I can't recall ever even playing those...I tend to hate mini games in horror games, they just break the immersion. I can remember playing Dead Space 1 and getting to the mini games and just facepalming, because after all the time they spent building the atmosphere, they just tore it down with the mini game. For the rest of that play session, I didn't really find it scary, and I'm the type of guy who gets scared quite easily. 

I have yet to play the early RE games, although I plan to play REmake at some point. I have played Dino Crisis though, which I've heard is similar to early RE games. Basically, RE4 was amazing because, not only did it have generally great level design, but it walked the line of horror and action perfectly, which I've never really seen another game do. 

Fondest Memory: Nearly pooping myself walking into that one cabin early in the game with the villager hiding in it @.@ 

Side bar: Speaking of tank controls, are there any relatively recent games that have done them successfully? I've been thinking a lot about a hypothetical horror game that I would make if I had ambition and skills and time and money, and I think tank controls would be the best way to go, but they tend to feel really archaic sometimes. 

That they took out the horror out of it?

You don't know horror until you've faced a Regenerator for the first time.

Resident Evil 4 stuck the perfect balance, the Las Plagas infected villagers are pretty darn close to zombies, just a bit smarter (climbing ladders, opening doors, wieding chainsaws). You're alone most of the time, sure Ashley tags along but it's not like she provides a sense of comfort and forcing her to hop inside a dumpster is fun! The controls were better without going to far as to change how it's played.

I thought RE4's atmosphere was top-notch, so I don't know what to tell you.. :-/

They are somewhat integrated into the story since it's the same guy that sells you stuff that handles the shooting range. They help you practice your aim and give you sweet rewards too!

They can put the scariest looking monsters in a game but it goes no where if the setting doesn't feel scary. The music didn't create a sense of dread to me either. That music from RE2 when you first go in the police station is one of my favorite memories in all of gaming. 

I think it was totally the setting. Having Ashley there with you during a lot of the game just wasn't scary. Sherry played a much better side-character. She ran away from you, and you wanted nothing to happen to her but you weren't with her much. You were still alone. The fact that the world felt more open didn't help either. You could run much easier than before. In the older RE's you had to get down that hallway with a ton of zombies. You couldn't just go around the other side of the house and climb through a window...

Again, I think the music gave a lonely feel in the older ones too. Also, what's scarier, zombie sounds in the distence or someone speaking a different language? 

I never got the chance to beat that since I never owned a PS1...I would like to though.

Capcom should really got on with making a new rebooted Dino Crisis.

Release it in time to feed off the Jurassic World buzz (aka, within 6 Months of JW) and it will do quite well. We need more dinosaurs in videogames.

My Resident Evil 4 senses were tingling, so here I am!

Now that the mood's set, I too must speak upon the brilliance of the game. It's pacing is perfect, the tension is always at the boiling point, and yet the game also provides moments that put a smile on your face (like the gouda cheesy lines). Amazing characters, epic set pieces, pitch perfect atmosphere, and all that heightened by the revolutionary gameplay that changed the face of action games.

Scariest moments:

• The Village: the overwhelming numbers, the claustrophobic areas, the chainsaw. The bingo.
• Colmillos Part 1: where the lightning illuminates its figure before it chases you down.
• Colmillos Part 2: in a giant hedge maze. You can always hear them chasing you down, but you don't see them until they're tearing out your throat. I'm still unnerved by this area even with the best weapons.
• The Novistadors: The music, their scampering, knowing that they could be right behind you and you'd have no idea.
• Verdugo: The first enemy where I thought, "Holy crap I have to run!" Quick, clever, and oh so deadly.
• Oven Man: You have to have at least one cheap scare per horror game, and oven man is RE4's. Touche Oven Man.
• Regenerators: The sound. The music. The HOLY CRAP IT WONT DIE NOW ITS LUNGING AT ME!!! I pooped.
• Giant Chainsaw Dude: Mercinaries is supposed to be action only. No scares. But in the Water World stage the special enemy is a giant double chainsaw wielding maniac. I don't care about the score anymore... just run away!