Resident Evil Revelations 2 Review
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre:
PEGI: M
Comments:
Resident Evil is no longer the game it was twenty years ago and with good reason. Revelations 2 takes a step back towards horror while keeping a lot of what made the newer games fun, but the co-op is at the least disappointing.
Revelations 2 takes us back to perhaps the very scariest thing to deal with in games: the unknown. You – in the guise of Claire Redfield and her annoying buddy Moira Burton – are dropped onto a mysterious island, locked up, surrounded by monsters, and you have no idea what is going on.
The narrative follows these two characters through their first few hours on the islands before then placing you into the role of Barry Burton and youngster Natalia Korda. Here you find out more about the island, and about Moira’s fate.
In this way, the narrative works perfectly. Camp, daft, sometimes completely unbelievable, the dual narratives complement each other nonetheless. There are twists through to the final episode, disappointingly delivered through text more than cutscene.
There’s quite a bit to be disappointed with in the final segments, actually. Without spoiling too much, this game deals with things that have been being built up for over a decade, since at least Code Veronica, and then do so in a few moments. Long time fans will be disappointed by the seemingly indifferent way they waste what could have been an awesome opportunity, while others will likely just be disappointed by how quickly things end.
There are other issues with the narrative, but it’s largely gripping and, best of all, atmospheric.
Like other games in the franchise, this game has two endings. Unfortunately, the fork relies on you ignoring a seemingly meaningless QTE and nothing else.
The controls work quite well and the gameplay is challenging and fun. You feel like you have enough control that problems are always your fault, but enemies are hard enough that you really need to master your movements.
This becomes an entierly different thing in co-op. Locally, the screen space allotted to each player is a ridculously tiny square. Consider that this released a week before the Handsome Collection and that that game runs silky smooth regardless of how much is happening.
The secondary characters are painfully dull to play as. It’s enjoyable if you’re playing with someone you can have a bit of external fun with, but there are major limitations. Moira has what we can only presume is a foam crowbar for all the damage it does, while Natalia is capable of pointing at stuff. Oh, and she can toss bricks.
This gives the first player a sense that they are protecting the second, which is a neat idea. It gives the second player the impression that they’re just along for the ride.
Graphically it looks quite good, and the voice work is about the same quality you’ve come to expect from the franchise.
Conclusion – Resident Evil Revelations 2 Review
Filled with references to the classic games, you get the feeling that this release has been a labour of love for the developers.
It’s a step in the right direction, although less impressive than the REmake released earlier this year. It could have been great if it had just come together a little more neatly.
Trailer
Article By Mat Growcott
Mat Growcott has been a long-time member of the gaming press. He's written two books and a web series, and doesn't have nearly enough time to play the games he writes about.
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