Review - Resident Evil: Revelations

Resident Evil: Revelations

Introduction

Welcome to the first of my blogs relating to the Resident Evil franchise. Assuming these start to get fun, maybe I'll do a bunch more, maybe I won't. I've been a fan of the series since 1997, back when I first played the Director's Cut of Resident Evil on the PS1. It's been a long time, almost seventeen years, since I started playing this series. It's been quite an interesting haul since then, going from the survival horror of the earlier games to the survival action of the newer games. If it weren't for the fact that Chris Redfield is in both, it would be tough to say that RE1 and RE6 are in the same series because they're just so goddamn different.

The point of these blogs are basically to review the series. Seeing as I've played pretty much every game, and a good deal of the rereleases of each game (well, the ones that truly add things, anyway; I've never played the PC or Wii versions of RE4, but they don't add much, and I do know what they add to the game), I feel like I'm somewhat qualified for this, though I guess that's up to you guys to decide. I hope that once you finish reading one of these blogs, you feel like you've actually read something worth reading, but you could also consider this all a bunch of babbling bullshit.

Well, to start off, I'll explain why I chose Resident Evil: Revelations as the first game to review. I've been playing a great deal of the games recently, going back and forth between the old-school, classic games and the new-age, action games. Revelations fits neatly between these two camps, having more action than the classic games, but far more horror than the new games. It's not horror on the level of the 2002 Gamecube Remake of Resident Evil, arguably the scariest game in the series (and definitely my favorite in the whole of the series), but if you compare Revelations to Resident Evil 5 (minus the Lost in Nightmares DLC campaign), Revelations is clearly the scarier of the two games. Now, onto the game proper.

Background

Revelations was originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in February 2012, before a rumored PS3/360 port was hinted at sometime before October of the same year (I don't exactly remember when, but I know RE6 wasn't out yet), and then confirmed in either December of 2012 or January of 2013. The port was released in late May of 2013, on the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. It is this port that I first played, and at the time of this writing, I've yet to play the 3DS version, though I know the differences between the two, gameplay-wise, are slim. It was first previewed at E3 2011 or 2010, I'm not sure which. Long before then, a Resident Evil was being hinted at for the PSP Go, that shitty "update" of Sony's first handheld. That game very quickly went silent, and it's suggested that the original plan for Resident Evil Portable (as it was called) was later adapted for Revelations.

Gameplay

Gameplay of Revelations is pretty much exactly like RE4 and RE5. There's a couple of additions: the 3DS version gives you the option of shooting in first-person, though this was taken out of the PS3/360/PC version; the ability to walk and shoot at the same time, something the series has sorely needed since RE5; and a device called the Genesis, which allows you to scan the room you're in for items. The weapon upgrading is different, being reduced to adding "weapon parts" to your weapons instead of spending skill points or money. Like RE5 and RE6, you have a partner with you, but unlike RE5, your partner can't steal your ammo, nor do they take damage, and unlike RE6, they're incredibly useless. Like RE5, there are a couple of rail-shooter-esque moments (much like the Ndesu fight).

Graphics

Graphics of Revelations are extremely good. If you look at the original 3DS version, you can see that even on a handheld, the game looked amazing. The 3DS version's visuals were, somehow, on par with those of RE5, released in 2009. The characters' faces aren't too expressive, but they're passable. The details on the characters' models are quite good. This might just be an HD thing on the console version, but just the detail on Jill's wetsuit is amazing. You'll be amazed when you get to the flashback in chapter 3-1 and see the destruction of Terragrigia, because the animators at Capcom really outdid themselves there. As far as the HD version of the game goes, there's not much improvement (again, a testament to the power of the original 3DS version), but it still looks beautiful. (And, on a male note, the cleavage is excellent.)

Characters

The characters of Revelations are a mix of old and new, just like every game in the series nowadays. Jill and Chris return from RE1, and Kirk the helicopter pilot from RE5 returns later in the game (before he dies in RE5). On the new side, we have Clive O'Brian, the director of the BSAA; Quint and Kieth, the white guy/black guy buddy cops of the BSAA (I'm not joking); Jessica and Parker, Chris and Jill's partners until near the end of the game, they also worked together during the Terragrigia Panic as agents of the FBC; Morgan Lansdale, commissioner of the FBC; Raymond Vester, FBC agent, Rachael, FBC agent, and Jack Norman, leader of the terrorist group known as Veltro. That's quite a few characters for a Resident Evil game, and the interesting thing is that the man who should be the villain (i.e. the final boss), is not.

Locations

There are three main locations in Revelations. The first, and main, is the Queen Zenobia. It's a great ship, a very sensible location. Unlike places like the RPD in RE2 and RE3, or the majority of Spain in RE4, everything on the Zenobia makes sense.

(On an unrelated note: RE4, does Salazar not take a shit, or something? The only bathroom throughout the game, that I can remember, is in that house where you get your throat grabbed by Mendez. Salazar has no bathrooms anywhere in his castle. A castle where there is an old-school pendulum/blade death trap, flaming horse-heads blocking off access to the only nice-looking room in the building, between two and three throne rooms, a falling ceiling death trap and, last but not least, a goddamn moving statue of Salazar himself, which will chase intruders if necessary.)

Back to the Zenobia, now, after that fucking tangent. The ship itself is beautiful. There are throwbacks to the mansion from RE1, which were nice; there are the obvious rooms that would be on a ship, such as the bilge or the bridge, which look appropriate for a ship the size of the Zenobia. The location that proves the most beautiful is the main hall, which is three stories tall. It leads you to three of the other best areas in the game: the Solarium, the Promanade, and the Casino. The Casino is self-explanatory, with a bunch of slot machines, a blackjack table, and a poker table. There's also a nice fountain in the center. The Promanade is very interesting, because it's basically a city street in the middle of a cruise ship. It's mainly a resturaunt, but it's an interesting area. The Solarium is a very large pool, and the giant monster growing throughout the room is particularly nice.

About the only problem I have with the Zenobia is the oddly larger-than-it-should-be laboratory in the lower section of the ship. But, this is Resident Evil, it's just that way.

The second main location you go to is the mountains, and Valkonion Mokki airport, which is supposed to be a Veltro installation. There, you have some nice open air areas with the mountains, some nice claustrophobic areas in the airfield, and a pretty decent sized cave that makes the caves in RE5 look bland (oh, wait, no, RE5 alone does that).

The final main location is Terragrigia, during flashbacks. There you have your standard-looking office building. It's highly detailed, extremely beautiful, and once again, looks like a very sensible location, just like the Zenobia.

There are a couple other locations, but I'd be giving you outrageous spoilers if I told you about them. Just know that they, like the other locations in the game, are amazing. The location of the final boss is great.

Enemies

Ever since RE4 dumped zombies by the wayside, Resident Evil has slowly started to get them back. Outbreak File #2 had zombies again, the two Chronicles games brought them back for another go around, the original version of RE5 had zombies in it, and RE6 brings in a new type of zombie. The Ooze, Revelations' primary enemy, are yet another type of zombie. They're more aquatic, and bear a resemblance to RE4's Regenerator. There are various types of Ooze, but I'm not certain if they have individual names, though. Hunters make a return, their last appearance being Darkside Chronicles (timeline-wise: Code Veronica, the ones in Dead Aim are different). There are a couple of different types of Hunter, with the standard ones, a new invisible variant, and the console version has an exclusive "Wall Blister", which barely appears.

Bosses are your standard fare. Like all Resident Evil's now, there's a chainsaw enemy that starts out as a boss and then becomes a semi-common enemy. There's a monster with an armored shell, one of the female characters mutates, and then there's a mutant whale. The final boss is a nice homage to the RE1 Tyrant, with an added twist.

Extras

As is standard on all Resident Evil games, minus Code Veronica in the US, there are multiple difficulties. Casual and normal are very similar, just increasing damage from the enemies and decreasing ammo for the player. I don't know much about the 3DS version's Hell Mode (I think it's similar to the RE1 Director's Cut's Arrange Mode, moving things around and randomizing the enemies' difficulty), but Infernal Mode adds a great many enemies (your first Ooze comes before they're encountered canonically) to the game, rearranges all the items (except for key items), and randomizes your amounts of ammo.

The main extra, on both versions, is Raid Mode, a replacement for RE4, RE5 and RE6's Mercenaries Mode. A good deal of people consider it addicting, but it's always bored me. You run through areas and kill enemies until you get a key to progress. Some enemies are larger, some are smaller, some take more damage than usual, some take less (not always determined by size), killing an enemy usually gives you ammo for the weapon you used to kill said enemy (unless it's a magnum, you're generally fucked if you use your magnum). It's a decent mode, but nowhere near as addicting as so many people will have you believe.

As per usual for a console release, the PS3 version has Trophies, the Xbox 360 and PC version has Achievements. Half of them are for the campaign, the other half are for Raid Mode. They're nothing to write home about, but at least they're not like RE5's, where a third of them are just "Complete Chapter [Insert Number Here]".

Sound

Sound effects are your standard fare. Pretty much all of the gun sounds were ripped right from RE5. Monster sounds are great; the Ooze sound creepy, the Hunters sound classic, some of the bosses talk, and sound suitably creepy. The music is particularly good, and one that stands out is the main theme, which you hear during the "Previously on Resident Evil: Revelations" sections in part, then finally in full during the credits. The voice acting is good, which pleases me. Roger Craig Smith returns as Chris Redfield, and he's the only returning main character voice actor. Jill's voice actress, Michelle Ruff, is all new, and she'd later return for Operation Raccoon City. Director O'Brian is played by Metal Gear Solid's Paul Eiding, providng yet another "commanding officer"-type voice that just plain fits O'Brian's character.

Presentation

The game is presented much like RE4 and RE5, in chapters and subchapters, here called Episodes. The game kind of plays out like a TV show, and every Episode starts out with a "Previously on Resident Evil: Revelations" segment, showing you what was important, story-wise, from the previous episodes. There's a Marvel-esque post-credits sequence that looks like it's going to set up a future title, but that hasn't come to fruition yet. The Episodes themselves have flashbacks and split perspectives. You don't learn anything until just the right point story-wise. Classic files have returned, after the lackluster RE4 files and the good, but underused, RE5 files.

Replayability

Upon getting the game, I replayed it about four times in rapid succession, going after more weapons, upgrades and Trophies. Raid Mode is fun, but can get a little boring after a few levels (for me, anyway, as I said before, plenty of people have called it addicting, and claim it as the only reason to own the game past the first playthrough). There's plenty of stuff you can unlock in Raid Mode, which gives it a little more replayability than it needs, honestly. There's a good deal of stuff in this game, considering its original birthplace as a handheld game (not as much as, say, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, which has more unlockable content than most games in that series combined). Raid Mode can be played online, at least on the console version, so maybe having a friend play with you can make it more fun.

Summary

Resident Evil: Revelations is a solid installment in the series, a return to the franchise's survival horror roots while still sticking with the action that's attracted a lot of newer gamers. It was certainly worth the $40 it was on the 3DS, not the $50 that the console version was, unless you hadn't played it and were really excited (like me). Thankfully, for people who haven't bought it on either (who just happen to be reading this review), the price has gone down in the two years since its 3DS release and almost a year since its console release. (Significantly, in fact, the console version was $20 almost two months after release.) If you're a fan of either form of Resident Evil gameplay, or if you're like me, and prefers survival horror, but can stand the action, then Revelations is for you.

Score

Gameplay ........................9/10
Graphics  .........................8/10
Characters  ......................8/10
Locations  ........................9/10
Enemies  ..........................8/10
Extras  .............................6/10
Sound  .............................8/10
Presentation  ..................10/10
Replayability ....................6/10
Average  ..........................8/10

Outro

Well, I hope you enjoyed the first of my reviews on the Resident Evil series. I plan on doing more, hopefully with the intention of reviewing every game in the series, minus certain games like Survivor 2: Code Veronica or Gaiden. The next review in the series, hopefully not long after this one, will be Resident Evil: Degeneration, the first CGI movie that's canon to the series.