Second Great REplay: Resident Evil Revelations Review
The original dynamic duo is back!
I didn’t manage to save my completion data for Revelations, unfortunately, though by checking the main menu I can see that I managed to complete the game in about 11 hours. Since this is actually my first time playing/completing this game I think a more standard review is in-order following the criteria I have set forth:
1. Gameplay
2. Characters & Plot
Gameplay
So the game is quite responsive and feels very similar to RE4/5 on the main consoles. There are some new (and returning) mechanics that really work for the title. The ability to shoot while moving- and reload while moving- is an incredible tactic that I hope all future games manage to have. The reloading was especially notable for me as I was able to back away from advancing enemies while preparing my next shot. The other awesome ability is the dodge mechanic returning from RE3. While not as easy to use, it can be pretty awesome when you’re able to avoid every little thing coming your way especially with the Ooze enemies.
Speaking of the Ooze enemies, since they take the place of zombies/infected from the previous games they are the most prominent enemy, and they are fucking hard. While they aren’t so tough later in the game, early on in the campaign it can be really tough to do much damage to them with a standard handgun, and they move quicker than they seem. They are easily more difficult than standard zombies because they can take so much friggin punishment. And they like to gang up on you in the tiny hallways of the Queen Zenobia and make you their bitch quite often. The dodging mechanic really comes in handy during these times, as you can imagine.
When fighting you go into first person mode, and It was useful at times, though at others was something of a headache. I prefer over the shoulder views when shooting, so the switch from third to first person when aiming was relatively seamless but still left me kind of disoriented.
Swimming! You can actually swim in this game, and that’s actually kind of fun. You’re completely at the mercy of any monster that deems to attack you- unless you have a shock grenade of course. But the swimming added a really cool element, and some of my favorite parts of the game included swimming around the sinking ship.
The weapon-on-the-fly thing was kind of reminiscent of RE5, but much more complicated. Maybe it’s just the fact I have large-man-hands but I couldn’t really switch weapons and run at the same time because I had to move my fingers away from the necessary buttons. This was an issue throughout much of the game. Maybe If I had extra circle pad accessory it would have been easier, but I often hurt my fingers trying to work the small system properly. Not really a complaint though, because like I said with the added peripheral it may have been ok.
Another issue was the AI. They never really…do…anything. Unlike Sheva from RE5, who had her moments of dumbassery but was also able to competently fight the enemies and help in battles, the AI partners in Revelations usually only shoot a handful of times, and often aren’t even useful as meatshields as all enemies go straight after Jill and tend to ignore the partner completely.
The Genesis, kind of like the Metroid scanner, was a neat new instrument that at times was really useful (creating healing items? Yes please!) but at other times became a chore to drag out, scan the area, pull out my gun and repeat each room ad nausea.
Characters & Plot
I loved that Jill was the main character this time, though Parker and to an extent, Chris, also played an important role. But seeing Jill in such an important role was nice. I had a bit of a hard time getting over her new voice, as I really enjoyed her RE5 actress. She was voiced by Michelle Ruff here, who also voiced Yukari from P3, and she sounded good and played the role well. We got to see more of what makes Jill, well, Jill, and her devotion to Chris is really beautiful and astounding. There were a few ship-tease moments that I liked (my feelings on Chris and Jill are strange, though I think I’ll touch on them a little later)
According to TvTropes some people had an issue with how she looked,and there is a notable difference in her face structure, however every other appearance since REmake has worked with the same model, so who knows what's up?
Weird change, eh?
Chris was pretty awesome too. I (of course) loved that he reappeared as an important character, and I liked how he pretty much was like “Brb married to the job” to Jessica. But it was nice, even though I love him, that he didn’t overtake Jill’s part of the game and she got to be the badass .
The new characters were a mixed bunch. Some thoughts below:
Parker- He definitely had some “Barry” tendencies, and he was a vital character to the storyline with ties to pretty much every other conceivable character. I really didn’t “feel” him for much of the storyline, up until about his heroic sacrifice moment near the end. Then I loved him, of course. So by the end of the game I did enjoy Parker, but he didn’t strike me like the many other partner characters in the games have. He’s still a cool dude though.
Jessica- She is defined as “amazing potential”. I liked what we did see, a double (triple?) agent who came off as kind of wimpy and useless, but is a great shot and surprisingly deadly. Her character is pretty, even though I only cared for one of her designs (her snow outfit is gorgeous, but she looks weird as hell in her FBC and Wetsuit), but she never really lives up this potential that is there. The ending was awesome, and her crush on Chris was a fun element, but I didn’t really have an opinion of her until watching the subbed “Jessica’s Report” in Youtube. The thought that she was working for Excella is very cool, and furthers my “could be a badass” view of her. I truly truly hope her very open plot thread isn’t dropped, because though she wasn’t terribly impressive in this title, I think she has the potential to be a very great character if utilized properly in the future.
Seriously, what's up with that one legged wet-suit? That's terrible.
Raymond- Has some of the worst hair in the series, and one of my least favorite character designs. RE has always been really grounded in the character’s appearances, but Raymond (and Rachael) are a little too “dark sci-fi anime” for this universe, imo. Aside from the stupid haircut, though, Raymond plays an interesting role and like Parker, I cared a lot more for him at the end. I think his relationship with Parker was probably the highlight of his character- and Parker’s to an extent- and helped humanize and flesh him out. The epilogue scene with Jessica just leaves me all kind of confused though, so I hope to see more of him (with a haircut, perhaps) in the future to explain his seemingly off triple agent status.
The perm the world wished to forget.
Clive- It’s like Columbo meets Agent Zero from Metal Gear (with the voice of Colonel Cambell). Clive was cool, if something of an unscrupulous asshole with the fact he put his teams in great danger and they could have died a number of times. Still, he manages to be one of the more interesting newcomers and at least he’s not a total karma Houdini. He’s also kind of funny at times, especially if scanned on the beach.
Quint and Keith- I just did not care for these guys. They had a few cute moments, and I kind of liked their dynamic, but Keith was just really boring to me, and Quint was a bit of a douchebag by making Keith fight all the friggin invisible Hunters alone.
Morgan- A decent villain with a human agenda. I liked Morgan, even though I was a little confused by the main plot of the FBC and BSAA competing, but after figuring that all out I think he was kind of an interesting dude. Most human antagonists in the series are rogue scientists (often with God-complexes) but Morgan was just a business man. A business man no morals, but a business man nonetheless. I doubt we’ll ever see him again in an RE game, but if he got out of jail somehow he could become a very dangerous enemy for the BSAA in the future.
Norman- I felt like Norman was really under-utilized, and I had to actually read some plot information on the wiki to get a good feel for him. I’m not sure if this is because of some spotty storytelling, or if I just wasn’t paying enough attention. (It’s a handheld title, it’s quite possibly the latter). Norman was pretty cool though, and easily the most difficult final boss in the series. So mad props there.
Rachael- Last but not least…well, Rachael had a cool design, but like Raymond it felt out of place. While she became quite a badass and memorable enemy (easily one of the creepiest in the series) I think the lack of any exposure to her pre-mutation hurt her character. The Rachael trailer would have been excellent to have included in the game proper in some fashion. Or maybe a chapter where we played as Rachael and could see what happened to her. She doesn’t even appear in Raid Mode! But even so, while I felt she could have been handled better (and sentiment I feel about a number of the new characters) she still managed to be one of the freakiest enemies in the entire series. She actually made me jump a few times!
How the fuck does she see?
I loved the new setting, and even the snowy setting of the mountains was a cool change from the previous settings. This game had the most “human” feel to it, as the outbreaks were heavily contained. The feeling of “I am playing a group of agents who handle this crazy shit” was strong and an interesting change from 4/5 where you play agents who are pretty much out of luck.
The new characters, overall, came off as sort of “okay”, with no really notable badasses. I didn’t particularly hate anyone, though Keith and Quint really drove on my nerves (and the music for them. My god.) Especially notable because the game has some really excellent music, but their theme is just…ear bleeding. The final boss theme was epic beyond belief though.
Speaking of the final boss, the Abyss is probably the hardest final boss in the series. Let’s take a look below.
Final Boss: Game: Difficulty:
Queen Leech RE0 Keep it busy while Rebecca gets the doors open. Not difficult
Tyrant RE1 Shoot him with the Magnum or buy your time unti you get the rocket launcher.
G RE2 Shoot him with your strongest weapons. Not hard.
Nemesis RE3 Can be tough, but get him in range of the big ray gun. Dies quickly.
Alexia CVX Actually quite hard. Second hardest boss?
Saddler RE4 Shoot him with everything you have, use rocket launcher. Can be somewhat hard
Wesker RE5 Tied for second hardest boss
Norman-Abyss REV Shoot him with everything you got, but he teleports so watch out. He can also fake you out with “Phantom Abyss” and you have to strike the right one. Can appear behind you, or after a phantom “strikes”. Can run across the room and kick your ass. Tons of health. Can take a rocket launcher to the face and is still cool. Very fast and instant kill attacks.
Yeah. Norman-Abyss is a bitch. It was hard as hell to beat his ass up, especially when Chris is like “I’MMA SHOOTING!!!!!” and then…procedes to pretty much not be there. I swear, Revelations makes you feel like you’re alone even when accompanied by a partner.
Overall, especially for a handheld game, Revelations is a great title and worthy addition to the main series. The main plot is intelligent, and very “gaiden-y” since it doesn’t involve Umbrella or Neo-Umbrella or anything like that. Chris and Jill are true to form and are great here, and knowing what the future has in store for them is just hard. The voice over work is great, and the music is great as well.
The graphics and gameplay are never sacrificed by the hardware’s limitations, and I think that is one of the most notable achievements. This is certainly one of the highest quality original titles I’ve seen on a handheld.