There are two new special costumes - a '30s gangster outfit for Leon and a suit of armour for Ashley - and a new movie viewer that lets you watch any of the game's cutscenes at your leisure.

It's a good horde of stuff and makes the PS2 version the definitive version. Play the new bits in front of your Gamecube-owning mates and watch them seethe.

It looks just as good too. Some thought the ancient PS2 wouldn't be able to cope with the graphical lushness of the GC version, but it's actually almost exactly the same - if very, very marginally more 'washed out' in places - and easily the best-looking game on PS2.

There's a real bleakness to it and the subdued colour palette and extreme realism give it a real filmic quality that entrenches you even deeper into the mood of it all.

There are some lovely spot effects too - lashing rain, glowing lava and some of the best fire and explosions we've ever seen.

When you're running through a graveyard on a rainy night and you see the glow of your enemies' eyes up ahead in the gloom, it's really quite eerie and as accomplished visually as Silent Hill 2 and other similarly atmospheric gems.

The textures might be a bit flatter and the lighting effects less rich, but you really would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between both versions. It's an amazing achievement.

Just after God of War came along and took the crown as the best action game on PS2, Resident Evil 4 crashes in and shows it who's boss. It's easily one of the best games of the year and an unquestionably essential purchase. There's absolutely nothing to dislike about it.

We asked everyone we know who's played it to list anything that niggled them and it was all vague nit-picking.

It's not making any great leaps in the grand scheme of things as San Andreas did, but in many ways it's far better than anything Rockstar have ever done. Buy this. Buy this now.

Resident Evil 4 is out for PS2 and Gamecube now