When it came out on the Nintendo 3DS last year, Resident Evil: Revelations was highly praised and a huge step up from what The Mercenaries had to offer the year before. With an original storyline and exciting gameplay, the game proved to be an able addition to the ongoing survival horror franchise. If you missed out or you don’t own a 3DS, you’ll get a second chance to check it with an HD version of Revelations will be coming to game systems next month. Capcom recently invited us out to take a closer look at the game.
The story is the same as the original release, with long-suffering heroine Jill Valentine and her partner Parker Luciani called to investigate happenings on a cruise liner Queen Zenobia. It happens to be the last place that anyone saw Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) members Chris Redfield and his partner Jessica Sherawat, leading the agency to believe that something’s amiss onboard.
It turns out that the ship is flooded (ahem) with creatures and Jill must carefully use her firearms and martial arts to fend them off as she explores deeper within the ship. Even then, she might not be prepared for the horror that awaits her below…
You don’t play as Jill throughout the entire game, as there are portions that you’ll be switching off with Chris. Both characters have a play style that’s quite easy to adapt to, as they can pull weapons with ease while collecting items and keeping track of where they’re at with a map, which really does help keeping track of what areas you’ve already covered.
The combat is similar to previous Resident Evil games (not 6, but like 4 and 5), where you’ll have to aim carefully at incoming enemies and then move out of harm’s way before they do sufficient damage to you. Sometimes the situation will call on you to react quickly if you’re grabbed. If you run low on health, you should be able to grab a health spray or green herb and get yourself back in order.
One cool aspect that shouldn’t be ignored in Revelations is its claustrophobic-like environment. They’re not as wide-open as the space you cover in Resident Evil 6 and they set the pace for the kind of “anything can jump out at you” terror within the confines of the ship. Fans are likely to be appreciative of that, as it makes you cautious while slowly working around a walkway just in case something might be waiting for you. This game definitely leans on the survival horror aspect that older games have done.
The game has more areas to explore outside the ship as well, though we didn’t get to see them just yet outside of what we played in the demo. In pure Resident Evil fashion, these events will help move the story along. You aren’t just limited to a cheap pistol and quick melee strikes over the entirety of the game, as you’ll be able to pick up weapons like a shotgun that are quite useful for mowing down the larger types of enemeis. Grenades are also fitting in the time of need, especially against those beasties with enormous claws.
With a proper balance of exploration, action and survival, Resident Evil: Revelations feels like an experience that fans will come to appreciate. On top of that, the game has been remastered in high definition. While the 3D effect that was in the original release isn’t here, you’ll find plenty of eye-popping details on and off the ship and shorter loading times. For those of you looking to get right into the thick of things, this is undoubtedly good news.
Capcom will also reintroduce the cool Raid Mode, where two players can work together to hunt down bonuses while defeating enemies. We didn’t see it in action, but if you’ve got a reliable friend to partner up with then don’t miss it.
It’s good to see Revelations get another chance to shine, especially on multiple platforms. We’ll see just how much of a killing it’ll make when it releases on May 21st.
