"A much needed return to the roots"
Video Review
Intro
Originally released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS Resident Evil Revelations has finally been ported over to consoles. This game is stripped down to the bare minimum, likely because of the hardware it was first designed for. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, having to create a simplistic Resident evil game sort of brought the game's structure much closer to where it was in the 90's when it was at its prime, yet choosing to retain the newer combat style was probably for the best. This game successfully brings Resident Evil closer to its survival horror roots while still having some action now and again. So, for all the people who bashed RE6 to death should be pleased at this games approach.
Story
Revelations has a typical Resident Evil story. Charming characters displaying their classic cheesy dialogue and one liners mixed into a somewhat interesting plot. This time around you play primarily as the sexy leather clad Jill Valentine. The only other main character who comes into play is Chris Redfield although some new characters are introduced as well. The premise of the story is simple Jill and her partner Parker are sent aboard the SS Queen Zenobia to investigate the disappearance of Chris and his partner Jessica who were sent to investigate the reappearance of Veltro the main antagonist. Confined to the tight, dark, dank spaces of the ship players will feel the survival horror vibe right away. Players won't be alone on the ship either seeing as they will encounter plenty of enemies infected with the T-Abyss virus a new strand of the T-Virus used to infect marine life. There are a decent amount of plot twists and betrayal towards the 6 hour campaigns finale to keep players intrigued.
Graphics
Reviewing this games graphics is a bit tricky considering it's simply a direct 3DS port. On the 3DS this game looked spectacular, but now that it's been released on consoles the game is put in an entirely new league. It's sort of the equivalent of putting a light weight fighter up against a heavy weight. Revelations obviously being the light weight who I have to say puts up an awesome fight, but theres no denying the inevitable knock out. Updated to a new HD look Revelations by no means looks bad. Actually cinematics are gorgeous and character models are highly detailed. The way Jills curvaceous body glistens in the light after treading through water is almost enough to allow me to overlook the uninspired environment visuals and bland textures.
Gameplay
As I mentioned earlier since this game's development was focused on providing the best experience for the player on the 3DS, now playing it on consoles the simplicity of it is showcased. Sort of reminds me of going back and playing Code Veronica or something now a days. The experience is still as fun, but it's missing a lot of the extra features we are usually spoiled with. In other words it feels like you're playing a handheld game on a console which you are. It lacks the high budget feel which would make it that much more epic. That all being said, it will only actually bother some people others will just bless it because its the only RE in a long time to actually feel like the good old days when RE was focused solely on survival horror.
Players control the character from an over the shoulder perspective as was first introduced in Resident Evil 4. The game allows the player to shoot while moving similar to Resident Evil 6. Camera control in the beginning feels a bit loose particularly when moving it up and down. After an hour or so with the game I adjusted to the awkwardness. I can only assume that it doesn't feel as precise as other entries once again because it wasn't originally designed for console usage.
Controlling Jill and being on the ship is when Revelations feels most like older RE games. The game is much more puzzle oriented, and allows the player much more freedom which endorses exploration. These instances act as fan service to those who love the older Resident Evil games where ammo was scarce, enemies were something to fear, and constant back tracking was key.
And for the it seems "hated" minority who prefer the series newer entries and action orientation will get a decent amount of linear shooting sequences on the off-levels where the player generally is not in control of Jill.
The only real new addition to the gameplay would be the genesis, a device which allows players the ability to scan for hidden hand prints which act as collectibles, along with scanning enemies to obtain data. Which adds to an overall percentage which when maxed grants the player an item.
It becomes obvious early on that the game is indeed simple. Which is showcased through the limited control scheme. Players can shoot, throw grenades, heal, use the genesis, interact with objects, and thats really about it aside from dodging which to me seemed a bit inconsistent and clunky. Dodging is dictated solely by timing all you really have to do is move the joy stick right before an enemies attack would hit you. At times it worked brilliantly aside from the awkward animation accompanied with the dodge. Other times I couldn't seem to get it to work at all, amusingly I found myself doing some dodges completely on accident sometimes even from attacks I couldn't see coming. Most sections to an episode only last 5-10 minutes which seems quite short, but I can only assume this is because once again the game was meant for the 3DS.
Aside from campaign mode which in itself offers plenty of replayability with an extra difficulty mode and a new game + feature, the only other mode is called Raid. Which I can tell you now won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's gonna be a love it or hate it kind of mode. In Raid Mode your purpose is simple all you do is try and shoot your way through a level and attempt to get an S rank with bonuses consisting of not getting hit, killing every enemy etc.. What makes the concept a little more interesting is that as you play you earn money which can be used to purchase a variety of new gear, weapons, upgrades, and ammo refills. Along with money XP is also gained which obviously allows you to level up with the cap appearing to be 50. The reason leveling up is even necessary is because the different stages all have a recommended level notification to them. Which basically tells you if you're not at least this level you will have a harder time beating this stage because the enemies are stronger than you and will consume a lot more ammo. Each of the many different stages are either recycled areas from the campaign or at least inspired from it. Players could easily rack up the hours just trying to S rank all the stages and hit the level cap. I imagine a lot of people won't bother simply because of the sheer repetition of Raid. Even just plugging a couple hours into it you'll start to see how it could get old pretty fast. At the same time though it is in a way addicting.
Originally released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS Resident Evil Revelations has finally been ported over to consoles. This game is stripped down to the bare minimum, likely because of the hardware it was first designed for. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, having to create a simplistic Resident evil game sort of brought the game's structure much closer to where it was in the 90's when it was at its prime, yet choosing to retain the newer combat style was probably for the best. This game successfully brings Resident Evil closer to its survival horror roots while still having some action now and again. So, for all the people who bashed RE6 to death should be pleased at this games approach.
Story
Revelations has a typical Resident Evil story. Charming characters displaying their classic cheesy dialogue and one liners mixed into a somewhat interesting plot. This time around you play primarily as the sexy leather clad Jill Valentine. The only other main character who comes into play is Chris Redfield although some new characters are introduced as well. The premise of the story is simple Jill and her partner Parker are sent aboard the SS Queen Zenobia to investigate the disappearance of Chris and his partner Jessica who were sent to investigate the reappearance of Veltro the main antagonist. Confined to the tight, dark, dank spaces of the ship players will feel the survival horror vibe right away. Players won't be alone on the ship either seeing as they will encounter plenty of enemies infected with the T-Abyss virus a new strand of the T-Virus used to infect marine life. There are a decent amount of plot twists and betrayal towards the 6 hour campaigns finale to keep players intrigued.
Graphics
Reviewing this games graphics is a bit tricky considering it's simply a direct 3DS port. On the 3DS this game looked spectacular, but now that it's been released on consoles the game is put in an entirely new league. It's sort of the equivalent of putting a light weight fighter up against a heavy weight. Revelations obviously being the light weight who I have to say puts up an awesome fight, but theres no denying the inevitable knock out. Updated to a new HD look Revelations by no means looks bad. Actually cinematics are gorgeous and character models are highly detailed. The way Jills curvaceous body glistens in the light after treading through water is almost enough to allow me to overlook the uninspired environment visuals and bland textures.
Gameplay
As I mentioned earlier since this game's development was focused on providing the best experience for the player on the 3DS, now playing it on consoles the simplicity of it is showcased. Sort of reminds me of going back and playing Code Veronica or something now a days. The experience is still as fun, but it's missing a lot of the extra features we are usually spoiled with. In other words it feels like you're playing a handheld game on a console which you are. It lacks the high budget feel which would make it that much more epic. That all being said, it will only actually bother some people others will just bless it because its the only RE in a long time to actually feel like the good old days when RE was focused solely on survival horror.
Players control the character from an over the shoulder perspective as was first introduced in Resident Evil 4. The game allows the player to shoot while moving similar to Resident Evil 6. Camera control in the beginning feels a bit loose particularly when moving it up and down. After an hour or so with the game I adjusted to the awkwardness. I can only assume that it doesn't feel as precise as other entries once again because it wasn't originally designed for console usage.
Controlling Jill and being on the ship is when Revelations feels most like older RE games. The game is much more puzzle oriented, and allows the player much more freedom which endorses exploration. These instances act as fan service to those who love the older Resident Evil games where ammo was scarce, enemies were something to fear, and constant back tracking was key.
And for the it seems "hated" minority who prefer the series newer entries and action orientation will get a decent amount of linear shooting sequences on the off-levels where the player generally is not in control of Jill.
The only real new addition to the gameplay would be the genesis, a device which allows players the ability to scan for hidden hand prints which act as collectibles, along with scanning enemies to obtain data. Which adds to an overall percentage which when maxed grants the player an item.
It becomes obvious early on that the game is indeed simple. Which is showcased through the limited control scheme. Players can shoot, throw grenades, heal, use the genesis, interact with objects, and thats really about it aside from dodging which to me seemed a bit inconsistent and clunky. Dodging is dictated solely by timing all you really have to do is move the joy stick right before an enemies attack would hit you. At times it worked brilliantly aside from the awkward animation accompanied with the dodge. Other times I couldn't seem to get it to work at all, amusingly I found myself doing some dodges completely on accident sometimes even from attacks I couldn't see coming. Most sections to an episode only last 5-10 minutes which seems quite short, but I can only assume this is because once again the game was meant for the 3DS.
Aside from campaign mode which in itself offers plenty of replayability with an extra difficulty mode and a new game + feature, the only other mode is called Raid. Which I can tell you now won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's gonna be a love it or hate it kind of mode. In Raid Mode your purpose is simple all you do is try and shoot your way through a level and attempt to get an S rank with bonuses consisting of not getting hit, killing every enemy etc.. What makes the concept a little more interesting is that as you play you earn money which can be used to purchase a variety of new gear, weapons, upgrades, and ammo refills. Along with money XP is also gained which obviously allows you to level up with the cap appearing to be 50. The reason leveling up is even necessary is because the different stages all have a recommended level notification to them. Which basically tells you if you're not at least this level you will have a harder time beating this stage because the enemies are stronger than you and will consume a lot more ammo. Each of the many different stages are either recycled areas from the campaign or at least inspired from it. Players could easily rack up the hours just trying to S rank all the stages and hit the level cap. I imagine a lot of people won't bother simply because of the sheer repetition of Raid. Even just plugging a couple hours into it you'll start to see how it could get old pretty fast. At the same time though it is in a way addicting.
Conclusion
Resident Evil Revelations will likely please any hardcore fan because of its much needed return to the root of the franchise, that being survival horror. Aside from character models and cinematics the graphics arent great and it becomes obvious the game is a port. Which is probably why revelations lacks the high budget quality. Luckily the game plays a lot more like older resident evil games but keeps the control scheme of newer entries.
Resident Evil Revelations will likely please any hardcore fan because of its much needed return to the root of the franchise, that being survival horror. Aside from character models and cinematics the graphics arent great and it becomes obvious the game is a port. Which is probably why revelations lacks the high budget quality. Luckily the game plays a lot more like older resident evil games but keeps the control scheme of newer entries.
Pro's
+ Gorgeous cinematics and highly detailed character models
+ Survival Horror
+ Plays Like older RE Games
+ Enough content to satisfy
+ Plenty of Replayability
Con's
- Simplified with limited controls
- iffy dodge mechanic
- Lacks the High Budget Quality
- Camera feels loose in the beginning
- Simplified with limited controls
- iffy dodge mechanic
- Lacks the High Budget Quality
- Camera feels loose in the beginning
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