• Posted March 19th, 2009 at 16:13 EDT by Mike Harradence
• 9 Comments

(continued from previous page) ...such as an infinite rocket launcher and .50 caliber Magnum, dubbed the Hand Cannon.

A PlayStation 2 version – much to the surprise of Nintendo loyalists – was announced in late 2004 prior to RE4’s GameCube debut, and eventually hit stores in October 2005 packing in a batch of exclusive content. Chief among the extras is Separate Ways, a side-story depicting Ada Wong’s exploits that runs concurrently with Kennedy’s own antics, revealing a little more insight into both her and Wesker’s lofty ambitions. Meanwhile, Kennedy and Graham received new costumes – a mobster outfit and suit of armor, respectively – with the port also throwing two new weapons in the form of the PRL412 and explosive Bow Gun. It’s humorous to note that Shinji Mikami previously mentioned he would cut off his own head if the action horror sequel ever made it over to Sony’s console, having pledged its exclusivity to GameCube on several occasions in the past. A Wii port featuring all of the PS2 extras was released in 2007 alongside a PC release.

And thus we come, inexorably, to present day. With Resident Evil 5 on store shelves and the recently announced Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles on the horizon for Nintendo Wii, RE aficionados still have a fair amount of content to tuck into, though where the series is headed beyond 2009 is anyone’s guess. What we do know, however, is that if and when a sixth installment is released, Capcom fully intends on subjecting the franchise to yet another significant overhaul in a similar vein to how RE4 revitalized the series for a new generation of gamers four years ago. Whatever the Japanese giant decides to do, you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll be backing a fresh batch of trousers whenever you get your hands on the next chapter in this venerable series -- and quite frankly, we can’t wait.

[Author's note – credit goes to OPM UK [Christmas 1996] and GamesMaster [August 1999] magazines for the interview quotes.]