After a disappointing Resident Evil 6, myself and many others are hopeful that the upcoming Revelations can return the series to its once respectable standing. The game is on it's way, but a demo recently made its way to XBLA and PSN, offering a taste of things to come.
The screen is certainly foreboding enough, a giant eye blinking at you from outside of a port hole. A sample is what the demo promises, and that's exactly what it delivers. Short but sweet, most players will be through this in about 15 - 20 minutes tops. The demo drops you off somewhere in the beginning (I presume) of the game's campaign mode. Jill and her new partner Parker have just dispatched one of the first Ooze monster somewhere within the bowels of the Queen Zenobia, a luxury cruise liner. The two are inspecting the new slippery enemy when odd news piques their curiosity, and it's up to Jill to go investigate. And they say chivalry is dead.
The depths of the ship prove recognizable enough territory for any RE player. Cramped corridors, funny noises, all while a storm rages on the high seas outside. Definitely creepy. It's not long before you come across a familiar RE buddy in a locked room, and the hunt for the key is on.
Having never played the original 3DS version, I can't say what's actually an improvement, but the controls are simple enough - move with one stick, look with the other. A strafe feature is a nice touch, and a praised feature that debuted in RE6 has returned in console versions of Revelations, the ability to shoot whilst on the move. Running is now based on the sensitivity of the stick. The genesis device seems like a nifty feature, and should appeal to completionists. It's a good way of keeping players on the hunt for hidden items.
The first Ooze I encountered was definitely creepy. No eyes and a hell of an overbite. With the gray skin, stammered walking, they're very reminescent of RE4's Regenerator, just easier to kill. There's a few nice jump moments here are there, and it's welcome to return to this sort of dynamic that Resident Evil pioneered over the series' transition to heavy, HEAVY action that the we've seen in the 5 and 6.
Disappointing was that you could carry only a few bullets. I'd kind of gotten use to the idea of ammo being so plentiful in the last few games. Likewise, the view. You're a bit too "zoomed in" on your character, which does allow for some scare moments here and there with enemies appearing when you round a corner. While a reticle is provided to assist aiming, I do miss the laser pointer. It does seem like there's not a lot of attention that's been paid to some of the finer details. I shot at a bell, the noise of which apparently "creeped out" Jill, but to no avail. Similarly with lights that shone bright after I plugged 'em with a few bullets. Whether these things will be "fixed" when the full version is out, we'll have to wait and see.
Minor faults aside, this will be a day one purchase / download for me when it arrives. I have some high hopes for it, but as it's just a port, I'm trying to keep them in check. Resident Evil: Revelations arrives for PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on May 21st.
Check out our review of the full game here.