This year at E3, Capcom was throwing their weight behind the Nintendo 3DS, and by weight I mean the Resident Evil series. While Resident Evil: the Mercenaries 3D was playable at the Nintendo booth, the Capcom booth showcased a different title: Resident Evil: Revelations. I went in expecting something similar to the new run-and-gun style of Resident Evil 4 and 5, akin to what Mercenaries is supposed to be, and instead I received quite a surprise.
Revelations is a full Resident Evil adventure, set on an abandoned cruiseliner in Europe, though you’ll also venture off the boat to a port town and other places. The main character is series veteran Jill Valentine, joined by a new partner, Parker Luciani. In this game, set between RE4 and RE5, Jill’s old partner Chris Redfield has gone missing, and Jill and Parker have been sent to go retrieve him.
At E3 2010, we complained that the 3D effect of Revelations was implemented very poorly, and actually gave one of our staff members a headache; that appears to have been nicely fixed up, as the 3D is very smooth and caused no problems for me. The game actually looks very close to the Resident Evil remake on Gamecube, not only in atmosphere but graphically, and the game really shows off the power the 3DS has. It’s quite a visual treat, and the dark atmosphere of the cruiseliner gives you a great sense of unease.
The game is an over-the-shoulder shooter, much like RE4 or RE5, with a very similar camera system and control mechanics. If you’ve played either of those games, you know how the game controls pretty much to a T; in fact, while I was fighting, I reflexively tried to do a quick turn, and it actually worked perfectly on the first try. The only difference is that aiming and shooting is done in first-person; when I asked about this, I was told that there just wasn’t enough room on screen to watch Jill from behind while aiming. It’s not a big loss.
I started out running around a locked bedroom, exploring the vaguely-lit area looking for a key or a screwdriver of some sort. I eventually found a screwdriver and got to work undoing the door, in what I was told was one of many touch-screen puzzles; exploration and puzzles are two elements from the older games that Capcom wants to bring back for Revelations. Running down a hallway, I eventually ran into a malformed, creepy aquatic creature, which you can see in the pictures in this article. Looking back to my knowledge of RE4, I quickly dispatched it and moved on, running into another creature.
After killing that creature as well, I ran into a disturbing revelation: I was out of ammo. And not like I had to reload, I mean that all the ammo was gone because I had used all of the ammo. Anyone who tries to run and gun through this game, killing everything they come across, is going to wind up dead as a doornail. That’s more or less where I found myself once I had emptied my handgun, running and screaming down a hallway and praying I wouldn’t get destroyed. Fortunately, the demo ended before I was eviscerated.
If you want a good impression of what Revelations will be like, imagine REmake graphics and gameplay with the far superior RE4 controls, which is a very exciting recipe for a great survival horror game. Resident Evil: Revelations is currently set for release at some unknown time in 2012, and I can’t wait to give it another try. Stay tuned to Nintendo Gal for more E3 impressions.
Incorrect! Revelations is pegged for august release in uk
I haven’t been able to find anything about that, myself. Our readership is mainly American, though, so we gravitate to North American release dates by default. Thanks for the heads up!