Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episodes 1 & 2

After the transition from a creepy survival horror game to all out full-fledged action romp, Resident Evil carries quite the burden.
Resident EvilResident Evil
Resident Evil

Often slated for this big change, it split the fan base as fans loved nailing dead heads and solving intricate puzzles however some loves the gung-ho kick ass nature the Resi Evil games have come to become. Its 3DS debut of Revelations was no different although it carried an aesthetic not seen in a while in a Resi Evil game; creepiness. It was back and it carries over to the latest entry in the series, Resident Evil Revelations 2.

For some reason, developers Capcom have made Revelations 2 into an episodic series which follows the trials and tribulations of 2 of the series’ better known characters, Claire Redfield and ginger bearded hard-ass Barry Burton. I only have episodes 1 and 2 to talk about for now so I am basing this article on that. Episode 1 sees Claire and Barry’s niece Moira Burton getting kidnapped and shoved in a creepy prison on an unknown island whereas Barry discovers a young girl Natalia who helps him try to find his niece on this island. Episode 2 continues their separate adventures. It surprisingly works! The episodic structure I was at first sceptical about but it kept the pace up and separates the game nicely into 2 parts per episode following Claire and Moira first then Barry and Natalia.

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Revelations 2 reeks of its predecessor. Each character plays the same way although have different advantages. Claire and Barry is the ass kicking ones that prefer big guns to handle things whereas the other characters play very differently. Moira has a torch of death to dispatch enemies....not really; she can use her torch to find hidden items and incapacitate enemies for a short time and has a crowbar to attack with and bust things open. Natalia is a different kettle of fish altogether. Dressed in a nighty, she has to find bricks lying around to attack enemies but she has a mystical ability of seeing where enemies are through walls.

The good thing about Revelations 2 is no more babysitting, haters rejoice! The AI has smartened up on computer controlled partners meaning if your injured and they have first aid, they will prioritise giving you it as well as keep the enemies busy and help take them out. Speaking of the enemies, they are a missed opportunity. They look like mangled zombies but move and attack identical to the Ganado’s from Resi Evil 4 coming in all sizes. Both episodes have different ones though with episode 2 unleashing some big’uns.

Like its predecessor, Revelations 2 prioritizes combat over puzzling so although you will find some “get item and put there” puzzles, they won’t go much deeper. The biggest puzzle is staying alive while taking out an oversized mush ball wearing a Viking helmet and a huge hammer, yeah they are that weird and I am not going to even start on the undead dog-pigs. Following on the combat focus aside from the story is Revelations’ version of a survival mode called Raid mode which is a nice change of things requiring you to do nothing but kick mush ball ass!

Pros

Good story which makes you want to find out what happens.

Episodic structure keeps the pacing right and makes you want more.

Tight controls

Smarter AI means no more babysitting! Whoop!

Back to creepiness enhanced by that awesome soundtrack.

Split screen co-op!

Cons

Same-y corridor environments.

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Hasn’t utilised power of current gen consoles so graphics aren’t as good as they could be.

Focuses on combat over anything else.

What happened to the “back to its roots” survival horror game-play?

Summary

Resident Evil Revelations 2 retains its gritty atmosphere although I wouldn’t call it survival horror. Focusing more on combat rather than anything else, the journey on this mysterious island is a tense, action packed ride through hell back-dropped by an interesting story separated into 2 parts. Here’s to episodes 3 and 4!

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