The timed exclusive of Resident Evil Revelations on the 3DS is now over, and this amazing title has now come to consoles for more Resident Evil fans to experience, bringing with it a new difficulty, new enemies and new characters for Raid mode. But we need to dive in a little closer to see if there are any improvements or cutbacks for the console version. Having finished the title on the 3DS, buying it on the console was a must for myself (being the Resident Evil fan I am) so I am able to compare the games rather well.

Let’s just have a re-cap on the story for those who aren’t aware. The game is set between Resident Evil 4 and 5  just as the BSAA is really taking off. We start off the game as the legendary Jill Valentine with her partner Parker Luciani who are investigating an apparently deserted ship, ‘The Queen Zenobia’, looking for the equally legendary Chris Redfield, and his partner Jessica Sherawat. Of course, everything isn’t as it seems and the unlucky four have been set-up. Chris and Jessica aren’t on the ship after all, thus leaving Jill and Parker on their own, destined to harbour some horrible creatures. Now, we haven’t seen the common enemies in Resident Evil titles before. They aren’t zombies, they aren’t Las Plagas or Majini, they are the Ooze. A name rather suited to them considering their appearance.

The Ooze come in several varieties to keep you on your toes. There is the standard Ooze who just slowly slumbers towards you and takes a nice bite out of your neck with it’s giant tongue. The slicer, the Ooze with giant claws instead – no prizes for guessing what he does. An Ooze that shoots his claws at you from afar, an exploding Ooze (think of the ones from Resident Evil 6 that explode. Similar to that). Then, of course, we get the most well-known enemy return with a little change – Hunters are back and this time they have the ability to go invisible! That’s right, invisible hunters! Evil!!

We have to keep in mind while reviewing this console version, that it’s just a port of the 3DS version with a little make-over. Taking that into consideration, the graphics are actually really nice. I thought the visuals on the 3DS really pushed the boundaries of the handheld, but they still look just as good on the large screen. Sure you can see the slight errors every now and then with lip syncing or the odd sharp edge on characters or animations, but when you remember that it’s not built from the ground up for consoles and was originally on a handheld, all views change.

Although the 3DS brought us the god-send that is the circle pad pro to help play this title, I can’t help but feel that the game’s control has been improved vastly with the console versions. Parts that I struggled on with the 3DS version I found rather easy on the console version – it’s the same difficulty and monsters, the only thing that’s different is the way of controlling. As one of the most requested features for Resident Evil titles, you are able to move and shoot. Granted, you don’t move considerably fast while aiming, but it can be enough to get you out of harms way. Running is now a standard in this, there isn’t any walking or slow moving (unless you’re chatting on your radio to fellow team members, but you’re safe from enemies then).

To mix things up a notch, you can add custom parts to all guns that will do a variety of things. This could be from increasing the amount of bullets the gun can hold, to the power or firing rate. There are hundreds of options to choose from. Of course you need to find all these within the campaign or the amazing raid mode (which I will talk about later). The campaign is amazing as well. Back to the style of survival horror, fighting against something but you’re not sure what. The only main problem with this game is the chapter lengths. They aren’t the longest and most can be completed within 10 minutes. I think this is due to the limitations that the 3DS had on data. It was only able to load up so much information so having the shorter chapters helped (or having the obvious loading doors in the main rooms). Of course, this isn’t an issue on the stronger consoles, but to stay true to the way the story pans out they couldn’t really change anything about the structure.

Raid mode is where this game shines. Since Resident Evil 4, side games have become a must for the Resident Evil series. Mercenaries (which started in RE4) has accompanied all the main Resident Evil titles, not to mention having it’s own title on the 3DS! But Revelations changes it round a bit by giving us Raid mode. If you hear anyone say ‘Raid Mode is the same as Mercenaries’ give them a slap, will you? The only thing that is similar is that it’s a side game. Raid mode has you playing some of the chapter levels from the story in single player or with a friend using a cast of playable characters. Your aim to to get from point A to point B while trying to kill everything without being damaged. The enemies are the same as in the campaign, while some of them will have some slight differences. You will be able to tell these apart by their health bar. To add more fun as well, if you pick a level which has a ‘!’ on the screen, this means that one of the enemies is named. They will be named after either yourself or someone in your friends list. These guys are generally stronger and harder to kill than the normal Ooze but can leave behind some goodies for you to enjoy. Sometimes this includes some really rare guns which have unique appearances. (Check the video below)

Once a level is completed you are awarded up to four bonuses depending on how you did. You can get the ‘Low Level Bonus’ which is obtained by finishing the level at lower level than is recommended; the ‘Genocide Bonus’, which is awarded for Killing every enemy in the level and the ‘No Damage Bonus’ which, as you may guess, is awarded for not taking any damage during the level. If you manage to net all three of the bonuses in one run, you are then awarded the ‘Trinity Bonus’. All 4 bonuses are then done for that level. As always, you are graded on each level which is scored on your accuracy, damage taken and time to finish. Each grade with award you will ‘Battle Points’ which you can turn in for new weapons or weapon upgrades. You can see me and a friend play through the first three levels of Raid mode.

To finish up, Resident Evil Revelations is one of the best Resident Evils of the modern era. Of course, nothing will be able to beat the classics (especially Resident Evil 2), but if you have been left disappointed by the Resident Evil series with their recent games (which it seems a few have been) then Revelations is the game you need to play to get yourself back into a virus-destroying mood. With the storyline and the style of gameplay almost back at the franchise’s survival roots, Revelations is a win all round. You get hooked in by the campaign,  but you stay for the Raid.

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