A technically impressive, often clunky, well-intentioned title.
As it's been out for a little while already I'll run through the plot and release details quickly. Resi Revs is the first effort at a fully-fledged Resident Evil game on the 3DS, and features an entirely original plot in which Jill (of Resi 1 fame) and Chris (of 'hope this isn't his blood fame) run around a spooky cruise ship shooting monsters. There's more to it than that, but although there's a valiant effort at making this game something of a proper story experience, there's very little plotwise that you need to know and really it's all just to add some meaty context to the bones of gameplay. From what I know of the plot, there aren't actually any revelations whatsoever, which only serves to make the games' horrendously boring title even less impactful.
Considering it's on a handheld, it feels rather impressive to play. It controls mostly the same as any of the console Resident Evil games and the gameplay structure is largely the same - walk down a corridor, shoot stuff, walk down a corridor, locked door, find key. Whilst it's confirmed that zombies are well and truly back in the upcoming Resi 6, Revelations' enemies are freaky water-based monstrosities that most closely resemble the Regeneradors from Resi 4. It's a bit disappointing, and although I assume it's intended to give the game a unique feel in the midst of an oversaturated series (along with saving money on enemy design) I would have preferred some zombie or ganado-based action to further tie it into the series.
With regards to how it plays, it's a game where how much of a fan of the series you are will affect how much you're willing to look past it's misgivings. These misgivings are unfortunate and numerous. For starters, the control drawbacks caused by the limitations of the 3DS leave the game clunky, especially in combat. Resident Evil has never been a series that had a happy marriage with efficient control schemes but it's more evident than ever on a handheld. The circle pad pro will improve the experience greatly, at an added cost, but if like me you're the sort of person that played Resi 4 so much the controls started to feel, dare I say it, natural, then you'll be able to muddle on through without it.
The gameplay is familiar to anybody that's played a Resident Evil game in the last five years in both look and style, and there are a couple of subtle adjustments to combat (namely an ability to strafe and a switch to first-person aiming) that help prevent the action segments being too horrifying to control. The main complaint I have is about the new Metroid-style scanning mechanic. It's out of place, dull and unsatisfying, but rewards you enough that you feel like you'd be hampered if you just ignored it completely. Technically, the game is one of the 3DS's finest moments yet. It looks fantastic, the 3D is great and it all runs mostly without a hitch.
All in all it's a serviceable shooter, a serviceable survival horror game and a serviceable Resident Evil iteration. It's another good release for the 3DS, and it's probably the best third-party release on the console since Super Street Fighter IV. If you tally this up alongside Mario Kart, 3D Land, Rhythm Thief and Kid Icarus, you can see that after a year on the market the 3DS is finally hitting it's stride with some inventive and impressive handheld tech. Good for them, but there is certainly a lot of work to be done.
Written by Ashley Chittock. Read more http://ashleychittock.blogspot.co.uk
