Capcom has been around since the days when players paid for gaming one quarter at a time in mysterious electronic arenas known as arcades. The venerable developer is responsible for some of the biggest game franchises out there, like God of War, Phoenix Wright, Devil May Cry, Mega Man, etc., Capcom is probably best known for their scary games, especially the Resident Evil series. Resident Evil Revelations 2 asks the question” what would happen if we took the lamest characters from previous entries and teamed them up with a young woman who refuses to use guns and a little girl armed with a brick?”
Claire Redfield is attending some sort of celebratory function at her place of employment, Terra Save, with the newly hired Moira Burton, who is Barry Burton’s daughter. The celebrations are cut short when mercs with SMGs break in and whisk the party away for some late night experiments on Anthrax Island. Okay, it isn’t really Anthrax, but every one of the kidnapped party goers have been injected with the Urobos virus and will mutate at the first sign of fear...or something like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8xE82nf9w[width=650,height=366]
Claire wakes up to an open cell door sporting a high tech bracelet that allows her to communicate with her captor, a woman calling herself The Overseer, at her captor’s whim. The bracelet also serves as a monitoring device and electronic mood ring, changing colors when the virus is becoming active. Claire teams up with Moira, who is immediately proven to be as useless as her father by refusing to use a gun, opting for the flashlight/crowbar combo. I bet folks were knocking each other over to play as Moira during co-op.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5xE4H1M6A[width=650,height=366]
Claire and Moira must escape the facility and make contact with the outside world. Perhaps the duo can channel Lara Croft and find a way to get a radio message off the island without getting killed in the process.
Enter the Dork
Barry Burton makes his way to Anthrax Island, six months later, to save his daughter, who may or may not be dead by this point, depending on who you ask. He meets a girl named Natalia who claims to have spent time with Claire and Moira. Natalia has a knack for being able to spot loot and the infected, even through walls, and is pretty handy with a brick. Using the worst sort of adult reasoning, Barry allows the little girl to chaperone him through a monster-filled nightmare to exact revenge on The Overseer, who may be related to another character in the Resident Evil canon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ruif3AkwA[width=650,height=366]
Tools of the Trade
Most of the weapons are standard RE fare: machine pistol, semi-autos, magnums, SMG, an assault rifle, a couple of shotgun variations and combat knives, usable by only Claire and Barry. The two tag-alongs are armed either with a crowbar, which is useful for opening some doors and crates, or a brick, which is useful for building houses if you have enough of them.
Although some emphasis is placed on combat, many of the thematic elements from RE are still alive and well: puzzle solving, resource management, ammo conservation, and scavenging are a huge part of RE Rev 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR67WuOqFZA[width=650,height=366]
Like the last couple of Resident Evil games, a cooperative tactic is necessary to progress, and players will alternate between armed and unarmed characters on both teams. Players will rendezvous with imprisoned Terra Save coworkers from time to time, teaming up long enough for them to turn, die, or betray you. Too bad, Crazy Pedro would have made an awesome playable character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTBJydCdR1k[width=650,height=366]
The Parts I Liked
The big winner in this game is the atmosphere and setting. Every once in a while I would be hit with a wave of nostalgia and feel the distant but still familiar Resident Evil vibe from the first two games. The environments are super creepy, the antagonists are reasonably threatening, and a couple of missed shots could be the difference between clearing a level successfully or dying in the woods with an empty gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MZpfasYmlw[width=650,height=366]
The AI companion in this game is a vast improvement over the last couple of games: not once did Natalia or Moira attempt suicide. Moira will attempt to keep the path ahead lit with a flashlight, and will even toss an herb Claire’s way if the player starts to taper off in a fight. The combatants are able to move and shoot at the same time and this prevents the combat from becoming rooted and unnecessarily difficult.
You Knew it Was Coming
Barry Burton blows, there’s that. At times the weak and combative worthlessness of the pacifist/underaged companions made the game feel like a long escort mission.The same shitty companions could make for hostile co-op sessions: who in the hell wants to be the little girl with a brick or the character who won’t use a gun? I mean, Barry is a shitty choice but he’s still better than a little girl with a brick....barely.
The story is a jumbled wreck and perhaps tries too hard to take a new antagonist and make her OG. Why can’t we have a bad guy that’s doing bad shit in a game for a reason that actually make some kind of sense? Why does it have to go back to the same old over-elaborate revenge fantasy come to life? Bad guys do bad shit because they’re motivated, not because they’re crazy and/or angry.
Sarcasmo Says
The game has its moments of true original Resident Evil atmosphere and nostalgia, but those moments are fleeting and unsustained. Replayability is fair: you get some new skins and can replay any chapter with all the equipment currently in the inventory, but I petered out about halfway through the second chapter on the replay. I disliked both of the main protagonists and hated the two tag-alongs. Resident Evil Revelations 2 is interesting, but I don’t love it. Most folks will get what they want out of it with a five day rental.
