MAKING games scary is hard to do at the best of times and it’s next to impossible to do it on a handheld console, which by its very nature is designed to be played anywhere and not just in a living room with the lights turned off. So it must be said that Resident Evil Revelations on the Nintendo 3DS is, despite its best efforts, not scary. But that’s not really a big issue because the overall experience is brilliant and a lot of fun to play, so you’ll forgive it for not even giving you one good ‘jump scare’.
The story shifts between a number of characters and periods of time, but the main plot revolves around Jill Valentine, along with her new partner Parker Luciani, as they investigate a monster infested cruise ship taken over by the oddly named terrorist group Veltro.
Even though the story is supposed to bridge the gap between the fourth and fifth game it feels pointless in the overall context of the Resident Evil universe. The betrayals and conspiracy instigated by unseen enemies are so obvious from the get-go you’d have to not be paying attention at all to be surprised. Even moments that have the potential to affect the player in some way are undone and the status quo is always maintained. Good guys win, bad guys don’t but the virus always lives on.
Bashing a Resident Evil game for bad writing is pointless though, and I don’t want to harp on it too much as it’s not that big of deal, but for a game with ‘revelations’ in the title it doesn’t actually deliver any shocking truths.
The new location and modern control scheme are clearly designed to appeal fans of the more recent Resident Evil game, but this still feels like a series returning to its roots. For one thing the luxury cruise ship that most of the game takes place on has been built to feel like a mansion on the sea with the lower levels hiding an advanced laboratory. If that isn’t classic Resident Evil I don’t know what is.
As I mentioned before the game jumps around a lot between a raft of characters and in many ways this works in the games favour, breaking it up into chapters so you can play it in short bursts and mixing up the environments. The upgrade system for the weapons involves around collecting upgrades in the field so exploring is suitably rewarded. Despite a few nods to the past the game overall feels like what you’ve come to expect from Resident Evil over the last couple of years, and frankly I’m totally fine with that. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Revelations is how great it looks and sounds. The voice acting is the usual schlocky stuff, but within the confines of this over-the-top universe filled with mutant sea monsters and inappropriately dressed female commandos it just feels right. The graphics look great and every location, from the snowy mountains to the luxurious passenger quarters, all feel very well realised. And while the monster designs leave a lot to be desired, as they rarely stray from being gooey sea-monster bipeds, the addition of pre-rendered 3D cutscenes add to the classic Resident Evil feel. But man, I do miss the classic zombies.
Making a welcome return to the series is the Mercenaries Mode, which has been dubbed Raid Mode this time around. Made up of reworked maps from the single-player mode and filled with more powerful enemies and weapons, Raid Mode has kept me up at night on more than a few occasions as I unlock new levels and costumes piece by piece. Best of all you can jump online and play two-player co-operative, so unlocking those higher level weapons doesn’t have to be a lonely experience. Whether it’s on your own or with an ally the Raid Mode is a great way to waste a few hours after the main game is done and dusted.
Of course being on the Nintendo 3DS is biggest change to the series is the addition of 3D. Being a survival horror action game 3D should be add more to this game than others, but it’s not as great as you may think. That’s not to say it adds nothing, and I did play the entire single-player campaign in 3D, but it doesn’t add as much to the atmosphere as much as I would have liked. It’s hard to say if it’s a hardware or software limitation though, so I’ll reserve judgement on this occasion.
The default control layout is the typical ‘stop, aim, shoot’ style, but you can easily change them to a number of preset options. The best of which turns the A, B, X and Y buttons into camera controls, leaving the circle pad on movement and the D-pad as your reload, heal, quick turn and grenade commands. I do not own, nor do I ever intend to own, the Circle-Pad Pro add-on tumour. It’s bulky, ugly and honestly I never felt like I was missing anything without it.
Despite a few short-comings Revelations is a great game that will keep you coming back long after the end credits have rolled. Perfect for short burst of play and or long session online it really is the best portable Resident Evil experience I could have hoped for.
After a lot of initial buyer’s remorse waiting for quality titles to show up on Nintendo’s latest handheld games like Resident Evil Revelation make me glad I own 3DS.