Resident Evil: Revelations
Score: 85% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Survival Horror/ Action
Graphics & Sound: Resident Evil: Revelations puts the player in the events that happened between RE 4 ("President’s daughter’s been kidnapped, it’s up to us!"), and RE 5 ("Welcome to Africa"). As is the Capcom tradition, this game has been released before and will likely be released again. Originally, Resident Evil: Revelations was released for the Nintendo 3DS and an HD version was released for Xbox 360 (and other consoles and PC) a few years after that. And now, a few years after that, we’re seeing it released again for the Xbox One, the version I’m playing for this review. You’ll be spending your time in various environments such as an abandoned ship, urban buildings, and frozen mountains. The characters such as Jill, Chris, Parker, and Jessica are all nicely detailed. In the end, it’s hard to pick out any details that give away its handheld origins. It’s not the most gorgeous game, but then, there’s no evidence of a quick job to convert to HD. In other words, there aren't a bunch of blocky objects that have a nice texture slapped on, or strange, flat objects with no depth. Still, it lacks some final touches that we normally see in the console releases. Maybe we should see reflections on some surfaces or some additional shadow and texture - just small touches that could really make certain areas pop. All the rest is classic RE, with creepy music, growling and scraping noises, and lots of icky, slimy sounds from all the mutated monsters. The voice acting in this game is pretty good too, on par with the major console releases from the last couple decades.
Gameplay: In Resident Evil: Revelations, you go back and forth between stories and timelines involving Jill Valentine and her partner, Parker, and Chris Redfield and his partner, Jessica. Jill is trying to track down Chris and Jessica, while we go back in time and see what led to the present day situation of Chris going missing on a derelict ship named the Queen Zenobia. This is classic Resident Evil gameplay, with puzzles, zombies, limited resource management, upgradeable weapons and loads of mutated and zombified creatures. There honestly isn’t going to be much new here, even if you simply compare it to RE4. Well, there’s nothing new unless you count the new scanner you have to constantly use in order to locate items. This can be aggravating or you can consider it a bonus. If you scan enough enemies (live ones will give you some bonus points), you’ll be rewarded with an extra herb. You’ll get to enjoy some classic Chris Redfield as he dresses inappropriately for cold weather (he worked hard on those guns) and completely misses all the passes his partner makes at him. And then there’s classic Jill Valentine, unlocking and getting things done. There are enough twists and turns to make the story entertaining, (this game is called Revelations after all), although all the secret organizations and reveals can be a little confusing if this is your very first Resident Evil game. It’s still got that classic touch of B-movie cheeziness, a formula that’s fun even if you don’t completely know what’s going on.
Difficulty: Resident Evil: Revelations is about on par for difficulty with most RE games. Easy Mode will give you adequate ammo and softer hits from the enemies. Going up from there, you can eventually unlock Hell Mode. Good luck with that. Other than the scanning, Resident Evil: Revalations is a pretty easily accessible Resident Evil and one playthrough or two will give you all the practice you need to become better. The upgrade system isn’t too complicated, and you can attach and detach upgrades between weapons at will. There’s also no currency system to manage and you can load up one of each type of weapon (no slot or size management to worry about). You can use your skills in the Raid Mode, which is also quite familiar in RE games now. Between this and the Campaign with its multiple difficulties, there are plenty of ways to challenge yourself in this game.
Game Mechanics: Run and Shoot was a big step for the Resident Evil series, and you will find it here, in a humble 3DS-turned-HD game. I might have erroneously stated in the past that RE 6 was the first game to implement run and shoot, but I passed over Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and Resident Evil: Revelations, as I admittedly don’t get around to many 3DS games. This is also the first game to introduce swimming, though who really wants to go swimming with all those bioweapons running around? Again, Resident Evil: Revalations is a very accessible game. The tank controls are absent, making the controls more familiar and similar to other over the shoulder shooters. There’s not much to trip you up: shoot, change weapons, dodge, reload. You won’t get asked to learn anything much more complicated than that. Resident Evil: Revelations is classic Resident Evil, and not much more than that. It’s a fun way to spend a weekend and right on time if you’re looking for some Halloween fun.
-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville
Related Links: Resident Evil: Revelations on ResidentEvil.net Our Coverage of Resident Evil Resident Evil: Revelations for the Xbox One on Amazon
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