Buy Resident Evil: Revelations

When I bought my Nintendo 3DS, I purchased two games to go with it: Super Mario 3D World and Resident Evil: Revelations. My inner child wanted to play a Mario game again, but the grown-up side of me concluded that I needed something a little more mature. Sure enough, most of my time was spent on Revelations, and I loved it. Maybe it was a combination of story with the fact that I could play it while out and about. It's still fun on the PS4, and I'm happy to have experienced it once again, but it definitely has its flaws, particularly in the graphics department. It doesn't compare to some of the other Resident Evil titles that can be found on the console. It's a playable title if you're a fan of the genre or series, but does it stand on its own?

Revelations follows Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they embark on a mission to halt bioterrorists who want to infect the ocean with a virus. The plot takes place between Resident Evil 4 and RE5, and it begins as search and rescue mission. Jill and an agent named Parker board the cruise ship "Queen Zenobia" in search of Chris and his partner Jessica. The environment succeeds in evoking a sense of helplessness and fear. The plot is a bit confusing but ultimately makes sense due to the story being doled out in a 12-part episodic style. The episodes don't break up the gameplay too much, and there's a good mix of cut scenes and summarizing to keep players interested in the story.

Similar to RE4, RE5, RE6 and Revelations 2, the action works in an over-the-shoulder, third-person fashion. It's not much of a change if you've played prior titles, but if you joined the series with the recent Resident Evil 7, then you're in for a change as you backtrack. The controls in this title are a bit awkward and clunky. You won't feel like you have a good sense of control over your character as they move from side to side at a much different pace than when you move forward or backward. This makes sense in the real world, but in a video game, it makes you question the authenticity of the combat. I often had to completely turn away from an enemy and run a few feet so I could turn around and have sufficient time to shoot; this is necessary because the shooting is incredibly loose and touchy. Resident Evil games haven't truly mastered the shooting mechanic, with many forcing you to stand completely still before you can take aim at your attackers, but some manage to make it an adaptable system.

The scanning device you're given to collect specimen data was a nice touch, and when you aim it, the perspective changes to the first-person viewpoint. Unfortunately, you need to run around and dodge enemies long enough to use the scanner. Doing so rewards you with health, which doesn't make sense but helps you in the end. Other than this, players can expect to experience classic series mechanics in the way of sparse ammunition and health around the map.

Additionally, players can dive into Raid mode, which extends playability and will be the reason you get your money's worth from the title. It's a form of combat missions with no plot, and you can progress characters and weapons as you fight solo or in co-op action. This can be considered half of the game, while the story mode comprises the other half. It's addicting if you can grab a friend to join you, and luckily, this edition of the game comes with all additional bonuses and game content.

This will no doubt be the biggest concern for someone debating about whether they want to purchase the game. It was originally an Nintendo 3DS title, so there's only so much love it could've received when ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360 and ultimately the PS4 and Xbox One. Some of the assets didn't translate that well. Match that with the controversy that the port may have been pushed out to make up for some delays on the RE7 DLC, and you can understand that it won't look anything like other games in the series. It looks great in many areas, especially scenes that are zoomed out, but when viewing a few of the environments close up, it's easy see how 3-D details are smashed into a flat 2-D plane.

Grates in the floor, the mortar in brick walls, and even schools of fish washed up on the beach are painted on a flat surface and don't show any depth. Facial animations were bland and sometimes didn't match the speech. Again, it's a mishmash because there's a good amount of amazing-looking graphics, but some things in the environment break the immersion. The voice acting was really good, as it is in all of the titles, and the weapons even sound like they had the right amount of pop in the barrels. Generally, sound effects were as accurate as could be expected.

At the end of the day, I would rather play Resident Evil: Revelations again on current-gen consoles than to reminisce about my 3DS. It didn't hold up well, and it understandably suffers in many graphical areas due to it having been originally developed for a handheld device. It's still a better-than-average game that features a classic series plot and two of my favorite characters. If you go into it with the understanding that this is a port of a handheld game, you should be more than pleased with it. The Raid mode extends playability and longevity with its addicting gameplay and co-op capabilities. Luckily, the comes with a wallet-friendly price of $20, but if you can catch it on sale, it's an even better deal.

Score: 7.5/10