Revelations comes to PS4 and Xbox One in HD
Following this year’s stellar Resident Evil 7, Capcom is back to give us another dose of terrifying survival-horror. The Nintendo 3DS hit Resident Evil Revelations is returning yet again, this time on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Revelations improves upon the PS3/Xbox 360 HD version and features smoother 1080p resolution, improved framerate, and increased environmental detail. All previously released downloadable content is also included as unlockable rewards in the game.
The popular Raid mode returns as well, allowing you to take on hordes of enemies online with friends. This version adds new weapons, skill sets, and playable characters including Rachel and Hunk, not seen in the 3DS original. An all-new remixed stage called “The Ghost Ship: Chaos” is exclusive to this version and offers veterans an extreme challenge.
Resident Evil Revelations is without a doubt one of the best entries in the franchise to come along in years. If you haven’t played it, or enjoyed it on other platforms, I highly recommend checking out this definitive version.
Game DetailsPlatform(s): PS4, Xbox One |
All aboard the Queen Zenobia
Resident Evil Revelations stars Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, the familiar co-founders of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). The story takes place between the events of RE4 and 5, making it part of the franchise’s official timeline. It begins with Jill receiving intel from BSAA head Clive O’Brian that Chris, and his new partner Jessica, are MIA.
As it turns out, Chris’ last known GPS coordinates points to an abandoned cruise ship named the Queen Zenobia in the Mediterranean Sea. Jill, along with her colleague Parker Luciani, head off to the derelict vessel in hopes of rescuing their missing teammates.
Meet the Ooze
Once aboard the deserted cruise ship, Jill and Parker encounter a horrific new form of bio-organic creatures called the Ooze. If you’re a fan of Resident Evil‘s myriad of fictional viruses, this particular one is called the t-Abyss.
These amorphous horrors have the ability to shape-shift into liquid form, enabling them to sneak up on unsuspecting victims. Any particular opening is therefore a potential danger, including air ducts, floor grates, or even tiny cracks in walls. In past RE games you could at least anticipate where zombies might spring from, but in Revelations threats lurk everywhere. This adds a good deal of tension that you just don’t find in most RE games.
To further amp up the scares, Ooze are lumbering, twitchy, and emit truly awful gurgling noises. You can sometimes hear the mutated creatures before you see them, further ratcheting up the feeling of unease. What’s worse is you’ll often look down narrow passageways in the Zenobia and see a clear path, yet the Ooze are hiding inside crevices along the way.
In many ways Revelations‘ Zenobia feels just as claustrophobic and deadly as the original game’s Spencer Mansion. If you’re like me and enjoy bone-chilling survival-horror experiences, this game is for you.
Explore the abandoned ship
The Zenobia is a perfect setting for this game with its maze of dimly-lit, narrow and twisting hallways. It disquieting in a classic RE way and makes you constantly dread the horrors that await around the next corner. The few open spaces, such as the grand dining room or the dazzling on-board casino, helps keep things visually interesting.
New to the series is an item called the Genesis scanner which lets your character scan bio-organic creatures. This collects data on them and provides you with the occasional green herb. Furthermore, the scanner can detect hidden objects in your surroundings, such as ammunition, herbs, keys and fingerprints. While it may sound time-consuming, the scanner is quite useful and it’s surprisingly fun discovering hidden loot about.
Where’s Chris Redfield?
In addition to the Zenobia scenes, there are chapters where you play as Chris, who ironically is searching for Jill. These chapters take place in a snowy airstrip and an occupied town. The larger landscapes, faster action, and an abundance of weapons and items contrast well with Jill’s classic survival-horror missions. It’s nice to get a breather from endless hallways and frequent back-tracking found on the Zenobia, even if Chris’ missions lack a sense of fear and anxiety.
Easing the back-and-forth transitions between Jill and Chris are some fun “previously on” recap segments. Like you see with TV shows, before each chapter you’ll get a short highlight reel of the events thus far. These are obviously holdovers from the game’s portable roots, but they work just as well on your living room TV.
Updated presentation
Graphically, this version of Resident Evil Revelations looks wonderful with improved textures and better resolution. You can still tell this is an upgraded PS3/Xbox 360 game though, so don’t expect RE7-level quality here. Still, the enemies look scarier, the lighting is more ominous, and the environmental effects look great. On top of the usual RE busywork like scavenging for ammo and blasting virus-infected bio-organic weapons, I spent a lot of time admiring the rich details of this upgraded version.
As anyone who has played Revelations can attest too, the game’s audio work is even better than the graphics. Capcom did an outstanding job using sound to amplify the mood, whether it’s the eerie music that alerts you to danger, or the creepy bubbling Ooze sounds hinting to their location. The voice acting is also fantastic, but its effects are diminished with poor facial movements that look stiff and awkward.
Raid mode returns
In addition to the meaty 10-hour single-player campaign, Revelations contains the popular co-op multiplayer Raid mode. In it, you revisit areas from the main campaign with increasingly challenging enemies buffed with extra health or speed. Your goal is to shoot enemies as quickly as possible while gathering points that can be redeemed for weapon upgrades. It’s a fast-paced alternative to the main campaign and probably the best multiplayer I’ve ever seen in an RE game.
As touched upon earlier, this version of Revelations contains all the extra content found in the PS3/Xbox 360 title. That means more weapons to unlock, more characters to play as, and new enemies exclusive to this mode. You also get the ultra-hard new Ghost Ship: Chaos stage meant for experienced, high level players. This adds even more replay value to an already superb multiplayer offering.
Final Thoughts
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One port of Resident Evil Revelations is top-notch and a must-play for fans. While you can tell it’s from an older generation of consoles, the improvements are vast and immediately noticeable. Graphically it looks great, but it’s the superb audio work that really stands out. On top of all previously released DLC, you also get new Raid content to beef up the multiplayer offering. This is one of my favourite RE titles, and it just got a whole lot better on PS4 and Xbox One.
+ Improved graphics look nice
+ Excellent audio/sound effects
+ Raid mode is a blast
+ Great story
+ Includes all DLC and new Raid content
– Still looks a bit dated
– Poor animations
OVERALL
Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 3.5/5
Sound: 4.5/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5 (80%)
Get Resident Evil Revelations for PS4
Get Resident Evil Revelations for Xbox One
