Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition

Resident Evil 4 was undeniably a classic of the GameCube/PS2 era. It already made a comeback on the Wii and now it's making yet another re-appearence. This time it's on PC and has been given a HD touch-up, as well as Steam and controller support.

As a result of the game already having been in the public domain so long, the storyline is well known, but here's a quick thumbnail for you: the horrific incidents at Raccoon City now exist only in the memories of those who witnessed them. Leon, a US Secret Agent, is assigned to investigate the kidnapping of the President's daughter, and is led to a rural part of Europe in his quest. When he stops to ask directions, he is attacked by hideous monsters that he had assumed were human. Now his only choice is to battle for survival and hope to somehow find what the source of the creatures is.

In a departure from its predecessors, the game is played in a free-roaming environment rather than a series of fixed viewpoint scenes. Most exciting for horror fans on release was the inclusion of a new weapon, the shotgun, which tears chunks out of more than one enemy at a time; it's just as well, because ammo is limited. The creatures you battle all react convincingly depending on where you shoot them.

In the Ultimate HD Edition we get Steam support in the form of Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, global leaderboards, and full controller support to boot. All the previously-released content is packed into this release, including bonus content such as the Separate Ways epilogue.