Resident Evil: Revelations
Resident Evil: Revelations |
Nintendo 3DS cover art |
Developer(s) |
Capcom
Tose[1] |
Publisher(s) |
Capcom
|
Director(s) |
Koushi Nakanishi[2] |
Producer(s) |
Masachika Kawata[2]
Takayuki Hama[2] |
Writer(s) |
Dai Satō |
Series |
Resident Evil |
Engine |
MT Framework[3] |
Platform(s) |
Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360 |
Release date(s) |
Nintendo 3DS
JP January 26, 2012
EU January 27, 2012
AU February 2, 2012
NA February 7, 2012[4]
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U & Xbox 360
NA May 21, 2013
JP May 23, 2013
AU May 23, 2013
EU May 24, 2013 |
Genre(s) |
Survival horror |
Mode(s) |
Single-player, multiplayer |
Resident Evil: Revelations, known as
Biohazard Revelations (バイオハザード リベレーションズ Baiohazādo Riberēshonzu?) in Japan, is a
survival horror video game originally for the
Nintendo 3DS. The game was developed by
Capcom,
and was released on January 26, 2012 in Japan; January 27, 2012 in
Europe; February 2, 2012 in Australia; and February 7, 2012 in North
America.
The game returns to the earlier series original survival horror
gameplay which consists basically in limited supply of ammunition and
more emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving than action and
shooting, both of them being present in the latest entries of the
franchise.
[2] The games main story takes place between the events of
Resident Evil 4 and
Resident Evil 5, and allows the player to control the series main characters
Jill Valentine and
Chris Redfield throughout the game.
[5] The game also allows the player to switch between a
first-person and
third-person perspective.
[6] The game was well received by critics and fans with an aggregated score of 83.50% on
GameRankings[7] and 82/100 on
Metacritic.
[8]
A
high definition port of the game was released for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3,
Wii U a
Gameplay
Resident Evil: Revelations returns to the survival horror
gameplay of earlier series installments, with returning elements such as
a limited supply of ammunition, and more emphasis on exploration and
puzzle solving.
[2] The game's camera keeps an over-the-shoulder view from behind the playable character.
[6] The player may move the protagonist while aiming a weapon, and has the option to switch between a
first-person and
third-person perspective.
[6][5] A new device, the Genesis, detects items hidden throughout the game's environments.
[9]
Extra features include Raid Mode, allowing two players to cooperate in battling waves of enemies.
[10] Players are also able to send in-game supplies to friends via the
StreetPass feature of the Nintendo 3DS.
[11] The
Wii U version offers additional features using the
Wii U GamePad, including dual screen gameplay,
Off-TV Play and
Miiverse functionality.
[12] The game also supports the
Circle Pad Pro expansion peripheral for the
Nintendo 3DS version.
[13]
Capcom provides a free web service called Resident Evil.Net which
offers online game events, detailed player statistics and unlock-able
game and web items for
Resident Evil: Revelations and
Resident Evil 6, which players can earn with Resident Evil skill points through synchronizing their gaming platform with the service.
[14]
Plot
The game is set between
Resident Evil 4 and
Resident Evil 5.
[5] It depicts the events shortly after the establishment of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), a
counter-terrorism group introduced in
Resident Evil 5.
[2] The story revolves around BSAA co-founders
Jill Valentine and
Chris Redfield, the protagonists of the
first Resident Evil.
[5][15] During the game's events, Jill and Parker Luciani are sent to search for Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawat on the SS
Queen Zenobia,
that serves as the game's setting. The game's story includes a
flashback, which revolves around the "floating city" of Terragrigia
(Italian for "Grey Earth") one year prior to the game's events, when the
Federal Bioterrorism Commission (FBC) sent agents – including Parker
and Jessica – to keep the situation under control after the
bioterrorist
organization "Il Veltro" launched an attack on the city using
bio-organic weapons (BOW) in opposition to Terragrigia's solar energy
development.
In 2005, BSAA head Clive R. O'Brian sends out Jill Valentine and her
new partner, Parker Luciani, to search for Chris Redfield and his new
partner, Jessica Sherawat. They have reportedly gone missing and lost
contact with HQ during their mission to investigate Veltro's possible
reappearance. Jill and Parker are sent to search for them at their last
known location, the cruise ship SS
Queen Zenobia. During their
search, they encounter several B.O.W.s on the ship infected with the
T-Abyss virus, a marine virus derived from the deadly T-Virus. They
finally enter a room where they believe Chris is being held, realizing
too late that it was all a trap. Chris and Jessica, meanwhile, find a
base of operations for Veltro; the Valkoinen Mökki airstrip in the
mountains. Being informed by O'Brian that Jill and Parker are missing in
the Mediterranean, they are redeployed to investigate their
whereabouts. Awakening in separate locked rooms aboard the
Zenobia,
Jill and Parker manage to escape and regroup. They later encounter FBC
agent Raymond Vester, whose life Parker had saved during the Terragrigia
Panic. They also witness a video transmission of a masked man claiming
to be part of Veltro who threatens to infect approximately one fifth of
the Earth's oceans with the T-Abyss, which was created in retaliation to
the FBC for their involvement in the destruction of Veltro's forces on
Terragrigia.
Chris requests that a team be sent to Valkoinen Mökki to find
information on the ship, prompting O'Brian to order BSAA agents Quint
Cetcham and Keith Lumley to investigate. Jill and Parker reach the
ship's antenna to contact HQ, requesting evacuation, but are cut short
by O'Brian receiving a call from the European Security Force, informing
him that the Regia Solis has been activated and is targeting the ship.
Meanwhile, Quint and Keith discover that O'Brian had orchestrated
Veltro's re-emergence along with other crucial information. However,
they lose contact with O'Brian when an airstrike decimates Valkoinen
Mökki. Chris and Jessica arrive to the
Queen Zenobia. At the same
time, Jill and Parker are confronted by the Veltro operative, who poses
various questions hinting at a larger conspiracy. However, before he
can reveal anymore, Jessica shoots him. Parker unmasks him to discover
it was Raymond. He seemingly dies after whispering something to him.
Afterwards, Chris and Jill make their way to the ship's laboratory to
stop the virus from contaminating the sea, while Parker and Jessica
search for a way to stop the ship from sinking. During the search,
Parker turns his gun on Jessica, suspecting her of being an FBC mole, as
told by Vester. At the same time, Raymond reveals himself to be alive,
having worn a Kevlar vest, and working with O'Brian. Jessica wounds
Parker and initiates the self-destruct sequence, confirming her to be
the mole. Having found the laboratory, Chris and Jill are confronted by
Lansdale, via video uplink, revealing that he worked with Veltro in the
Terragrigia Panic in an effort to increase the FBC's funding and
international influence; notes left by former crew members reveal that
he had dispatched a research team to create a vaccine, and then killed
them off by releasing the ship's monsters after they'd sent it to him.
Despite the Queen Zenobia self-destructing, they manage to neutralize
the virus. Pilot Kirk Mathison contacts Chris and Jill informing them
that he is there to extract them. They then meet with an injured Parker
but despite the pair's attempt at saving him, Parker falls into the fire
below a broken catwalk.
O'Brian informs Chris and Jill about the truth behind the mission: he
had orchestrated the events in an effort to gather evidence of
Lansdale's involvement in Terragrigia. He then informs them of the
results from Keith and Quint's data analysis: the existence of a third
sister ship known as the
Queen Dido below the ruins of
Terragrigia, which was destroyed by Lansdale to eliminate incriminating
evidence of his involvement. However, Lansdale then proceeds to arrest
O'Brian, cutting off communications. Jill and Chris search for Jack
Norman, the leader of Veltro, knowing that he holds evidence against
Lansdale. However, he has gone delusional, and survived a year by
injecting himself with T-Abyss and resisting mutation through his own
desire for vengeance; he then injects himself with an overdose of the
virus, believing Chris and Jill to be FBC sent to kill him, and
transforms into a new type of Tyrant known as the "Final Form Abyss".
After a long battle, he is finally killed, expressing his relief that he
could finally be at peace. Chris and Jill then broadcast the video via
Norman's PDA, exposing Lansdale. O'Brian is immediately released and
arrests Lansdale. The truth behind Terragrigia went public and the FBC
was dissolved. Parker, who was saved by Raymond from the explosion, was
found adrift off the shore of
Malta
and, after a month of recovery, resumed his position as a Special
Operations Agent for the BSAA; while O'Brian decides to take
responsibility for his actions in orchestrating the entire mission and
steps down as director of the BSAA. Quint and Keith are revealed to have
survived the air raid. The game then shows Chris and Jill walking up to
the Spencer estate from
the "Lost in Nightmares" episode of
Resident Evil 5. In a
post-credits scene,
Raymond approaches Jessica at a cafe and gives her a sample of T-Abyss.
She asks him why he saved Parker, with him replying that he "had his
reasons", whilst removing his sunglasses.
Characters
English voice cast includes
Roger Craig Smith (Chris Redfield),
Michelle Ruff (Jill Valentine),
Paul Eiding (Clive R. O'Brien),
Ali Hillis (Jessica Sherawat),
David Vincent (Raymond Vester). Japanese voice cast includes
Hiroki Tochi (Chris Redfield),
Atsuko Yuya (Jill Valentine),
Nana Mizuki (Jessica Sherawat),
Yasunori Matsumoto (Raymond Vester),
Mitsuru Miyamoto (Parker Luciani),
Unsho Ishizuka (Clive R. O'Brien), Saori Seto (Rachel).
[1]
Development
Development of
Resident Evil: Revelations began before that of
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, an action game that was created by the same staff members at
Capcom.
[16] The Mercenaries 3D was intended as a test for the capabilities of the
Nintendo 3DS, and made the development team familiar with the handheld's technology.
[16] Resident Evil: Revelations uses a new revision of the internally developed
MT Framework graphics engine.
[3]
Referred to as MT Framework Mobile, it was designed specifically for
the Nintendo 3DS, and is based on an earlier version of the engine
utilized in the third-person shooter
Lost Planet 2.
[3] Depending on the mode
Resident Evil: Revelations is run in, some graphical effects will be toggled on and off; for example, the graphics feature
anti-aliasing if the 3D mode of the Nintendo 3DS is disabled.
[3] Resident Evil: Revelations was directed by
Resident Evil 5 co-designer Koushi Nakanishi, and produced by Masachika Kawata and Takayuki Hama.
[2][17] Tsukasa Takenaka, who provided the story background and in-game files for
Resident Evil 5, joined the team as assistant producer.
[17][18] According to Kawata, there is a significantly larger amount of script in the game.
[19]
The game was revealed at the
E3 2010 trade show in Los Angeles.
[20] A playable demo for
Resident Evil: Revelations, referred to as a "pilot version" by Capcom, was released with
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.
[21] Another playable demo of the game was available for download from the
Nintendo eShop service on January 19, 2012 in North America and Europe.
[22] Resident Evil: Revelations
is the first game to support the Circle Pad Pro in Europe, Australia,
and North America. A bundle containing the add-on was released in Europe
and Australia along with the regular version.
[23] Prior to its release, Capcom sent North American copies of
Resident Evil: Revelations to reviewers with the game's title, as printed on the cover's spine,
misspelled as "Revelaitons" [
sic].
[24] To make up for the error, Capcom offered to replace the cover with a corrected version to users in North America.
[25][26]
On January 22, 2013, it was announced that ports to
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3,
Wii U,
Xbox 360 would be released in both disc and digital formats under the title
Resident Evil: Revelations HD.
[27] Titled
Biohazard Revelations: Unveiled Edition (バイオハザード リベレーションズ アンベールド エディション?) in Japan, it contains several new features, updated graphics, and supports
achievements/
trophies through
PlayStation Network,
Steam,
Nintendo Network and
Xbox Live. The
Unveiled Edition was released on May 23, 2013, and featured an "Infernal" increased difficulty mode.
[27][28] The demo for the game was released via
Xbox Live Arcade,
PlayStation Network,
Wii U eShop, and
Steam on May 14, 2013, and on May 15, 2013 for the PlayStation Network in Europe.
[29]
Reception
The 3DS version received positive reviews from critics with an aggregated score of 83.50% on
GameRankings[7] and 82/100 on
Metacritic.
[8]
IGN's Richard George praised the game's gameplay and excellent graphics, but criticized the story.
[43] Tim Turi of
Game Informer
noted the game's impressive visuals and brooding atmosphere, while also
claiming that the game's story was one of the best in years. He
criticized the game's lack of enemy variety in comparison to other games
in the series, and stated that BSAA agents Quint and Keith are the
worst characters in the series' history.
[40] Jane Douglas of
GameSpot praised the game's visuals and entertaining story.
[41] The Escapist's
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw called Revelations "basically inoffensive" mainly
criticizing the games scanning mechanic as being poorly implemented and
the dodging mechanic as being poorly explained.
[44]
In March 2013, the game was nominated for and won several
Pocket Gamer Awards categories, including Best Action/Arcade Game.
[45] The game sold 296,000 copies in Japan in 2012.
[46]
The home console versions received mixed to positive reviews from
critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave
the Wii U version 78.75% and 80/100,
[30][34] the PC version 78.00% and 77/100,
[31][35] the Xbox 360 version 74.70% and 75/100
[32][36] and the PlayStation 3 version 72.86% and 74/100.
[33][37]
The high definition versions of the game have sold one million copies as of September 30, 2013.
[47]nd
Xbox 360 in May 2013.