerate also slows down slightly in the "larger-than-life" moments in the game (like boss battles). Thankfully there's progressive scan and widescreen support for high definition television, and the slight graphical hitches are so tiny that after a few hours of play you won't notice too much. The game still looks great and runs smoothly on the PS2.

The sound in the PS2 version also takes a minor hit, not quite measuring up to its GameCube counterpart. The sound is good as well as the voice acting, but it sounds a little canned in comparison. Perhaps this is because Capcom used the GameCube engine to develop the game on the PlayStation 2, but who knows for sure. Chances are you won't really pay too much attention to the minor differences between the two and new players won't even notice. What's there is solid, has emotion and drives the story forward nicely.

All of these things aside, Resident Evil 4 delivers all the cool gameplay of the original GameCube version and some nice bonus content worth the $40 price tag. Capcom has done a wonderful job of brining the game to life on the PS2, with all the grand weapons, huge and dramatic boss battles, interesting characters and a storyline that is as entertaining as you can get.

But the biggest thing about the PlayStation 2 version of the game is that extra bonus material we keep hinting at. Besides the excellent unlockable wardrobe for Leon from Resident Evil 2 (Raccoon City Police Uniform), there's a series of special missions that you can play as Ada. These missions are great because they reveal a lot of the plot that was left hanging in the GameCube version. Dubbed the "Separate Ways" missions, these five side missions help to reveal Ada's motivation and some bizarre happenings that were never explained like why Luis disappeared so much and avoided so many tough situations. While these extra missions aren't as hard as Leon's main storyline they are challenging and they sure are a lot of fun.

When you take into account the quality of this game, the new weapons (there are some great ones in here), over-the-top bosses, deep storyline, and the bonus content, you can see why Resident Evil 4 on the PlayStation 2 is Game of the Year material. It is by far the best single player action experience you are going to find on the PS2 this year - and the best Resident Evil game since Resident Evil 2. If you haven't bought this game for the GameCube you'd have to be out of your mind to pass this one up. If you've already played it on the GameCube then you may or may not want to pick this one up again on the PS2 for the bonus material. Either way I highly recommend Resident Evil 4.