This game was my first foray into the Resident Evil series since the original PS One version. That fact gives me a clarity that other reviewers may not bring to the table. Most people reviewing RE4s Wii edition simply give commentary on how this rates as a cross-system transplant. My intent is to review this game for the gamer unfamiliar with the series, or at least the previous versions of the game. I thought RE4/Wii was an excellent game; it has definitely received more play time on my system than any of my other games. The highlights: better graphics than I expected, smooth gunplay with the wand, effective button use, enough unlockable items to extend entertainment considerably. And of course, the game was spooky. To be honest, it made me pretty jumpy to play for an hour or so after dark with the lights out. I will begin with better graphics. My only pre RE4 experience with the Wii included 3 games: Wii Sports, Rayman, and Wario SmoothMoves. Between that and reports of poor graphic quality on the Wii in general, I was expecting graphics along the lines of Far Cry (translation: lousy). I was pleasantly surprised. Im not claiming they were an improvement, but they werent bad at all. As for smooth gunplay, that was the major selling point of this game. The hand-eye experience was so much more enjoyable that the typical thumb-eye setup I am used to. I look forward to playing Umbrella Chronicles with the Zapper in the near future. Speaking of which, does anyone know if it is possible to smoothly play RE4 with a Zapper? I would check for myself, but they are all sold out around Garland right now. Effective button use: most button configurations came naturally as they were initially set. That is a good thing because it was easy to get used to, and more so, because the standard setup could not be modified. Unlockable items in RE4 have me playing through for my 3rd time (twice on normal so I could buy the tommy gun, and once on professional just because I can). I do have a few problems with the final product. They are as follows. The actions (other than aiming) were not nearly as realistic and immersive as those in Metroid. I would have been happy to see more than one move with the knife, and possibly even movement involving the nunchuk, especially actions such as climbing. The unlockable items were not worked into the cut scenes. If I have to play all the way through a second time just to enjoy mobster Leon, I would prefer that the designers reworked his outfit into the cutscenes; its like cookies without the milk. Finally, I feel that the merchant ought to have sold ammunition. I did enjoy the challenge, but I think with a high enough price point, extra ammo would have added just one more dimension to the strategy element of the game. Im going to go with 4.75 out of 5, with the caveat that this game could have earned higher if the developers would have worked out some of the minor kinks instead of releasing it for Wii as early as they did.