Resident Evil 6 was perhaps the most polarizing entry in the long-running series from Capcom. Many believed it deviated from the series’ roots and became more of a modern shooter. Those people can rest easy, as Revelations finds the middle ground between the firefights of the later games and the creeping suspense of the earlier ones. It goes a long way towards making up for lackluster entries such as Operation Raccoon City. The game originally was released at the beginning of 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS, but went largely unnoticed by the wider gaming community. That is until now as it’s been released on home consoles.
The story is set in between the 4th and 5th games in the series, following Jill Valentine and her new partner Parker Luciani as they search for Chris aboard an abandoned luxury cruise ship, the Queen Zenobia. The pacing is broken into small TV style episodes that also flash back to the previous year and the destruction of the fictional city of Terragrigia which provides much of the backstory for the game . A terrorist group called Veltro is also involved and threatens to unleash the T-Abyss virus on the world. It’s yet another new virus and alot of political conspiracy that might seem more then a little absurd, but the series’ story hasn’t really been know for making much sense.
The overblown storyline is alright thanks to some excellent gameplay. The cruise ship, which might be the best setting since the original mansion, provides for a return to the cramped hallways and dimly lit rooms of the earlier games. The ship creaks and moves as you slowly make your way and wonder where exactly the next enemy will pop out from. You won’t be fighting standard zombies or Ganados/Majini, but the debuting Ooze who are created by the T-Abyss virus and come in several different kinds, as well as . It’s not as if you can blast them all as ammo is scarce and there’s even one part where Jill is all by herself with no weapons and you must guide her past monsters. They have a penchant for appearing out of nowhere and just because you passed down that hallway with nothing happening doesn’t mean an Ooze will pop out of a vent behind you. There are also several parts the require swimming underwater and precious few ways to defend yourself from enemies. It’s sequences like these that will keep players on their toes, though the game mixes in its share of big firefight sequences. Those can be considered their own type of tension as trying to deal with enemies coming from multiple directions can be just as unnerving. No need to worry as there are plenty of weapon types and custom parts you can find to upgrade them to fit your style.
A great way that the game keeps then tension spread out is through the sound. It might seem a small part of the experience, but it adds to the overall product in a big way.From the creaking of the ship to how the music picks up when an enemy is near, it’s expertly used to accentuate the mood of the moment. Even if you hear music indicating an enemy is near, you still might panic a bit because you don’t know where they’re coming from and you’re running low on ammo. The soundtrack also seems to have a wider range then previous entries. In particular the grand hall of the ship, which is graphically awesome, has a synthesized organ reminiscent of something from Castlevania. The game was already visually impressive on the 3DS, but gets an HD upgrade when ported onto consoles. It looks much better then other HD versions if the series with detailed characters, though there are a handful of loading glitches. However, the graphics really shine in the setting. The cruise ship is appropriately creepy and the attention to detail on small things such as cabin rooms and dilapidated hallways contributes to the overall tension.
The added features on the console versions are few and the game does have it flaws, such as an at times absurd conspiracy storyline, but Revelations is a thrilling experience that brings players back to the series’ survival horror roots. If you’re a fan of the games and missed it on 3DS, which is likely alot of you, then it is definitely worth picking up on home consoles. Plus at 10 or so hours in length, you’ll be enjoying it much longer then previous entries.
