The following article was written for a job that I applied for.
An Attempt in the right direction
Recently in 2012 Capcom released a franchise in there series of Resident Evil games titled Revelations. The emphasis was still on action based combat but it also went back survival horror elements that were missing in the newer games. It was well received for creating good tension and sticking with traditional horror elements while creating a new episodic approach to storytelling (similar to Allen Wake). This would be the set up for the next game in this franchise Resident Evil Revelations 2.
Campaign 6/10
Revelations 2 begins with Clare Redfield and company being kidnapped at a company party. The story then unfolds into a “saw-esqe” plot where she must escape from a prison to also off the island she’s trapped on. We also see the story unfold from a different perspective six months down the road from Barry Burton who is looking for her daughter Moira who is in Clare’s timeline. What happens next is a mishmash of resident evil tropes: The Daughter of Albert Wesker (a previous antagonist in the series) has a daughter that’s somehow responsible for everything going on, and must be stopped at any cost while our heroes piece together what’s going on by solving puzzles and defeating enemies. The new mechanic here is that we play every chapter twice, with Barry’s storyline going over what you just played again (with a slightly new angle and pathways).
Playing every level twice is feels just as gimmicky as it sounds. While Capcom saved lots of money by making half a game it also made another average game in the series. The story has nothing new in terms of depth other than a darker atmosphere for the player. The narrative team (writers) could have done so much more. We need to see the major characters in the series die and/or receive sendoff’s. Not to shock the player but rather to motivate the characters, create better plot, and emphasize this atmosphere of torture and death (they had one job…)
The other mechanic Introduced into this game, the ability to swap between characters on the fly is half baked at times. While the ability to see invisible enemies and the situational awareness of Barry’s story line is useful, Clare and Moiras are more focused on busy work of pointless puzzle solving. I’d really like to have seen Clare storyline have no weapons entirely and focus on cooperative dodging and running away (to create a more drastic tension). It would have worked well with the idea of team work that the designers were originally going for.
Gamplay 8/10
The campaign is fairy similar to its predecessor (Revelations) where the focus is still on 3rd person combat. It also focuses on progression thru finding weapons parts instead of purchasing them thru in game currency (This was one thing that RE4 had down well). I’d also like to suggest that the development team at Capcom take a page from the silent Hill franchise and make there puzzles ratchet up or down for their game by asking the player what sort of experience they want have.
While I may have mentioned the campaign as being stale, the raid mode in this game is well done. For starters you have the option to pay for it or not instead of paying extra for a mode you may not want. Next the they made a different progression system where the focus on leveling , points, and randomized item drops. It also adds in maps from previous games like RE6 and Revelations one. I’d love in the future if they also allowed for user created maps (thru a map maker) or mod support thru steam to extend out the life of this mode (I’ve included a small diagram at the bottom to better explain the mode.
Graphics 7/10
The graphics to seem to be on par with many of the games from the previous gen and as such they are average and dull versus RE 6. This was however a choice made purposely by the artist and builders as to port the game faster to all current systems (Xbox one, PS4, PS3, 360, and the mighty PC).
Final Thoughts
As a longtime fan of the series, the main campaign of the game feels flawed. There’s too much emphasis on replaying the same spaces over and over for an un-rewarding story. At the same time the riot mode is semi-well executed by progression and the amount of content you get for purchasing it.
Only for the Die Hard.
