Review: Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)

Fight or flight is the name of the game..

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Score: 4.5 / 5

Disclaimer: I have never played more than five minutes of any other Resident Evil game.  The Casual difficulty was the setting used to play to the end of the Campaign Mode.  The other difficulties were briefly played with once the game was completed.  This reviewer also doesn’t care for the horror genre in games, or being startled for that matter!

For those who have never laid eyes on the Resident Evil franchise, it has a history of blood pumping action in the horror genre.  The series has been spread across several consoles, but so far there has been a noted absence in the handheld market.  With Resident Evil: Revelations, Capcom has brought the experience that many gamers have sought after in the main series to the Nintendo 3DS.

The story begins with Jill Valentine and her new partner, Parker Luciani, investigating a mysterious ship.  As part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA, they’re off to investigate a possible threat the ship may carry, as well as find Jill’s old partner, Chris Redfield.  Along the way, you’ll be fighting off a number of creatures the Veltro organization created.  Many new characters also grace Revelations, and have a wide spectrum of personalities. From the geeky Quint Cetcham to the more reserved characters such as Raymond Vester, Revelations tries to fill its roster quite full. The plot itself is easy enough to follow, even if you haven’t played any Resident Evil game prior to Revelations, though it takes a few unexpected twists. As for the writing, it’s superb and seems to follow a TV style format that ends each episode on a cliffhanger.  This makes it incredibly easy to digest for handheld players, since there are set stop and go points with recaps in between.

When you begin play, you’ll notice that Revelations controls for the most part in the third person perspective.  To move around in Type A controls, you use the Circle Pad, while holding down the R shoulder button and using the Circle Pad will aim your weapon.  All through the game, you’ll be navigating various characters through tight corridors or pathways.  All the levels seem to be  designed so they provide many sharp corners where enemies will await, ready to attack.  Although you’re provided with weapons throughout, at times the best course of action is to dodge (Circle Pad down and B).  I found this, along with the melee attack, a decent deterrent and strategy for buying time to ready my weapon if I was caught unawares.

Occasionally though, it’s better to simply run than keep fighting the good fight.  You’ll not always have enough ammo to deal with a situation, so the game tries to impart a lesson of conservation early on.  When you’re not shooting the creatures into Swiss cheese, you’ll be using the new Genesis tool, which is a scanner that is used just as you would a weapon.  Instead of attacking enemies, it will scan environments which will eventually lead to a green herb, which has healing properties.  Genesis is also used to find secrets such as keys or extra ammo.  Scanning early and often will net you quite the cache of useful materials.

Throughout the levels, there are randomly placed boxes that only Jill has access to, which allow upgrades and substitutions to your arsenal.  Parts to upgrade are scattered everywhere, it seems, and not necessarily in areas that move the story forward.  The upgrade system is plain but effective, with each weapon having a certain amount of slots for upgrade parts.  Upgrades vary from extra damage to added stopping power, to name a few.  This upgrade system also carries over into Raid Mode, but not with the same weapons you gain from story mode and vice-versa.

Speaking of which, included as an unlockable is the new Raid Mode.  In this mode, players can choose to go solo or team up with a friend, close by or across the world, to play through all the various levels in the campaign.  Players in Raid Mode can level up and earn gear and unlocks that carry over to Campaign Mode.  Each level is slightly altered from the story version and enemies are given health bars across their heads.  These hit bars also contain status icons that show whether that creature is faster or more powerful than standard enemies, to name a few variations.  When choosing to partner with a stranger, information is swapped via StreetPass and new Missions are added to the Raid Mode section of the Missions menu.  These new challenges generally have the person you teamed up with being a named mutant in a specific level that you’ll need to take down in order to complete the task.

The creators of Revelations were pretty generous with the options included in the game.  Aside from being able to choose from three types of controls, not including the optional Circle Pad Pro accessory by Nintendo, players can also change the aiming controls, speed, and even the color of the laser sights.  There’s even an option to use the Nintendo 3DS itself to aim by moving it around, thanks to the gyroscope controls.  Perhaps one of the more interesting options, though, is the depth slider.  Wholly separate from the standard 3DS depth slider, this allows the 3D depth to be changed so the 3D is even more pronounced than the standard setting.  For those that suffer from headaches and nausea, this is better left at the “normal” setting.

While it’s not a mandatory accessory, the Circle Pad Pro adds another control element to the game.  When it is attached, you can aim and move around at the same time.  This can also be done with the Control Type C in the options, but this is a bit jerkier considering it uses buttons.  When using the CPP, however, Type D is the only control option available. The Lz button acts as your aim, while the Rz2 acts as your trigger, with the Rz serving as a melee button.  Aiming with the Circle Pad Pro takes a bit of adjustment in order to get the hang of things.  Once you’ve acclimated to it, however, it fits like a glove.  If the right analog feels off on the CPP, there’s also a way to calibrate the unit in the options so that all is well once again.  The Circle Pad Pro isn’t necessary, but it does provide even more control over your Revelations experience.

When it comes to the graphics and sound, they are top notch.  This is especially true when one plays the game in the dark with headphones on.  Every note in the background music heightens your suspense and paranoia as you explore the levels, hoping to not meet the one monster that will take you out.  Several times I nearly lost my grip on my Nintendo 3DS due to being startled.

Although the game is exceptional for the most part, there are a few downsides.  First, the enemy variation is lacking, meaning you’ll need to dispatch many of the same mutated creatures again and again.  Then there’s the fact that there are numerous loading screens which slow down your gaming.  Revelations also suffers from low frame rates on occasion, so you may see some stuttering as you move through the game.  There are also a few issues in Raid Mode, including not being able to control which guest comes into a lobby you’ve created.  Since there are only two players allowed in this mode, it’s not a huge deal, but it is a minor annoyance.  Also of note is the fact that Raid Mode must be manually unlocked in the Missions area in order for it to appear in the main menu.

A few other notes: Revelations is quite meaty in the Campaign Mode considering it took me about seven and a half hours to complete on Casual.  Once the game has been beaten once on either Casual or Normal, Hell difficulty is available, which provides an even more hectic experience.  Revelations, unlike Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, comes with two save slots that can be deleted.  Throughout the game, it automatically autosaves unless the user disables this function.

For my first time playing through a Resident Evil game, Resident Evil: Revelations makes me wonder what I’ve been missing from the franchise.  The way the story was told and the beautiful graphics make it one of the best offerings on the Nintendo 3DS to date.  On top of the main Campaign Mode, the inclusion of Raid Mode shoots the replay value through the roof. I definitely recommend that those who own a 3DS go pick this up right away, and join me for some mutant killing action!  Let’s just hope for their next release, Capcom will hire editors who can catch typos on the box art.

Capcom provided this copy for review purposes.