Storywise the game is positioned between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 -- and bounces around quite a bit in flashbacks -- but control wise it's a giant leap back to a more plodding experience, especially compared to the most recent actiony bang-run-dodge then stab-stab-duck of Resident Evil 6.
Resident Evil: Revelations is also the first game I can think of that has gone from a handheld experience -- released on the 3DS at the start of 2012 -- and was re-drawn and brought forward to a console. In my brain, these games are supposed to go the other way: large console or PC experiences that are pared down and modified to cram into a handheld. They did it with Max Payne, didn't they? But this kind of boggles my mind.
The game looks significantly better than it's handheld counterpart, but in baking the original into a much sharper experience, it still doesn't look as good as Resident Evil 6.
Really, all of that is besides the point because Revelations, taking place on an infected cruise ship, is much more about survival horror than simply spraying everything with machine gun fire. Enemies are bullet sponges and ammo can be scarce and because the melee attacks aren't that straightforward -- and maybe that has something to do with the 3DS influences -- there's plenty of that run-turn-shoot of the
And none of it makes a lick of sense for a couple of reasons.
I'm pretty behind on my knowledge of Resident Evil lore; however, I also think the games weren't supposed to make much sense. It's as if in attempting to connect story threads, the developers connected the wrong ones so when you flush the toilet the chest freezer in the garage turns off. It's not Metal Gear Solid level of Crazy -- where you sneeze and an entire glass factory explodes in Morocco since, well, just because -- but it's nuts enough that I wanted to play right to the end and battle the clunkiness of it and some extended back-tracking.Wrapping that up, I exposed myself to Raid mode. (To my knowledge, the mode has not pressed charges.)
Raid mode is co-op experience where the focus is on gunning through levels quickly and efficiently to earn medals, costumes, etc. It's a fun little diversion if you can find someone with whom to play. That was much easier when the game officially launched about two months ago, but now it's a little more difficult to get a game going unless you know someone with the game.
Resident Evil: Revelations is less of a "fans of the genre" title than it is a "fans of the series" title. For everyone else, it's like that B-movie that does just enough things right to be entertaining.
- D.D. Nunavut
The Good:
- B-movie but entertaining
- Plenty of weird things happening and lots of familiar Resident Evil characters
- Looks pretty sharp compared to the 3DS version
The Bad:
- Back-tracking
- Resource (i.e. bullet) management
- Melee attack takes a lot of effort
Score: 7.0 / 10
