Resident Evil: Revelations (AKA RE 4.5)

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High Priest Mikhal
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Resident Evil: Revelations (AKA RE 4.5)

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

Resident Evil: Revelations 3.75/5 Stars

The Good: Classic RE survival horror, HD, engaging plot and story, excellent remake of a 3DS exclusive, fills in gaps between RE4 and RE5, no friendly fire from explosives.
The Bad: Build Points are Raid Mode only, Genesis Scanner is awkward to use in combat, very limited ammo, herb, and weapon capacity.
The Ugly: No actual customization of controls, certain items require the Genesis Scanner to locate.

A bioterrorist group known as Il Veltro, once thought destroyed after their attack on the aquapolis of Terragrigia, has returned and unleashed the T-Abyss Virus on the liner the Queen Zenobia. At the same time they're smuggling BOWs to launch another attack. Only the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance and America's Federal Bioterrorism Commission stand in their way. Only things are not what they seem; jurisdictional overlap, petty politics, and grudges old and new are at work between the BSAA, FBC, and Veltro.

For those who played the 3DS version (which I'm not) this is a high-definition remake for console systems. Other than a couple of new enemies and weapons it's still much like the original. For those of us who never played before it's a return to ideas and tactics that made Resident Evil popular to begin with. Not nearly as combat intensive as RE4 and 5, this game focuses more on puzzle solving and avoiding unnecessary fights and brutal tactical fighting when it can't be avoided. Gun customization is back in the form of parts that do everything from increase damage, rate of fire, add burst-capability, or Charge shots for extra damage. Other mods include larger magazines, status effects, and other things. Ammo carrying capacity can be increased by finding special pouches. By finding hidden handprints you can also unlock special weapons for the campaign mode. Build Points awarded for Campaign Mode missions are used to buy weapons, parts, and healing items in Raid Mode. Raid Mode also measures a given character's strength by a level system, allowing you to improve their abilities with certain weapons.

Unlike RE6 you can't take control of your partner in the campaign. But they're still invincible and have infinite ammo so no worrying about keeping them supplied and alive. Their attacks can weaken but not kill bad guys, but it is a great way to conserve as much precious ammo as possible. Since there's a lot of backtracking any items or ammo you left behind can potentially be picked up again.

The controls are awkward and customization is limited to presets without any specific changes allowed. Further the Genesis Scanner, while useful for earning herbs, opens you to attacks if you use it in combat to gain higher scan ratings. Items that can only be found using the Scanner are likewise a pain. It's also used to locate and scan handprints hidden throughout the game, very much like the emblems in RE4, 5, and 6. Since these don't trip the Scanner's item radar, they can be easy to miss without a strategy guide.

RE: Revelations isn't the greatest RE game but it also isn't the worst. The CGI and voice acting are good but not stellar. All in all it's one of those games that's worth the thirty to forty bucks if you're a hardcore RE fan. Otherwise rent it.
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