According to articles surfacing in Japan, the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4, or Biohazard 4 for the import-inclined, will be considerably dumbed-down from the GameCube original.
Word has it that Leon, the main character in the game, has had his polygonal count slashed in half, from 10,000 polygons to a mere 5,000. The villagers in the PlayStation 2 version, according to a report in the latest GC World, will be constructed of around 4,000 polygons, about the same number used for the Snake model in MGS3.
Up to ten villagers and ‘associated components’ can appear on screen in the PS2 re-work without causing the game to drop frames.
Capcom did mention that the difference in quality between the GameCube and PlayStation 2 offerings would be negligible due to the enhanced texture capabilities of the Sony machine.
This graphical hiccup is unlikely to impact on PS2 sales, with Resident Evil 4 widely predicted to be a massive hit when it launches later this year.