TGS '14 - Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Shares the Scares - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 19 September 2014 / 4,916 Views
Resident Evil (Or Biohazard as it is known in Japan) Revelations 2 is seriously scary. I played a short portion of the game on the Xbox One at the Tokyo Game Show. Before the demo began it asked me whether I preferred to play on Casual or Normal mode. I was unclear about the difference between them but I chose normal. Series mainstay Claire Redfield is joined by the young Moira and the demo takes place in what appears to be an abandoned prison. The two women try to obtain a ring of keys attached to the dead, hanging body of a security guard. The guard’s body plunges to the ground down below, forcing the pair to find a way to retrieve the keys.
The first thing that struck me was that this really does not look like a 'next gen' game. Resident Evil is one of the most graphically driven series out there and this is certainly not how I imagined it would look in its debut on a new generation of consoles. The graphics are far from poor but it felt like I was playing an Xbox 360 title (which, tellingly, the game will also be available for). There was also a graininess to the graphics that appeared to be added as an aesthetic choice in order to further the horror atmosphere. During a cinematic early on, the camera changed perspectives as if the two characters were being watched on grainy security video, which went a long way in upping the creepiness factor.
Once the pair made their way to the dead body, Claire searched for the keys but only managed to find the officer’s gun instead. By holding the Y button I switched control over to Moira. Moira suggested that perhaps the keys snagged on something above as they fell. Equipped with a flashlight, I aimed the beam at a shiny object hooked on a pipe. Because guns solve everything, Claire shoots the keys down. They then decide to double back to try opening a locked door.
That was the first time I ran into enemies. Three corpulent blobs of mutant flesh attacked. I managed to kill two of them with headshots but ran out of bullets before I could properly take down the final one. I began fighting back with my knife but panic made it difficult to aim. I decided to flee. I climbed a ladder, thinking I would be safe if I left the monster below, but I was struck by a second rush of fear after realizing the monster followed without even missing a beat. When a monster is close enough to strike, it latches on, forcing you to shake the left stick wildly to break free. Fortunately, I was able to fend of the beast with my knife after that.
As we continued making our way through the jail we encountered more horrifying enemies of the same ilk. Every time I opened a door, I did so cautiously. At one point, out of ammo and low on health, I switched from Claire to Moira. As Moira I merely ran around avoiding the enemies. The AI controlling Claire then proceeded to kill the monsters using the knife for me. I was not proud of my tactics, but hey, it worked.
Moving on, Claire found a shotgun. In the doorway ahead was an immovable crate. I thought it a waste of precious bullets, but I shot the crate anyway. Inside were more bullets. Claire then advised that Moira should carry a weapon of her own. Moira refused to use any firearms, alluding to some vague trauma in her past. Instead, she uses her flashlight to look around some more and finds a crowbar; Moira is apparently content with using blunt objects weapons if necessary. As Moira I used the crowbar to open a locked door and walked through only to find a mutant creature running quickly towards us. I was both terrified and relieved when the demo ended there abruptly.
The Resident Evil: Revelations 2 demo was a fun, unsettling return to the series’ more traditional survival horror gameplay roots. Resident Evil: Revelation 2 will be available in the early half of next year as downloadable episodic and retail release. It will release on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
