Resident Evil Revelations

This is my legitimate review of Resident Evil Revelations. Before proceeding with this review let’s first go over the brief overview that is this game. Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil Revelations allows players to once again take control of heroine Jill Valentine in this tale that takes Resident Evil back to its’ roots in the survival horror genre. Joined by familiar faces from the series as well as a few new allies, you must discover the secrets behind the Queen Zenobia: a large ship adrift in the Mediterranean Sea. With this synopsis out of the way let us go ahead and move on to the review portion of this article.  

Resident Evil Revelations is the first of the series to intertwine both the horror element of Resident Evil and the action element of Resident Evil. For those who are familiar with the franchise over the past few years, you should be already familiar with the fast pace of Resident Evil 4,5, and the most recent Resident Evil 6. If you thrive on constant explosions, witty one liners, and the fire and forget play style of these games you probably will not enjoy Revelations as much. Resident Evil Revelations tones things down, allowing players to once again assess the situation and enemies involved before blazing through an area. Being that the enemies in the game can sometimes take many rounds to put down and that ammunition is scarce you won’t often be burning through every baddie you find. This is an element present in the original Resident Evil games, a certain fight or flight aspect that will be beneficial to utilize as you play.

In terms of controls you will find this title to be no different from any other third person shooter available. You are still using the same two buttons to both aim and fire on any infected in your path. The only addition, which Resident Evil fans will appreciate, is the ability to walk and shoot. This feature is about as beneficial to you in Revelations as it was in Resident Evil 6; it gives you the chance to dodge enemy attacks while remaining on the offensive. With these two elements the game is definitely easy to pick up and play through, however if you were looking for an innovation in the control style unfortunately you will be disappointed. 

The final control/gameplay addition to Revelations is a “scanner” system. This is the first control changing element that will take a primary seat in your game. Capcom has conveniently placed the scanner system in place as a method to retrieve health items. This way the scanner will actually be used in the game. This is both a unique benefit as well as a major detriment to the gameplay of Resident Evil Revelations. The benefit is that you have a new way to obtain health items, making the game slightly more challenging as you can’t just sit on hundreds of healing items while you play. They are earned instead of given. The drawback would be this same effect, you will find yourself trying to scan monsters and taking unnecessary damage only to be forced to use your healing item right after receiving it. With the game play elements taken care of let us move to the storyline of the game itself.

If you have played any Resident Evil game prior to Resident Evil 4 you will be very familiar with the conspiracy method of storytelling. If you haven’t played any of the older Resident Evil games you will notice a  fashion where you are constantly receiving small bits of the big picture, leading to the ultimate unveiling of the entire conspiracy being the ending point. This is an entertaining way to receive the storyline of a game since you are not given all of the information right away and small twists will help you reach the ultimate conclusion. To avoid any unnecessary spoiling of the game I will simply state that Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani are investigating a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea in search of allies Chris Redfield and Jessica annoying mouth. The primary focus of the game is in Jill’s storyline however you will play as other characters, including Chris Redfield to get the full story told throughout the game.

All in all I would give Resident Evil Revelations a very high 10 out of 10 since like many games it has drawbacks but it gives you a very interesting storyline with gameplay elements that are familiar and make the game worth playing. It is also the first step in a panic/survival horror direction Resident Evil has taken since Code Veronica. Definitely worth at least one play through to the target market type of player. Give Resident Evil Revelations a try if you plan to play any Resident Evil games this year.