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Review

Resident Evil: Revelations Review

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I’m a ridiculous and hardcore Resident Evil fan. It sometimes scares me how many times I’ll buy the next iteration in the series from so many different regions, JUST to secure the various pre-order bonuses or collector’s packages that are available. I literally lost sleep leading to the days of Resident Evil 4, and when the remake was going to be released I played through the original game multiple times just to make sure I didn’t miss a thing and had something to compare things to. And while I do consider myself to be a huge fan of the series, when Revelations was announced exclusively for the 3DS, I was worried. A side story to the franchise? Set on a boat? Taking place between two major titles? Does this sound familiar to any other Resident Evil fans? Thankfully, Resident Evil: Revelations is nothing like Resident Evil Gaiden, and many gamers, not just Resident Evil fans, absolutely have to play Revelations. The 3DS is officially alive for 2012.

Resident Evil: Revelations takes place between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, telling a story of two main protagonists of the franchise, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Jill has travelled to the Queen Zenobia, a cruise liner, in search of her partner Chris who was last reported to be there. Meanwhile, Chris is investigating leads on Il Veltro, a terrorist organisation who have developed a new virus (the t-Abyss virus) and previously attacked Terragrigia, a man-made city. What I’ve just given you is an incredibly condensed version of Revelations’ story, simply because the story is something that most gamers should experience themselves as much as possible. It’s not amazing, no, and the plot twists are unremarkable, but experiencing everything without any kind of primer makes the experience feel so fresh and who knows, some of the twists may come as a surprise too. In short, the story is good, but only by a Resident Evil standard. Take that as you will.

Just like Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition that came before it, Revelations runs on Capcom’s proprietary and versatile MT Framework engine. The engine proves here that games utilising it can provide some absolutely stunning results, that while not as perfect as the high definition consoles, they are pretty damn close. Walking through a ship while lights flicker, lightning strikes and surfaces glistening really help build an atmosphere to the game that previous games in the series have not matched. The game looks great—textures are highly detailed, particle effects are great and animations look fluid and lively (and that weird bad animation issue that plagued Mercenaries has since vanished). The game also tells most of its story through pre-rendered cutscenes, which look great and have production values good enough to be included in a major Resident Evil title, although there is an obvious disparity between the artistic direction of the in-game graphics and the cutscenes which is a bit weird. My other huge fear was that the enemies themselves wouldn’t be varied enough, and thankfully my concerns were addressed the further and further I got into the game.

What’s perhaps the most surprising effort made with Revelations is its implementation of 3D. It really does a great job of using the 3D functionality of the 3DS to create a very realistic and believable effect that adds to the experience rather than trying to force it down your throat. As you turn every corner, there is always going to be some kind of fear that something will jump out and while it’s not absolutely amazing, the 3D effect really emphasises this effect while also helping players better aim at enemies (in both third-person and first-person views). Interestingly enough, Capcom have also included an option to adjust how intense the 3D effect should be, providing a great amount of customisation for the player to tweak around and find the effect that’s just right. Thankfully, playing with our 3D slider up to full and the 3D effect option set to “very high”, the game was not hard to play at all unlike the biggest offender on the system which is easily Pilotwings Resort. While in 3D mode, the frame rate remains just as stable although there is a little bit of noticeable aliasing but nothing major. The pre-rendered cutscenes are also rendered in 3D, but for some reason these effects are not anywhere near as pronounced as the game itself which is a little bit disappointing.

Thankfully, Revelations has carried across from Mercenaries the minor additions to the gameplay systems that make the game control much better than previous Resident Evil games. Players can now walk while aiming, shooting and reloading, providing a rather reasonable (and required) modern touch to the franchise’s ever-evolving gameplay. Despite these improvements, the game still manages to remain just as tense (but not necessarily scary) as previous games in the franchise. Throughout the game there are a few “minigames” that make use of the touch screen though these are definitely not forced on the player and are only used where it feels right. Some variety in these puzzles would be nice as there are literally just two kinds, one of which only appears in the last chapter. Thankfully, though, the minor tweaks that Capcom have made to the controls make the game feel so much more modern while remaining true to the atmospheric feel of classic 90s Resident Evil games. New for the series are swimming controls, and fortunately they work well too and weren’t too frustrating.

Resident Evil: Revelations is also the first title (in the West, at least) to support the Circle Pad Pro, an attachment that adds another analog stick to the 3DS unit itself. While at first I thought this would not only be incredibly uncomfortable but also, well, pointless, using it with Revelations has made me appreciate the peripheral a lot more than just by seeing it. Providing a larger unit to hold (but decreasing portability), it really helped me to stop getting cramps in my hands, while the second analog stick really helped the game feel like a “next-gen” title controlled using more modern control schemes. The setup and installation is very simple and the control scheme when using the add-on is intuitive and doesn’t require you to reach across to the face buttons. All in all, the Circle Pad Pro is implemented very well, and if you are looking for an experience that controls exactly as it would on a traditional dual-stick console, this add-on is definitely for you, and it works great too.

The structure of Revelations was the thing that bothered me the most prior to the game’s release. An episodic Resident Evil? Where is the atmosphere? The sense of one big connected environment like in previous games (more so in the classical ones than the recent 4 and 5)? These were all my main concerns but thankfully the episodic format will allow most gamers to pick up and play Revelations in short bursts while also ensuring the gameplay doesn’t get too dull. This is essentially done by alternating between Jill on the cruise liner, and other secondary characters in other locations (including but not limited to flashbacks to build up some back story). Jill’s moments on the ship are dark, brooding and very atmospheric and provide a huge complex to become familiar with, akin to the Mansion or Raccoon City from Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2. These moments are a little bit slower but are the ones that many fans of the franchise will absolutely love as it seems Capcom finally gets what made Resident Evil so great in the hey day. Sure, it’s not that scary (for me at least) though I’ve never personally found Resident Evil to be scary, but I will admit I did have clammy hands during some of the more intense moments so I definitely felt tense, and I did jump once or twice.

 

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Outside of the moments where we play as Jill, many other characters become playable in what essentially become more action-oriented sequences. My particular favourite was one where a character was injured and could only crawl slowly, fending off a pack of wolves by sitting up in their spot. This sense of desperation makes the more action-oriented moments of the game very tense though personally I prefer the more slower and developed sense of horror.

The way Revelations handles items and inventory has changed remarkably since previous games. Players can now carry as many weapons as they want during the campaign, as well as customise weapons to have better stopping power, quicker fire rates and other buffs that will help players survive a little easier. Additionally, the Genesis Scanner, a new item, allows players to scan the areas of the game for lost items in what could be a nod to the Metroid Prime franchise. Scanning enemies a certain amount of times gives the player healing items though not to the point where the game is too easy. Of course, those who have low health and need a healing item need to weigh up the options between actually scanning an enemy and risking a confrontation, or just moving on and hoping to find a health item without the help of scanning. This kind of balance seems to underlay the core design principles of Revelations—players will need to think about what needs to be done for them to survive, and whether their current course of action is a suitable one. I will admit it’s a great feeling to have to strategise where you’re going to go and it’s something I haven’t felt from a survival horror game for so long.

Once the campaign is over, the fun really is only just starting to begin. A “Hell” mode is available that will appeal to the most pure of Resident Evil fans, strengthening the enemies and reducing the ammo available to the player. Additionally, throughout certain intervals, levels of “Raid Mode” will be unlocked. Raid Mode is playable solo, online or locally via wireless, and allows players to tackle what is essentially the “best parts” of the campaign with certain objectives together co-operatively. Players unlock weapons and “perks” to bolster their attacks following each mission. Also, enemies have life bars and the damage you deal appears on the screen to give you a sense of progress, especially once you start levelling up your weapons and yourself and seeing how much damage you’re doing as time goes by. It’s a great mode that really has you and a friend working together, and it performs amazingly online too, with little to no lag with international players.

With three difficulty levels (in both Raid Mode and the campaign) as well as hundreds of combinations of weapons and customisable upgrades, there’s a lot of stuff to do in Revelations. The main campaign itself clocked in at around eight to nine hours, but our 3DS actually said we were playing for at least ten to eleven. This felt like a right length—most of the game felt well-paced and there were never moments where I was tired or wanting to turn the game off. Overall, the game will last you at least twenty hours when you take Raid Mode into account, and much more should you invest most of your time into it. Thankfully, the levelling system and customisation means that the game can really last as long as you want it to. There’s a lot to do here and the game doesn’t feel like a half-assed package.

Just like Resident Evil 5, Revelations features a fully orchestrated soundtrack with some absolutely amazing pieces. The music sounds like something you’d find in a high budget blockbuster, and really adds to the atmosphere, especially during those tense moments when you’re trying to run away from an enemy or in a boss battle with a huge creature. Most of the voice work is still quite cheesy, though for some reason Capcom have chosen to recast Jill from Resident Evil 5 with another actress who delivers her lines quite plainly. I’ve never actually experienced such a downgrade in acting quality, even in a Resident Evil game. Still, barring this, the game’s soundtrack and voice work is great and once again is like something you’d find in a major, console-based Resident Evil game.

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Resident Evil: Revelations is a great mix of everything that made the classic Resident Evil games great, along with a suitable amount of things that made all the newer titles so good too. It manages to successfully marry the two styles of gameplay without any major hiccups and provides a quality experience that you would not be surprised to find on a high definition console. This is a game that I can safely say every 3DS owner should own and will most probably enjoy but only if they’re old enough of course. If this is a sign of what the Nintendo 3DS can really do, colour me excited for what might be one of Nintendo’s best handhelds. It’s nice to see Capcom actually trying with the 3DS and hopefully this is a sign of things to come in the future. Very pleased and very impressed—do not miss this one.

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About The Author
James Mitchell
Avid gamer since I was as young as three years old when I received my first NES. Currently studying full time and consider myself a balanced gamer. Enjoy games on all systems, from all genres, on all platforms. Sometimes feels like he's too optimistic for this industry.

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