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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.

    slaps2's Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (Xbox One) review

    Avatar image for slaps2

    A Comfortable But Shallow Experience

    Editorial Note: Half way through playing this game, I decided not to finish reviewing it. I was just too bored. Take that for what it's worth.

    Resident Evil Revelations 2 is Capcom's latest attempt to disappoint fans of Resident Evil 4. For years, they've been running their classic formula through a sieve and collecting all the mud that comes through the bottom instead of the gold nuggets lying on top. What can be taken away from Resident Evil Revelations 2's first episode is that even when you pick out the best parts of a classic game you can only screw up so badly.

    The big surprise in this one is that the story is actually good... so far. Be warned, I'm about to spoil the entirety of the first episode. I'll eventually spoil the second too. The game starts off at a gala attended by Claire Redfield and Moira Burton, daughter to Barry Burton. The event, an apparent fundraiser for a philanthropic organization inexplicably named “Terra Save”, is promptly raided by a swat team. Claire and Moira are knocked out via an injection and wake up on an island prison. The first level follows the duo until they come across a radio tower and try to send a message to the outside world. Along the way, a disembodied voice taunts them and tells them about the bracelets they are wearing that measure their fear.

    Months later we see Barry Burton arriving on the island by boat. He quickly meets up with a little girl named Natalia with whom he ventures inward to investigate. As they approach the spot where we last saw Claire and Moira, Natalia tells Barry that she had seen his daughter. “She's dead,” says Natalia, moments before the credits roll.

    There seems to be a better than expected level of character development so far. Moira, in particular, is more likeable and less bland than many of the protagonists of Resident Evil's past. Combine that with a decent trail of mystery breadcrumbs and an interesting if derivative premise, and you've got something to get invested in. There's still plenty of stupid writing to keep you from getting truly immersed, though. Things are kept pretty self-aware this time around, with two supremely grown worthy references to Barry's "classic" dialogue from Resident Evil 1, but the game also manages to form it's own new path towards absurd bits of conversation. My particular favorite is “Fucking Shit on a stick!”

    There's no real reason for the game to be released episodically, but it's designed well to fit the format. Each level so far ends in a somewhat interesting cliffhanger that easily makes you want to come back for more the next week. The only real bummer is how online multiplayer seemingly won't be in the game until the full release. At least this is the case on the Xbox One.

    Gameplay is mostly a hallway crawl and despite one locked door and a metal gear (not to be confused with Metal Gear), there doesn't seem to be much in the way of puzzle solving or environment interaction. The insulting linearity is even more apparent when you get to the game's raid mode. Most levels in raid mode have you literally going down straight hallways, and the ones that don't only ever have the occasional ammo box or weapon chest sitting in an incredibly hard to miss side room or take place in a very small environment. Raid mode is an incredibly boring re-purposing of the main game's enemies with a slow grind of an unlock system. The only mildly interesting reason to play it is to see the multitude of older Resident Evil levels that have also been re-purposed as raid mode maps.

    Graphically, Revelations 2 looks like it might as well be a vita game. Textures and character detail are passable, but the real issue is the empty environments. The surroundings are simply not interesting to look at which is a major disappointment considering the series has made some of gaming's most unforgettable settings in the past. The game also includes some of the franchise’s signature, stiffly animated cutscenes that will make you wonder how something so cartoony can sink so far into the uncanny valley.

    One personal grievance I have is with the game's tank controls. I fully recognize that you have to be a lunatic to play with tank controls, but I've always enjoyed playing Resident Evil this way and would have played it this way again were it not for a major problem. If you are using the left stick to move and then start to aim down the sights, you have to let go of the stick again before being able to point your weapon. You'll often be caught momentarily unable to aim your gun at all which renders the tank controls completely unusable during the more hectic fights. It's worth noting, however, that there are no issues with the default control settings. This is a problem only for weirdo Resident Evil purists like myself.

    So far, it's hard to put into words anything good to say about Revelations 2, but it manages to remain enjoyable despite everything going against it. With that in mind, take the following sentence to be less harsh than it sounds: If you want to play something that looks like garbage, forces you down a lot of hallways, and is vaguely reminiscent of a game you really liked ten years ago, then by all means, check out episode 1. It's good... I promise.

    Episode 2:

    I guess all I needed to start souring on this game was another couple hours of playtime.

    The second part of last episode was a retread of the Claire and Moira levels, played the second time around With Barry and Natalia... The second of episode two is a retread of the Claire and Moira levels, played the second time around With Barry and Natalia. I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ll be doing a little more copy and pasting of the above sentences when episode 3 rolls around.

    The retreading isn’t helped by the fact that the levels are a mostly linear affair to begin with. Other than a fairly open village area that starts off the first chapter, everything is a straight hallway.

    In this episode, we met three new characters who are all boring male figures with crew-cuts. Other than one incredibly stereotypical hispanic accent, you’ll be struggling to discern who’s who. If you can even remember their names, you’re a step ahead of me. No worries, though, two of them bite it fairly quickly and the third runs off not soon after. One person dies in a fiery helicopter crash during a subplot that fails to get off the ground (cwutididthur?), and the other turns into a giant zombie drill-monster.

    The most important thing to learn in this episode is that the bracelets that the protagonists are wearing measure their fear. When a person’s heart rate goes up, the get a shot of zombie juice. Claire and Moira are headed towards a tower that proves to be destroyed during the second run through with Barry. The first time around, the tower is host to the disembodied and vocal “overseer” and as you enter it during the episode’s second chapter, Barry leaves a wall full of “KILL NATALIA!” writing unremarked.

    The story is now headed to the shlock territory where all the other recent Resident Evil games reside. More unfortunately, it’s pretty boring shlock. Moira proves again to be the most likeable character as she identifies with Natalia more easily than the all business-like Claire Redfield, but that’s the only good part of the story to list. All character, however, continue to spew stupid quips like the plague. In an effort to be campy, the writing often fails even to elicit a groan.

    There’s a bit of added enemy variety this time, but the content is so bite-sized that no encounter stands out. More Raid Mode levels allow the second episode to be easily worth your money, but I can’t honestly say it’s worth your time.

    Other reviews for Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (Xbox One)

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