Review of Resident Evil Revelations, 3DS

I’m going to take a quick break today from my fanciful writing to sum up some opinions on my latest treasure of a game, Resident Evil Revelations.  I’ll get back to writing the Victorian Evil setting tomorrow (hopefully).

Revelations is a title for the Nintendo 3DS, and while I’ve been waiting for a while before committing to the upgrade, this was the title that I was waiting for.  I am pleased to report that I am not disappointed.

As a long time fan of the Resident Evil series, since at least the Gamecube remake if not before, I’d like to start with all of the classic aspects that survive into this iteration.  The core of the game is still standing and shooting, with limiting walking and shooting.  Much more useful is the walking and reloading option, but that does slow the character down.  Quick dodges, first seen in RE3, make a comeback, as do the melee attacks that first remember from RE4.  All characters also have a knife button, which is ready and waiting anytime that they are low on ammo, or just trying to conserve.

Ammo conservation is back as well, though on this play through the supply is still ample.  Several tense moments open up during boss fights though, so “One shot, one kill” should be words to live by.  There are a few puzzles, but they are fairly easy, and they are not designed to slow down or break up the action.  Action scenes are pretty common, usually just after finding a host of new ammo, prompting players to run and gun their way forward.

New control ideas include the swimming, which is a surprising large part of the game, and scanning with the Genesis scanner.  The scanner has to be my favorite borrowed idea, and causes players to slow down and carefully inspect their environment looking for items, or potential other scannables. 

The game breaks down into chapters, allowing saving between each chapter.  The narrative gets extra confusing, as chapters seem to proceed out of order at times.  Each reveals another part of the greater story though, and does it while reminding players about the amount of time spent playing, a valuable bit of knowledge when the 3D visuals can and do cause headaches.

The generous dose of videos deliver the plot, and in striking 3D with full voice acting.  Only a small amount of the dialog seems lost in translation, suggesting the Capcom brought their best to the task.  While most players will be scratching their heads wondering what is going on, it will be in the good sense, that is the plot was written to keep players guessing, and the final resolution keeps everyone in character, so the deliberate vagaries work in the medium. 

Finally, the greatest achievement is atmosphere, which is essential to making Revelations a Survival Horror game and not another Action Shooter.  I can affirm that Capcom has hit this mark near perfectly.  The ship creaks at intervals, dead enemies fall over at the right times, mysterious noises resonate through the corridors, at times connected to scampering monsters in the vents, at others just random background noises.  The uneasiness and tension in the game is palpable, and leaves the player doubting just how wise it is to keep moving.  That is the perfect feeling, and strongly recalls the Spencer Mansion, among others.

Named bosses like Yawn and Nemesis can shove over, because they now have to share my nightmares with some new memorable, and ultimately tragic, enemies.  It is a sign of just how right Capcom can get the formula when its players recall so powerfully the beast trying to eat them, screaming “MaaaayyyDaaaayyy!”

La Divina Commedia stands prominently in the story, reference multiple times.  Ironically, the story stands in contrast, as Revelations descends directly to the bottom of the Abyss, to the very devil created by the T-Abyss virus.  Like the medieval “commedia” of Dante’s day, the heroes come through happily in the end, assuming the player gets the good ending, but the story does not turn again toward heaven, but instead Justice and Vengeance.  Those are prominent themes for Resident Evil as a whole, so the story can be forgiven for its different ending, which is, in the end, more true to itself.  Unhelpfully, it simply never highlights the similarities in any compelling way, leading one to wonder ‘why Dante?’

The controls can get a little frantic, but I have just begun to experiment with them.  The game includes a large Raid mode, allowing replays of key stages for loot and best times.  This game will continue to inspire for a while, so I am quite pleased with the inclusion.  I’ll post again when I have seen more, but for now, I recommend the game highly, even with the high price tag of requiring a 3DS to play.  An excellent addition to the cannon.