Resident Evil: Revelations

More info »

Resident Evil: Revelations review
Quinn Levandoski

Review

Horror Returns

Better on the PC (cntd)


Revelations’ interface is also great. While there are times that opening up the menu is necessary, most important tasks can be done from the main screen. Additionally, I like that herbs have been simplified. No longer are there different colored herbs that can be combined to increase the scope and style of their effect, but instead there exist only green herbs which, when used, return the player to full health. Gun management also works smoothly. While players can only carry three weapons at a time, other armaments can be kept in weapon bins which are accessible at various points around the environment. These guns can also be modified by finding attachments which amplify the type and degree of each weapon’s effectiveness.

While most everything is either just as good or better in the PC version of Revelations than it was in its handheld iteration, one aspect that is a bit of a mixed bag is the game’s visuals. The animations are perfectly fine without ever becoming amazing, but the textures bounce back and forth the most. Overall, the playable character models look great. Some of the environments look really good too. It’s never on the same level as Resident Evil 5 or 6, but this is an HD port, and it’s on about the same level as other HD ports we’ve seen. Unfortunately some textures, and it seems completely arbitrary which ones, look atrocious. Certain objects or walls look very muddied and jagged, however I didn’t find this to be the case enough to make a huge negative impact. The sound is also just okay. Ambient music and sound effects do a good job of setting the mood without sticking out too much. The voice acting is actually pretty good overall, but the actual dialogue is cheesy at best. I couldn’t help but cringe when hearing lines like “The plane! It crashed!” or “Hold on until I get my sweet ass down there!” but to be honest the B-movie dialogue has always been a part of the Resident Evil Charm.

Safety in numbers


Revelations also boasts a co-op mode, though I didn’t have nearly as much fun with it as I did the main story. In what I consider a good choice, Capcom kept co-op out of the main story. Though much of the campaign is spent with an AI partner at your side, co-op is a separate mode in which small chunks of the campaign are taken out to be cleared. The abundance, type, and toughness of enemies are different than in the campaign, and completing these missions award points that can be used to unlock more weapons to help you out. I’m sure many will find this mode great fun, and it would seem Capcom agrees as the developers have added a cornucopia of weapons and missions to the mode for the HD re-release. However I couldn’t keep myself going for more than a few missions. To me Resident Evil is all about the atmosphere and mood, and with that gone it just doesn’t seem the same.

I hope that Resident Evil: Revelations is a sign that Capcom hasn’t lost its way with one of its most successful franchises. Not every game needs to be bigger and louder than the one that came before it, and I can only hope that in the future we see more games in the series that embrace the charm of a smaller scale. I would love to see what the team in charge of Revelations can do when designing a game with a similar aiming scheme to PC/consoles from the get-go. The game certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. I can genuinely say that I had fun playing it. I can say I jumped more than a few times playing it in the dark. I can say that it makes me much more likely to get excited for whatever the franchise has in store next. Just like the zombies that the Resident Evil brand was built on, Revelations proves that there might be life after death (or at least severe downward spiral) after all.

8.0

fun score

Pros

A welcome return to survival-horror. A great setting. Sleek controls and interface.

Cons

Action-heavy segments feel out of place. Co-op underwhelms. Occasionally terrible textures.