Hammy voiceovers? check. Convoluted bioterrorism threat? check. More zombies than you can shake a stick at? check. Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the world according to Resident Evil. For a series that has been running since 1996 Resident Evil has had a very chequered past. From the sublime 1 and 4 all the way down to the God awful Resident Evil 6 and Operation Raccoon City. But can the series recapture it's golden years with the episodic Resident Evil:Revelations series?
If you haven’t played Resident Evil: Revelations Part 1 don’t panic. Resident Evil: Revelations Part 2 has its own storyline that doesn't tie into any other Residents Evil episodes. A strange woman has imprisoned our heroes on a secluded island. The story has two campaigns where you change between each chapter. You play one chapter as Claire Redfield and a brand new character Moira who is the daughter of popular Resident Evil character Barry Burton who stars in the other chapter alongside a seemingly special gifted child named Natalia.
This is the Resident Evil I came to love many years ago. You will spend your time eviscerating zombie hordes, managing your pitiful resources and solving puzzles. Claire and Barry are the goto characters when you need to use your weapons. Moira and Natalia work as support. Moira can shine her flashlight in enemies' faces to stun them or attack them with her crowbar and Natalia can spot zombies through walls and throw objects at them for damage.
You swap between each character with the press of a button and the transition is seamless or if you have a spare controller and a friend you can play local co-op. I would suggest local co-op every time because I found myself constantly switching between characters during fire fights and during boss fights it gets even worse. Your partner AI is dubious at best during these scenarios. They seem to have little effect during these fights and their dreadful decision making would see them did over and over again which forces you to character switch constantly. One battles places you in a situation where you have to fight off a horde of zombies while the AI controlled character opens doors with her crowbar. In reality the AI character just stands there not knowing what to do which forces you to do both jobs. I found playing as the support character the easiest and much less frustrating option because the AI on the main character was far superior for some reason. The interesting thing here is when playing as Barry and Natalie you get to see the same environments you have already traversed but you will use different routes and encounter different enemies and puzzles. You will also notice subtle changes which have been taken place since your previous play through.
There are some genuinely thrilling moments and also some great scares to be had here. At the very least, Capcom interjects exciting situations in every chapter. Facing off against wave after wave of zombies is a genuine rush especially when you know you have a very limited supply of ammunition and every shot counts. If you do play Resident Evil: Revelation I implore you to do so in the dark. The atmosphere can get quite tense and a cheap shock moment is only just around the corner for those of you who are brave enough. The puzzles on offer here are your usual move object a to point b or find a key from location B and bring it all the way back to point A. Sure this can be frustrating but when this is part and parcel of Resident Evils history its to be expected and should come as no surprise to anyone who has played any other game in the series.
Raid Mode has been carried over from the original Revelations Part 1 and has seen an impressive amount of additions. Raid Mode begins in the vestibule where you pick your character and customise your skill set by leveling up your weapons, skills and passive abilities. The basic goal of each Mission is to find a coin at the end of the level and destroy it if you can survive wave after wave of zombies. After completing a Mission each player receives gold and experience points which you will have earned playing the stage. If you fulfill certain requirements during each stage vinyls, custom parts, and medals will be rewarded as well. Raid Mode is good fun and the inclusion of weekly and daily objectives only adds to the replayability of the mode.
Even though my time with Resident Evil: Revelations 2 was brief (the entire episode only took about 3 hours to complete) I enjoyed being back in the Resident Evil world. Good scares and some really good back against the wall moments made this a very promising start to this episodic entry into the series. Raid Mode also makes for a good change of pace adding RPG elements and a really stiff challenge.
Review copy supplied by XCN.
Game: Resident Evil: Revelations 2: Episode 1.
Genre: Survival Horror.
Developer: Capcom.
Publisher: Capcom.
Platform(s): Xbox One