Resident Evil 4 PS2 dates set

Capcom's masterful slice of survival horror, Resident Evil 4, is coming to the PS2 somewhat sooner than initially anticipated, with both the US and European releases now confirmed for a pre-Christmas release.

While the U.S. will get a street date of October 25th, PAL gamers will pleasantly surprised that the European release is set to follow just over a week later on November 4th.

The game's absence from Capcom's E3 line-up seemed to suggest the game was some way off completion, with many expecting the PAL launch to slip into early next year.

But Capcom Eurosoft reps told Eurogamer recently that print magazines have already been given a taster of the PS2 version of the game, and will be publishing their preview spreads on the game in the last week of August.

With that in mind, we'll be heading over to Hammersmith in the near future to see how the port is shaping up for ourselves, but we're reliably informed that it's "surprisingly close to the GameCube original".

Apparently a few minor compromises have been made to squeeze the game onto the PS2, with slightly less rich texturing and less facial detail, but that in all other respects the game will be identical to the GameCube classic.

Check back in late August/early September for our first impressions of Capcom's big title for Christmas, or while you're waiting, why not have a read of our GameCube review?