Resident Evil: Revelations 2

I love Resident evil games in general, but as of late they've shifted the focus more on action rather than horror aspects. The Revelations series serves to remind us that Capcom is still fully capable of delivering chills and creating horrifying creatures. The final boss is truly a beautifully grotesque work of art that disturbs as much as fascinates. The game is also filled with eerie moments and intense encounters all the while providing limited ammunition, so every shot counts. However, as interesting as the main campaign is, Riot mode is where the real meat lies, taking up hours and hours of your time in an addictive mini-role playing action game that will give you a unique experience with every character you build up from scratch. All in all, a must have for fans of survival horror and action alike.

Resident Evil games of last gen have been reasonably successful and they are also the subject of many criticisms. The prevailing theme is the addition of partner, which may boost the action but leaves the horror aspect unpolished. Revelations 2 isn't as big budget as a couple of previous titles, but this is probably the closest Capcom has ever been in mixing horror and action together.

Story follows two perspectives; Clarie's and Barry's, both with their respective partners. The campaign spans across four episodes, shifting between Claire and Barry repeatedly. This is a great direction since the narrative is pretty complex, but not to the point of overwhelming as Resident Evil 6 four campaigns. Clarie and Moira, Barry's daughter, are kidnapped and taken to an island. They are unwilling participants for a bizarre experiment. Meanwhile, Barry is going to said island later in the future to investigate the incident. There he meets with a strange orphan Natalia.

The two stories work dynamically as they complement each other. Things happened in Claire's perspective might have impact on Barry's and there are certain events that are revealed after completing the counterpart. The transition is smooth, and this is quite a feat since the areas for each episode are shared between the two. Characters are likable, I find myself caring about their ordeals, which is rare when playing Resident Evil games.

Dialogues are decent, it still has the campy feel of B-movie, but with more emphasis on humor this time around. Dubbers perform the voices to suit the characters, especially Moira who throws profanity at a whim. Plot may not be as bombastic as the fall of a city, although this smaller scale actually works to the game's benefit. It gives more focus and lets the players invest on the characters.

Unfortunately, graphic suffers a slight frame rate. For most of the time the game runs smoothly, but as it changes area or tries to perform intricate scenes the visual will screech almost to a halt for a few seconds. This will hamper the game more than a couple of times. Design for the setting is good, the island has all the bits of previous titles. Claire and Barry will go through prison, village, city and odd facilities. It's definitely leaning towards horror effect, its gritty corridors and abandoned outback are memorably fitting without being too flashy.

Gameplay is interchangeable between two characters, or you can get a friend to play the support character. Each main character has the ability to fight, while the support mainly dabble in finding items and are not too proficient in combat. The AI isn't shabby, but playing with another person is definitely better since AI still encounters some issues. For those who are familiar with third person shooter, Revelations 2 won't pose much trouble.

It has standard basic mechanic while offering simple upgrades with skills and parts. Previous titles are more like a corridor based shooter, players clear a segment with gun blazing and move on to next one. Revelations changes that with predominant horror thriller aspect, some simple puzzles as well as a bit of exploration. It's not large by any means, however this type of gameplay fits Resident Evil atmosphere very well in just the moderate amount so it won't plod the pace. Add quaint graphic and eerie sound effects, the game is a legitimate addition to Resident Evil lore.

Revelations 2 story has average playtime. It can be finished in about 10 hours. After player is done with Campaign, there are two separate extra episodes, each clocking at about one hour. There's also Raid Mode which is a gauntlet with different objective. This resembles Mercenary Mode from previous titles, where players can go through multitude of stages and unlocks different upgrades from main story. If one is interested, there are plenty of medals and records to achieve, but I don't think this will buff the playthrough more than once or twice.

For episodic title Revelations 2 has a lot of content, certainly the best bang for your buck. With likable returning as well as new characters and pleasantly good story, Revelations 2 is a great addition to the franchise and genre.

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Graph : Good design on characters and setting, but the technical aspect is flawed. 6.5/10

Sound : Interesting voice works and scores. Script has corny Resident Evil vibe and it's actually funny this time. 8/10

Gameplay : Presentable third person shooter with partner gimmick. The throwback to horror element is a nice touch. 7.5/10

Presentation : Improvement on story and hefty content will definitely entertain the genre fans and action enthusiast. 8/10

Overall 7.5/10

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 was one of the very first Playstation 4 games I bought back in 2015 and it took me a whopping three years to complete this game. There are a lot of positive and negative elements about the game even though I would overall consider it an above average to good game.

On the positive side, the twisted story is quite interesting. It takes place in two different timelines which is an interesting concept. There are also multiple different characters to control with different objectives which adds some change and pace to the franchise. The story revolves around the events on an isolated island where an experiment has gone terribly wrong and has had grisly short- and long-term consequences. The different chapters are very challenging, detailed and long. The opponents are at times tough to fight, especially the bosses. The most recent editions even include two bonus episodes among other elements. If you purchase this game, you will have numerous hours of game play as Resident Evil: Revelations 2 truly offers value for money.

On the negative side, I think the game is a little bit too long overall. The fight sequences are quite repetitive and fighting the bosses for hours and hours can become quite frustrating. I often played the game for a week or two, took a break of several months and then resumed playing. That's why it took me nearly three years to make it through this epic game.

If you like the Resident Evil franchise or intense horror games in general, you simply can't get around this game because it offers high-quality long-term entertainment. On the other side, you need to bring some patience to accept the challenge to make it until the very end.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 was, in my opinion, one of the best games of the series. Raid Mode especially was fun, and the fact that you can be able to play co-op in this game's campaign, unlike the previous installment, Resident Evil: Revelations. The story's main characters are Claire Redfield and Barry Burton's daughter, Moira. It's almost impossible for starters, but it's pretty fun. I recommend this to Resident Evil franchise fans and new-comers!

I did really like the first game Resident Evil: Revelations (2012), this game took place between the two games Resident Evil 4 (2005) and Resident Evil 5 (2009), along with the game feeling like two my favorite installments in the series put together, that being the first Resident Evil game and Resident Evil 4 (2005); this second game to that takes place between Resident Evil 5 (2009) and Resident Evil 6 (2012). The game Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015) was as good as the first game with it being scary with a creepy setting, investing and likable characters, easy to understand gameplay mechanics, and a story you want to see more of; there might be an occasional line of dialogue that can be weird and a recap and preview for every episode that can get annoying to see every time, but you can skip them so it was not much of an issue as it could have been.

I liked being able to play as Claire Redfield since Resident Evil 2, with her being kidnapped and finding herself on this island without knowing how it happened, and she is still a likable character that you like to play as and succeed on your mission to escape and find out who did this to her; along with new member of TerraSave Moira Burton who works with Claire to get off the island and both of them work very well together once you are able to switch characters on multiple occasions. The other two characters you play as are Moira's father Barry Burton and this little girl found on the island named Natalia who goes with Barry who is trying to find his daughter and Claire, while bonding with Natalia, and learning about his relationship with his daughter; you can play as the little girl and she certain abilities that can help. Lastly, I will just say without spoilers that it is revealed when certain events took place when playing as the characters, and they connect in some way I was not expecting when going back and forth with each character.

Like the first Revelations game, I like the setting, the idea of being stuck on a monster/mutant infested island and trying to escape just sounds cool, and it was also creepy and did freak me out a couple of times while playing; also, the mutant monsters can be difficult to defeat depending on what weapon you use and what character you are playing as, with an occasional cheesy funny line of dialogue. The graphics are nice to look at and the gameplay mechanics are easy to use with you having to switch between the character you are playing as and the person you are with to do certain things; a creepy atmosphere with a good sense of danger whenever you are near a monster/mutant, and I will not spoil a reveal of a certain character who is responsible for what is happening, I will just say that it was surprising to find out.

The game Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015) is worth a playthrough with it being scary with a creepy setting, investing and likable characters, easy to understand gameplay mechanics, and a story you want to see more of; just watch out for a recap and preview cutscenes for every episode because it can get annoying to see every time, but you can skip them. I will end my thoughts by saying this is what makes Resident Evil fun to play, having it be a creepy survival horror game, and that is what the fifth and sixth game had lost track of; this is worth playing for those Resident Evil fans out there, and for people who just want to play a fun, creepy, and enjoyable horror survival game.