The two Revelations games are a bit of an oddity. This started off as a 3DS exclusive, then was ported to the consoles where a second one was released, but some of the handheld ideas were still carried across both entries. Given I never owned a 3DS it was this 360 port that allowed me to finally play through the game. It’s set between RE 4 and 5 but far from just being a small “gap filler”. What was it like, and what’s it like now? Let’s find out!
Background:
What a life you must have led for this to be pretty normal…
As mentioned, Resi Rev was first released as a 3DS exclusive in January 2012 in Japan and Europe, with a US release coming a week or so later in February. A HD upscale / de-double screened version was released for the PC, PS3, Wii U and XBOX 360 in May 2013, with a further port to the PS4 and XBOX One coming in August 2017. Finally a port to the Nintendo Switch came in November 2017.
So for a 3DS exclusive, it sure as hell didn’t stay very exclusive!
Gameplay:
A satisfying mid-battle scanning
The game plays like the then more-recent games like Resi 4 and 5, as in 3rd person, over-the-shoulder gameplay in entirely 3D environments. You shoot infected creatures, solve puzzles and get into rooms via keys and other collectables, so basic Resi stuff. That being said there is a bigger emphasis on atmosphere and either running or melee strikes enemies, originally due to the limited 3DS screens and power, but it works well! Also due to its handled nature the story is split into Episodes like a TV show (because people will be flicking it on and off more often on the road and might need a “Previously On” recap, apparently) and quite a few parts and set pieces are small contained environments. You actually switch between three pairs of people as well as several different locations, so it’s not all on a spooky ship like the adverts / cover art will have you believe.
One of the unique features of the game is the “Genesis Device”, a scanner that Jill and other characters have on them that can scan enemies for weaknesses and find hidden ammo and other items in the environment. It… doesn’t add a lot, honestly, but I can’t deny an odd sense of satisfaction when scanning enemies as they head towards you, something about the scan box and classic beeping sounds… Anyway, that’s the main “twist” on the core campaign, otherwise it’s your classic Resident Evil 4-6 Third Person action game.
There is a bonus mode called “Raid Mode”, where you fight through waves of increasingly more powerful enemies and earn “Battle Points” which can be exchanged for different weapons and different characters (for use in Raid Mode only, obviously). As you level up you unlock more difficult scenarios to play through, which earns you greater rewards. It’s a simple strategy that works well!
Graphics and Sound:
These screenshots aren’t the best to show the graphics, what with me being unable to actually screen grab 360 games and all…
The graphics are perfectly fine, the models and environments are good and atmospheric. Sure, it’s not quite up to Resident Evil 5 released before this one, but then that’s a full game released specifically for the then-current generation consoles, this was an upscale of a handheld game.
The sound is good, atmospheric music when needed and voice acting is fine (well… some of the new characters are pretty cheesy, but in a fun way at least…)
Story:
Parker wonders who the person in the FBC vest with bright orange hair could be… Idiot.
One year after the city of Terragrigia was destroyed by some sort of weird solar ray during a viral outbreak released by terrorist group Il Veltro, the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) sent two agents, Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawat to investigate a ship known as the “Queen Zenobia” which has apparent connections to Veltro, but then lost contact, so two more agents in Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani are sent to the ship to investigate. Turns out that Chris and Jessica left the ship and found a Veltro base in the Valkoinen Mokki Airstrip, but they’re then called back to Zenobia to help Jill and Parker, so two MORE agents in Quint Cetcham and Keith Lumley are sent to the airstrip. They discover some interesting information regarding the FBC (Federal Bioterrorism Commission), the organisation created before the BSAA…
On the Zenobia Jill and Parker are joined by Chris and Jessica and the foursome discover that an FBC agent known as Raymond Vester was the mysterious masked Veltro agent on board. Chris and Jill head to the bowels of the ship to stop a deadly viral release into the sea, while Parker and Jessica follow another lead, only for Parker to find out that his current partner is an FBC mole who is trying to set up the BSAA so it can be shut down. She wounds Parker and escapes, but he’s saved by Raymond, who is not only alive but a double agent actually working for the BSAA’s head Clive R. O’Brian. Chris and Jill stop the T-Abyss viral release and find out that the head of the FBC, Morgan Lansdale, actually manipulated the Terragrigia disaster to increase the funding for the FBC, and now he was manipulating this to frame the BSAA. Before being arrested O’Brian informs Chris and Jill that a sister ship to the Zenobia exists in the ruins of Terragrigia and that would most likely hold evidence to Lansdale’s involvement.
They arrive io the sister ship, find Veltro’s leader Jack Norman (who had injected himself with the T-Abyss virus in order to survive) and kill his mutated form. They find and release the evidence which results in the arrest of Lansdale, the dissolving of the FBC and therefore the BSAA become the top anti-bioterrorism group. In a post credits scene its revealed that both Jessica and Raymond were actually double and triple agents respectively and both actually work for Tricell, the Umbrella-like company at the heart of Resident Evil 5…
Thoughts Then:
Is that monstrosity swimming upside down, or did it just mutate that way?
I remember being very nearly tempted into getting a 3DS for this game, despite not having really touched my DS in a long while, so the home console port was exciting. The plot was big (perhaps too big to the point where you wonder why Terragrigia being levelled by a solar blast was never mentioned in RE 5 or 6…) and enjoyable, and the actual gameplay was fun. As a little “stop gap” between 4 and 5 it was a good time, even if I played it long after 5 had already come out…
Thoughts Now:
There are several different ways in which this screenshot is disturbing…
Now? Nothing really has changed. It’s a fun 3rd person Resident Evil game, with a twisty plot and some location changes to keep things from getting too dull. Some of the characters are fun and I wish were featured again, others are… annoying, but there you go. Not a bad way to spend a few days of play.
Hogan Reviews 