Resident Evil: Revelations

Capcom

Hey folks how's life been treating ya? It's been a while since I updated my video game reviews but today I need the distraction so I thought I'd be creative. Having a Nintendo 3DS for nearly a year now I've got... umm... 5 games for it. As amazing as the console is, the release line up was a bit crap (unlike the PSVita line up tomorrow) and over the whole year there's not really been many major releases other than Zelda Ocarina of Time and Resident Evil: Revelations which I shall expand on today...

Story
Resident Evil: Revelations (which I shall refere to as "RER" because I can't be assed to keep typing its full title) is set between Reident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 (again "RE4" and "RE5"). Chris Redfield (BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) agent and frequent steroid user) has gone missing (again) and his old partner, Jill Valentine, has set off to find him. Judging from Chris' last transmission he was last located on a Cruise Ship called The Queen Zenobia. However when Jill and her new partner, Parker Luciani arrive on board they find the entire ship to be overwhelmed with - you guessed it - zombies! Right? WRONG! It seems Capcom have chosen to swap the walking dead for a new variety of monstrous creatures created by the T-Abyss virus (a mutation of the original T-Virus) that kinda resemble the monsters in the Dead Space series... 

 
*SPOILER ALERT!*
But it turns out Chris is perfectly ok somewhere in the snowy mountains investigating an air strip with HIS new partner, Jessica Sherawat (a fellow BSAA agent who dresses like a hooker even when on a mission). So anyway Chris learns of Jill being sent to The Queen Zenobia in search of him and decides to rescue her as she may be in danger. And so they go only to find they're on the Zenobia's twin sister ship, The Queen Semiramis. Meanwhile back on the air strip, two BSAA agents known as Keith Lumley and Quint Cetcham are investigating it further only the discover the real location of the Queen Zenobia (y'know... the ship Jill and Parker are on? Keep up people!). Aaaaand so they go again to the right ship where they finally reunite and discover that the bio-terrorist organization, Il Veltro, responsible for the attack and subsequent outbreak in Terragrigia (an old city out to sea), is behind the T-Abyss virus... or are they?
*MORE SPOILERS ALERT!*
The answer is yes but they're merely a pawn used by Morgan Lansdale, head of the FBC (Federal Bioterrorism Commission). After much more digging and searching the team learn that there is a THIRD cruise ship! (you sure you're still with me?) The Queen Dido which is underwater and known as a ghost ship. Chris and Jill team up and swim down to the wreckage to find the leader of Il Vetro, Jack Norman who injects himself with the T-Abyss virus and becomes a Tyant known as "Ultimate Abyss". Chris and Jill do what they do best (Fuck. Him. UP!) and they all live happily ever after... or do they?
*FINAL SPOILER ALERT!*
It turns out that Jessica (the tart in uniform) is a traitor! (oh shock! A Resident Evil game with a traitor!) She is given a sample of the T-Abyss virus by a guy named Raymond Vester (a ginger, emo haired dude who worked with the BSAA) in a café and then... the credits role.

Jessica - the tart - Sherawat

Gameplay
RER has gone back to its routes of Survival Horror. I found myself frequently running low on ammo and health and resorting to knifing the hordes of undead. A new addition to the game is the Genesis Bio-Scanner which the player uses to scan enemies and the environment for hidden items. Once the player has scanned an efficient amount of enemies they will earn a hurb in order to heal themselves. I found this quite useful thoughout the game. Another new feature is the ability to swim for the first time in a RE game. Surprisingly it takes up a fair amount of gameplay and isn't just a little show off feature.

Could do with one these when stuff goes missing in my house!

During the gameplay you'll notice the enemies (known as Ooze) are quite the bastard to dispatch of. So Capcom have introduced weapon customisation in which players can boost their ammo capacity, firepower and chances of dazing an enemy enabling the player to sock them in the face (useful!). When I started the game I used the default settings and found myself aiming in first person which was kinda bogus and lame. That was until I learnt you can choose the "over the shoulder" aiming and went for that. I found the game to run a little smoother after this. Unlike other RE games the plot takes you to other locations to play as other characters in the story. I liked this as it added more confusion and shock in twisting the plot. The inventory is on the touch screen which made switching between 3 weapons of my choice and extra weapons such as grenades etc very user friendly. FINALLY a feature me and practically every hardcore RE gamer wanted has arrived... the use of reloading AND aiming whilst being able to move! About bloody time Capcom!

Over the shoulder FTW!

Once you've cleared the campaign on your chosen difficulty (Casual or Normal) you unlock the option to play through on Hell Mode which, I won't lie, is a BITCH! Less ammo and pickups and more enemies that just won't die! You also unlock Raid Mode which is both fun and addictive. In solo or with a partner, you progress through levels and take down enemies earning guns and custom parts you can't find in campaign mode. Upon finishing a mission you receive a rank of D to S. If you can't snag that S rank you can level your character up with better weapons and go back to find it a peice of cake. Leveling up and earning good ranks unlocks better weapons and more costumes for your chosen character. A personal favourite feature of mine is if anyone else has RER and they have their 3DS on sleep mode and you pick them up through Streetpass, you can fight them as a T-Abyss corpse in a random level. Made me laugh to kill my friend's boyfriend.

Presentation
I love the Resident Evil series. I remember being very young when watching my uncle play the first game on Playstation 1 and thought "I cannot do this game! It's for big kids." but after I found my testicles, I gave it a shot and found myself becoming somewhat a master of Survival Horror. When RE4 and RE5 hit the shelves they were not so much Survival Horror as they were action games. As much as I enjoyed them I found no challenge in them. But with the return of the Survival, I was overjoyed working out puzzles and deciding on which enemy I should kill or simply avoid to save on ammo. And the Horror aspect has also returned! Many times I found myself walking down dark, narrow corridors and having things jump out at me. Several times I jumped when on the train to work, making myself look a right prat to the other commuters. Although still in no way as freaky as the RE1 remake on GameCube, RER is definately one of the best RE games to be released and I'm hoping on a sequel in the near furture. Graphically I was impressed as it only fits on a cartridge and yet has next generation quality. The 3D was also the deepest 3D effect I've seen on the 3DS so far.

Me'sa giving it a solid 8/10. Enjoy your week people. I'm getting my PSVita tomorrow! Possible girlfriend replacement..? I'll let ya know lol!