Resident Evil has gone in a strange direction in recent years. Since the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4, the series has spun off into a variety of multiplayer variants. Amongst the multiplayer centric Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil: Mercenaries, floats an actual Resident Evil game known as Resident Evil: Revelations. Knowing very little going in, I hopped onto an open 3DS as I passed on the show floor with about thirty minutes to kill. What I found was not another offshoot or derivative, but genuine Resident Evil experience for the 3DS.
Revelations is near-stunning, sporting some of the best looking visuals on the portable system. The environs of Revelations are nothing new, but the field of depth is. The 3D field of depth is impressive as anything, acting as an excellent method judging the exact distance of the series’ signature slow-trotting zombies. And speaking of signatures, Revelations clearly wants to heave the series back towards its roots: survival horror. I’m not quite sure about the horror part, but resource management is once again at the forefront. I had a limited supply of ammunition and health items in the brief demo, and it felt as if every shot counted. Each shot had to be deliberately planned and meticulously executed or I would suffer the unfortunate fate being utterly defenseless on a ship full of weird-looking zombie variants.
Revelations introduces a new item scanner, which can be used to scavenge items from under tables, behind cracks, and inside drawers. Ignore the item scanner and you’re ignoring free ammo and items, which in turn sends a message to zombies that you don’t really care if they eat you or not. It’s a nice addition that again uses the 3D effect nicely, but I could see it becoming a bit repetitive after repeated use.
Perhaps the most impressive feat of Revelations how well Capcom nailed the control scheme. With only one analog stick to work with, a signification portion of the touch screen is reserved for rotating the camera. Even without using this, the camera does a magnificent job of placing itself where it should be; it even automatically swings behind the character as you move around tight corners. Aiming is also easily executed by holding the right trigger to shift your view into first person mode. Holding the left trigger allows you to strafe in any direction while aiming. That’s right, you can move and aim at the same time in a traditional Resident Evil game.
Conspicuously absent is inclusion of a melee attack, a la Resident Evil 4. I couldn’t weasel anything out of the Capcom reps on the show floor, so I’ll take that as a ‘maybe’. The melee attacks in Resident Evil 4 were pretty viscerally animated, so at this point I’ll assume that they aren’t worked into the game yet. Many gamers have fond memories of the Resident Evil series, and Revelations is primed to rekindle that nostalgia.