Resident Evil: Revelations

Despite being a critical success and fan favorite on Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations saw the need to expand, which is why a HD remake was made. It should give main platform owners a taste of why this iteration was so successful, which it does, though it also loses a slight bit of what made it so special in the first place. Still, it’s a tightly paced game, mixing survival horror and shooter into one, even if it’s more one than the other.

Since this is a remake, models and locations were redone in high definition. Stretching out these locations doesn’t always work for the best. In the confines of rusty boat hulls and pitch-black corridors, there’s still a sense of being lost amidst the space. However, several locations widen out the horizon, such as giant, decadent halls or office lobbies. In these bigger places, magnifying the scope just creates a sense of dull emptiness. Moreover, sloppy textures appear murky or smudged, which becomes more apparent each time backtracking through places is required. With atmosphere being important to heighten suspense, having a boring and ugly room to wander through doesn’t facilitate anxiety; it may even kill it a little. Luckily, a creepy soundtrack pops in at the right times for some added chills or at least a few well-placed jump scares. Monster placement in this game isn’t an issue; those bastards will jump out of any corner and it’s frightening every time.

Models are a hit and miss, depending on what character. Monsters twitch towards players with slime cascading from their putrid skin, while other times a room with 6 types of the same texture model will look a bit less impressive than before. Plenty of clipping errors additionally show the risks of enlarging the game, with the worst being players walking through most protruding objects. In a Capcom tradition, cutscenes look as pristine as they are so gloriously outdated, with top notch designs being animated into a surreal puppet show. Beards are made of steel, while a person’s lips are so firmly attached to one’s skull, it will make their head bop synchronously. Be prepared to overlook this strange trademark, because the cheesy and topsy-turvy story of Revelations includes tons of these scenes.

^{Supposed fearsome new monster: Encountered twice and it dies in 2 hits.}

Important matters are kept for gameplay elements, which is a good thing. Players start their journey on a seemingly abandoned boat, which will serve as the turning point of the game. As characters march out to investigate the darkness with a flashlight at the ready, they’ll quickly encounter unfriendly hosts aboard. With just a limited amount of ammo and rapidly advancing threats, it will be important to stay calm and aim true. Particularly, since some foes have deceivingly great range and unpredictable movements, trying to get a good shot in can be tricky. Luckily, it’s possible to dodge some blows with a well-timed evade, though it only postpones the inevitable and that’s only when this shoddy thing works, as It’s mostly a luck-based mechanism.

Making matters more challenging, aiming decreases mobility. When trying to kill abominations, players can only move inches at a time. Luckily, when in regular motion, players can rely on a brisk pace, even when transitioning between rooms. Camera angles frequently snap to new locations and aim attempts well, keeping a pin-pointed overview of the immediate area. On a further note, being zoomed in at all times is discouraged, since the limited view creates blind spots that open up vulnerabilities. When it comes to keeping the tension high, Revelations thought well to mix its older iteration schemes, while trying to pick up the tempo towards a modern era.

^{The bro-down did not go as expected, when Chris decided to whip out the automatic.}

Additionally, ammo is made scarce, which makes every bullet count and makes every miss a potential death sentence. To assist players in being the masters of their destiny, weapons can periodically be added to their arsenal and customized at certain points. Here, parts can be mounted on guns to make them more potent, add more stopping power to shotguns or increase the critical hit rate of rifles. There is a sizable mixture possible for any play style and with ammo being of such importance, it may be wise to periodically step down from fixed schemes, instead of finding a usual routine. No matter what the choice though, the game will require more skill as the chapters go on, naturally heightening the curve. There is a sizable steeple in the first few chapters, which can be excruciatingly annoying, but these moments will recur less than well-designed areas.

To explore the careful but effective approach more, Revelations allows players to scope their surroundings with a Genesis device that can pick up hidden items. This will become vital for survival later on, since finding a few stray bullets more may be all the difference between life and death. It’s also a clever way to make sure that characters make the most of their environment, sniffing out each and every corner.

^{Your AI partner is a scripted douche by the way. You'll know when you fight the final boss.}

However, Revelations has plenty grating moments as well. Most importantly, constantly backtracking and encountering the same enemies over and over becomes less stellar as time moves on. Certainly as some parts aren’t made obvious and the map options are just as confusing, it’s possible to become lost or even demotivated at times. Having to do so in a boring environment only hammers that feeling in harder. Luckily, a periodic change of scenery is given, with multiple characters and swimming sections, but even there the game makes it tough to follow the plot. Additionally, a scoring system after each section is rather inconsistent. For instance: One chapter was finished with 14% accuracy and still retained the second best rank.

Aside from the 8 or so hour campaign, which adds a renewable option that retains found equipment; this shooter makes the best of its modern ambience by adding a more arcade-like cooperative component. In Raid Mode, players can hustle through levels, taking out monsters with life bars to reach an end goal as quickly as possible. Each level grants them experience to unlock new things, add better equipment to their arsenal and receive more parts for their weapons. There’s a slight looting feel to this quick fix shooting gallery, which also mixes up enemy types for both fearsome and hilarious alternatives. Some monsters get enlarged to colossal proportions that block entire hallways and others are shrunken down to size for quick and nimble mini-predators. Since stages only take a few minutes each and keep the limited ammo aspect as well, it also leaves a burning sensation for more, which can become quite entrancing. It’s good for many rounds with a friend, once the campaign is done.

^{Rachel seen here in Raid Mode, fighting her Rachel alternate persona during a bad hair day.}

While the big and ugly world of Resident Evil: Revelations loses some charm, plastered over a big screen, it saves itself by being a solid title for the most part. A good challenge is present for those that bear through it and there’s plenty of renewable content on the side to revisit its world. The 3DS version is still superior, locking players into a more constrained universe, but others can enjoy this game just as much.

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed
Twitter | +SarwarRon