• Revelations Episode 1 Podcast/Playthrough/Blog.

I recorded a playthrough for Revelations 2 Episode 2! However despite opting for a different headset, that same invasive buzzing unfortunately continues to persist... Still, it was nice of you all to provide so much precious feedback regarding both the previous playthrough and the podcast! It's truly heartwarming to witness all of my years of being a consistently active member of the community paying off!!!

Anyway I've also written up my thoughts on Episode 2 or something. Probably wanna eventually record another podcast with @n7 sometime soon too, but for now I think I want to get this stuff outta the way first.

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With another week comes another episodic entry into the increasingly convoluted web of Bio-Organic Weapon-induced malarkey, Revelations 2. Whereas the first episode felt like it was still trying to find its footing, episode 2 is a marked improvement and is generally paced better and leaves a more lasting impression. The story too picks up the pace quite nicely and lets loose some actual 'revelations', which is in stark contrast to the story of the original Revelations, were both everything and nothing really happens. The plotting overall continues with a slow burn, but it sprinkles the events with enough intrigue throughout that I was surprised to find myself engaged and excited to learn what happens next.

The narrative of course still has its issues, primarily with the attempts at comic relief from the two lesser characters and fellow Terra Save members Gabe and Pedro. Pedro in particular has all of the comic wit and naturalness of a dog letting out a big fart while simultaneously kicking someone in the balls -- ''balls'' in particular of which happens to be a weird catchphrase of Pedro's. He does at least echo one of Barry's less infamous lines of dialogue (''I'll be examining this'').

Fortunately they both certainly meet some wonderfully gruesome ends! So, despite my previous discussion about praising Capcom for having a little restraint in conjuring up yet another virus variant, welp, scratch all that because now we have the T-Phobos Virus!...?? Ehhh, at least this type has a different means of body-horror inducing transformations. See, as it turns out everybody's infected! However rather than everybody instantly becoming all 'itchy tasty', the infection doesn't come about unless the individual experiences a heavy dose of fear. Pedro, and his constant anxiety-tell of exclaiming ''balls'', ultimately leads him to falling prey to the fear and undergoing a beautifully grotesque transformation. What's even better is how he was initially using a drill to help enter certain shacks in the fishing village you're in that have been boarded up with concrete for some reason; upon the transformation that same drill of course then becomes his weapon of choice, making for Revelations 2's obligatory 'Chainsaw monster' equivalent. Hell, his animation set is practically ripped right out of RE6 at that, but then that shouldn't be too surprising at this point.

Pedro thusly makes for the game's first proper boss fight, but only after you must defend yourselves while trapped inside an enclosed space with monsters bashing through the windows. It's very reminiscent of such scenarios in RE4 where Leon teams up with Luis, and one early segment in RE5 of the same thing, but the familiarity doesn't in anyway dilute the fact that it's the sort of combat scenario that simply works. As you're trapped with nowhere to go, with the monsters filling the space by which you could potentially escape through the windows, it's a classicly effective case of mounting the tension as you frantically try to stay on top of the situation. Then of course you've got Pedro himself who's increasingly getting freaked out, further clueing you in that the situation is about to go from bad to worse.

Gabe himself shares a similar fate while flying a helicopter to pick up Claire, Moira, and the newly acquainted 6-months younger Natalia Korda. However, with this being Resident Evil and all, something goes wrong and Gabe like so many other pilots in this series crash lands the thing, while also going through a mysterious transformation of his own from the understandable fear of the situation. However unlike Pedro, Gabe's monstrous new appearance is kept a secret for now, no doubt waiting to show up in a later episode.

The concept of a virus that goes into effect based upon your fear is an interesting one, one that has already been explored in such games as Amnesia and, of course, Eternal Darkness. It's thusly a shame that for Revelations 2 it's likely to only matter within a story context and no such gameplay repercussions will arise. Though to be fair, Revelations 2 simply isn't really that sort of game. I mentioned this in my previous blog but for all of Capcom's allusions, Revelations 2 feels like it's steering far from the path the original Revelations had looked to be setting up, and is more so heading into straight-up RE4 territory. Ammo was rarely ever an issue for starters, and given the supply conservation philosophy of such shooters as The Last of Us and The Evil Within, it's disappointing that Revelations 2 didn't follow ensuite. There's at least a little more breathing more this time and many of the environments are more open to some mild exploration.

Still, despite Revelations 2 being a good step towards getting back in the good graces of the series fans (or at least this one anyway), Resident Evil continues to muddle about with the very same identity crisis that has plagued it for so long now. However that's a subject for another blog, one likely dedicated to writing up about Revelations 2 as a whole.

In any case, despite my qualms, onto more positives! While Barry's segments feels a little more uneventful this time around (that is besides the event at the very end), it had more of the adorable character interactions between Barry and Natalia. Both Moira & Barry's insistence to hold their swears in front of Natalia was a cute little gesture that only strengthened the warmth and likeability of Barry especially, while giving Moira a bit of father-daughter familiarity to establish a bond between the two despite neither of which have shared any screentime as of yet. A namedrop of Moira's sister Polly (who currently has never starred in an RE game) was a nice touch, too.

Furthermore, a new enemy type goes to great lengths to build upon the gameplay dynamic from the first episode. Resembling (and sounding) much like the invisible bug-things you may remember from Resident Evil 4, these new enemies are completely invisible to the eyesight of Barry -- that is besides a filter that covers the screen when you're getting in proximity, which makes it all look as if you're in the middle of a heat wave. Despite Barry's lack of sight regarding the creatures, Natalia of course can at least see the outline, requiring you to first pinpoint the enemy as Natalia and then ultimately kill it with Barry. Like the Revenants, these encounters give Natalia some clout and a reason for existing alongside Barry. It's especially nerve wracking to attempt to kill one of the fuckers simply as Barry, while Natalia shouts directions and hints to its location in an increasingly anxious fashion. During one particular instance where I had Barry & Natalia split up, as Barry I found myself immersed in that familiar haziness, which immediately had me hang tight and wait until I could bring Natalia over to join him and provide some much needed assistance. The co-dependency the two share is one of my favourite aspects of the game thus far, it's just a shame Claire & Moira don't have quite the same mechanical chemistry.

This time around I found both segments to be at level with one another. While again Barry's is a little slower-paced than Claire's, it has some likeable character interactions and some solid pacing to it as you follow in Claire's footsteps and give witness to the changes that have occurred over the six month period that separates the two. Barry may have the better guns, yet funnily enough it's his segments that have currently been offering up the closest to some old-school chills thus far. Both segments also each have their own enjoyable boss fight to end on, with Claire going up against a cannon-wielding fire bomber of sorts, while Barry must ultimately put an end to dear Pedro -- his aforementioned ''balls'' tick was also put to good use during this fight, and the smack talk pun Barry ends the fight on felt very much in line with what you'd expect from the character.

There's not much to add concerning Raid mode, besides the inclusion of Leon S. Kennedy wearing his awesome Tall Oaks attire. More missions is all well and good, though I'm still sticking by my rule to take my time until cooperative play is added. Seeing the inclusion of that lumbering and ever-intimidating Executioner Majini from Resident Evil 5 was certainly a nice surprise!

Anywhoo, I continue to enjoy my time with Revelations 2. It's not without its oddities, but it's so far provided enough of what made RE4 & RE5 so engaging in the past to inspire a little more optimism for the series future.