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    Resident Evil: Revelations 2

    Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Feb 24, 2015

    Revelations 2 sees the return of Claire Redfield, who along with the daughter of Barry Burton, Moira Burton, must try to escape from a monster-infested island. Meanwhile, Barry Burton himself makes his belated return as well in his attempts to save his daughter with the assistance of a little girl called Natalia Korda.

    geekcomplex's Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 1 (PlayStation 4) review

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    Resident Evil Revelations 2 Ep.1 is not just a promising start to a new entry, but in my eyes, the best Resident Evil.

    REVIEW - Resident Evil Revelation 2 Episode 1: Penal Colony [PS4/XBO/PC/PS3/X360]

    Written By: Tyler Pederson

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    Resident Evil has fallen on hard times. The sixth main entry in the series tried hard to be a universally adored experience, and in doing so became a mess of half realized ideas tying together what would otherwise be a bland, retread story for the most part anyway. Resident Evil Revelations was originally released for the 3DS and later ported to the PC, WiiU, PS3, and Xbox360 where I finally got a chance to see what it was for myself. It was an interesting take on the series, as it seemingly understood there could be a happy middle ground between horror and action game-play.

    Where the original Revelations was a full retail experience, Revelations 2 ops for a shorter, and budgeted release. It will run you $40 for a full retail copy upon it’s release next month, or you can grab it digitally for $25. Additionally, they’re introducing the episodic release format to the franchise, which is why today's review is on Episode 1 of 4, and not the whole “season” as it were, and that route will run you $6.99 per episode, released a week apart for the next 4 weeks.The pricing model alone was enough to send me in with low expectations, and I can’t say the apparent lack of English lip sync in cut-scenes did it any favors out of the gate. Now, while there are certainly the clear places that budget comes into play, I can say with absolute certainty that Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 is not just a promising start to a new entry, but in my eyes, the best Resident Evil experience to date.

    That’s a bold statement I know, but one the game can back up. I can’t describe the approach any better than finding the best in Resident Evil past and present, and marrying them into one surprisingly cohesive action horror game, where the emphasis is shifted back toward the horror side with incredible results. The game also seems to quite shamelessly play with ideas that other recent horror titles played with, including some moments reminiscent of Dead Space or Outlast that fit in just as well, if not better here.

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    The plot is one hard to talk on, because as I said we've only seen one episode thus far. However there is a surprising amount of exposition done within it’s roughly 3 hours of game-play. The episode is split in two, first exploring as Claire Redfield, seasoned veteran of the franchise, and Moira Burton, newcomer daughter of Barry whom we've not seen since Resident Evil 3. Barry also makes a welcome return along with the second newcomer Natalia Korda, and their section sees you through to the end of this inaugural adventure.

    Where the game sets up a ton of promise on the game-play front, the plot for one is immediately predictable. Granted, I don’t know where it goes from here, but the first “revelation” as it were, becomes quite clear to you while playing, rather than at it’s alleged reveal. It’s a more promising story going forward given the minor surprises shown off here, but don’t go expecting this side of things to really blow you away just yet. I do however want to give some love to the new found self awareness of the series. I really love a particular line I won’t spoil here, but it perfectly encapsulates the feeling that this game was made for fans of the classic titles through and through.

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    Regarding that game-play, it’s a surprisingly varied experience. Claire and Barry are both sporting the usual Resident Evil arsenal spanning handguns, shotguns, and auto rifles, but both Moira and Natalia are significant departures from the classic. Sporting a special ability specific to their character and a melee weapon with different levels of effectiveness, their style serves only to compliment the experience, and never comes off as making me feel like the odds are against you unfairly. While playing as either main weapons handler, you can swap to the alternate character using the Triangle button, or Y on the Xbox front. This grants you complete control over which of the two you’re using when, and opens up a lot more opportunity for both puzzle solving and combat that I wouldn't have otherwise expected.

    At first seeming to forgo tradition, the opening section of the game is particularly linear, but it opens up to the usual series of interconnecting rooms the series is known for not too far in. Overall the setting is one of my favorites the series has ever explored, and while it’s hardly original, they seem to be taking it in a decidedly Resident Evil direction as opposed to what other games have done with the same building blocks.

    It’s also worth noting that the game isn't winning any beauty contests. It’s not bad looking, but I know the level of graphical fidelity we can achieve on this hardware, and this is a far cry from it. Character models look particularly well crafted and the environment, while perhaps using some cheaper assets, really sets a great atmosphere, particularly during one short sequence in a dark forest closer to the end of the episode. Enemy design is knocked out of the park in ways I didn't expect, and some benefit greatly from a reintroduction of my personal favorite epidemic in the series history.

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    The episode, and seemingly entire season can also be played local co-op, which is a seriously nice surprise given that feature has been all but forgotten by many a franchise over the years. There is no online co-op however, because as I said, the characters abilities serve as complements to one another, meaning a truly cooperative game-play experience is necessary, rather than simply making it co-op because that’s a selling point.

    The game also includes a full featured “Raid mode” similar to the Mercenaries modes of past Resident Evil titles, but also finding ways to modernize it for the better. This is a surprisingly fun addition to an otherwise full featured action horror title, and a welcome selling point for those skeptic of it’s episodic approach. I have not played as much as this as I may have liked, but see myself going back to it often between episode releases, and can’t wait to see what secrets the mode may have up it’s sleeve.

    Overall Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 is the most promising entry I have ever had the pleasure of playing in this series of video games. It becomes clear as the episode progresses that the budget the game was given probably served to make it a far better game in the end, scrapping the unnecessary in favor of a focused, fun, and near perfect ride through and through. I speak with no exaggeration when I say I consider this the perfect mix of elements to bring Resident Evil into the modern age without forgoing what makes it Resident Evil. That goes for the game-play mechanics as well as the over the top storytelling, and I welcome it all back with open arms. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds, and can’t recommend strongly enough that you come along for the ride.

    Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony get’s a 9.5/10

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