Okay so they may be corny but the Resident Evil games are a guilty pleasure of mine. I really enjoyed Mercenaries when the 3DS first came out and have been looking forward to a ‘proper’ game on the 3DS with a story ever since. Revelations tells the story between the events of console games 4 and 5 and sees you playing as three pairs of soldiers with most of the action happening on board an abandoned cruise ship as you take on the roles of Chris, Jill, Jessica and the slightly overweight but likeable Parker.
This time it’s the mysterious organisation Veltro that’s up to no good with the new T-Abyss virus which turns people and creatures into hideous monsters. They can of course be taken down with bullets and as you progress through the game to upgrade your guns to fire more than one bullet at a time, have more stopping power and deliver more of a punch. There’s also a new gadget which lets you scan your surroundings for more goodies and scan enemies in order to get extra herbs for healing.
The control method is very similar to that of Mercenaries, the good news once again being that you can change and select weapons using the touch screen quickly whilst the monsters advance. You can use the new Circle Pad Pro device with the game to give you an extra analogue stick but to be honest, you won’t feel like you need one if you play the game without one.
The main game took me just under ten hours to finish which is a fair length but once you finish that you can always play it again in hell mode to unlock an infinite rocket launcher and try Raid Mode which adds so much more to what is already a good game. In Raid Mode you can play solo or co-op locally or online in mini missions to reach the goal. Monsters now have health meters and are modified with extra speed, strength or size and there are tonnes of bonuses to earn such as new weapon mods, characters and costumes.
Without a doubt this is the best action adventure game on the 3DS so far. My only complaints are that you can’t play Raid Mode immediately without playing through the first three chapter of the campaign and you can’t walk through doors at the same time as your partner. They rudely slam in your face which does upset game flow a bit in the heart of battle. It would also be good to battle some more traditional zombies rather than the water-logged beasties and Hunters you’ll encounter on the handheld. However, if you like Resident Evil this is an essential buy so it gets 9 out of 10.
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