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Tuesday, 07 February 2012 02:11

Written by Max Parker (The Game Guy)

The Resident Evil series has gone through a turbulent journey.  It began with a slew of survival horror games for the Playstation 1 and 2.  Following its early success, there have been Resident Evil games for nearly every console.  Some have been multiplayer-based like Outbreak and even one that used a light gun called Dead Aim.  Then, the series took a detour from that convolution with Resident Evil 4 for the GameCube, a game that is still widely regarded as the best in the series. Since then, the RE franchise has been more about action than scares.

Its most recent chapter, Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS, is the series’ first game for the handheld that is considered official RE canon.  It was said that this game would return RE to its survival roots, which is true for about the first 30% of the story.

Set between RE 4 and 5, Revelations follows an untold story of series’ favorites, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, while throwing in some new faces for the better or worse depending on your tastes in dialogue. 

Jill Valentine and her new partner, Parker, are on a rescue mission to find Chris and his new partner, Jessica Sharewat who went missing on the abandoned cruise ship, the S.S. Queen Zenobia.  Like almost all other RE games, the protagonists are completely ignorant of the ghoulish creatures are waiting for them.  Things get hairy when the two encounter flesh-eating, zombie-esque creatures aboard the ship.

The story is told from the perspective of various characters in different timelines that piece the story together one chapter at a time.  This was a nice touch considering most of the RE stories are told in linear fashion.

It took me a couple chapters to figure out of the dialogue was intentionally campy, or just an amplified version of the RE dialogue I’m used to.  The new characters are total caricatures (one character goes by the name “Jackass”), but it doesn’t hinder the experience.  The gameplay paired with the game's stunning visuals kept the 3DS firmly in my grip.

The controls are taken from RE 4’s single-stick control scheme.  Revelations is compatible with the new Circle Pad Pro, but the add-on wasn’t released at the time of the review.

The 3DS touch screen acts as your map and is occasionally used for puzzles.  It could have been better utilized for the latter.  We see the same types of puzzles and only a couple times throughout the game.

Revelations follows the same blueprint of the series most celebrated edition, RE 4. You start in a strange new ominous setting with the bare minimum of firearms and ammunition.  Strange new creatures are after you, jumping from around corners and crashing through air vents to provide some forgettable “gotcha” moments.

Let me take this opportunity to make a declaration: it is virtually impossible to make a scary game on a handheld device.  With a handheld, there are too many distractions happening around the user’s periphery to become completely detached from reality.  It’s a lot like a scary movie being scarier in theaters than on a home television.  Abandoning scare tactics early on, works in the game’s favor.

The weapons will look familiar if you ever played an RE game before.  You have your pistol, shotgun, a couple machine guns, and eventually a single-fire rocket launcher.  The earned arsenal is upgradable, but in a different fashion than what we’re used to from RE 4 and 5. The Queen Zenobia has what are called “custom parts” hidden around the rooms and crannies that can be applied to your weaponry.

A totally new tool is introduced called the Genesis.  This nifty gadget allows you to scan fallen enemies.  When first revealed, I was worried that it would get in the way of the experience I was used to, but it turned out to be a solid innovation.  Scanning fallen enemies earns research points.  Conducting enough research yields a green herb, which any gamer worth his or her salt knows is the RE equivalent of a health pack.  The Genesis can also reveal hidden items like ammunition that would otherwise remain hidden.

The action reaches intense levels well before the story’s climax.  The action-focused script is the game’s defining characteristic.  You’ll have to shoot your way out of tight corridors and even take the fight underwater.

This is an exciting Resident Evil that is tailor made for the 3DS.  Chapters vary from puzzles-based to all-out shooter, which keeps the game fresh with each chapter.  Playing a handheld without breaks can get fatiguing for the fingers, neck and eyes, but Revelations’ chapters are the perfect length to break in between.

Awkward dialogue and early non-scares don’t hold Resident Evil: Revelations back.  This is a step in the right direction for the 3DS.  Here’s a high-velocity, big name action shooter that is one of the top single player experiences for the platform.

8.75 out of 10

Pros:

Continues the trend of action-packed RE titles

Upgrade system is classic RE with a twist

Tailor-made experience for the 3DS

Cons:

Dialogue is campy even by RE standards

Touch screen is underutilized for puzzles

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