Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 2 Review (Xbox One)

Hot on the heels of the suspenseful opening chapter Penal Colony, Resident Evil Revelations 2 looks to continue the frenetic pace and punch of the first chapter, with the 2^nd instalment: Contemplation.

It does not disappoint. Again, Claire and Barry’s adventures are survival and stealth respectively, and consistently so; Barry’s in particular introduces a new enemy that complements the stealth aspect perfectly. The different adventures also reflect their purpose: Claire being thrown into the survival situation, salvages what is available to stay alive; where Barry is there with purpose, comes prepared, but with tougher, sneakier foes to leave their mark.

Where the Resident Evil series has become more action-oriented since the 4th entry, Barry’s elements bring a refreshing new approach to the series; instantly setting a different tone. His section forces you to be aware of your surroundings, with no room for ‘gung-ho’ tactics.

The action continues to be both brilliantly-paced and empathy-inducing. One scene in particular, when trapped in a single location and fending off enemies left, right and centre, you feel just that: trapped, not knowing when the onslaught will end with no choice but to fight on. There is some cliché with the supporting cast; it’s a bit like an episode of Casualty where you can pick off who is going to get hurt, or worse, but is amusing nonetheless.

The plot is one of the most intriguing the series has produced; the developments eloquently timed and told between the action, seamless in their execution. As expected, the story picks up exactly where it left off from Episode 1, and if you think that was filled with enough mystery and cliffhanging moments, then this does not disappoint; don’t expect many ‘revelations’ in this episode, just more cliffhangers, as Capcom can’t get enough it seems. Praise must be given here to this episode being released only a week after the first, which is a welcome surprise, compared to the likes of Walking Dead, where its more a case of as and when released.

Then there is the entertaining Raid Mode, an extra adventure taking on contained areas of the infected to earn credit to unlock further areas, outfits and more weapons. The drawback is that your progress and inventory, like the campaign, is carried over, so if you skipped raid mode on Episode 1, expect an uphill battle here in Episode 2. It’s worth a blast; a perfect way of letting off steam after the tension-inducing and plot-driven campaign.

Revelations 2 has been released cross platform and cross-gen, yet it appears that even the Xbox One release graphically looks more like a 360 release. This is not a complaint; in fact releasing the same outfit for all means everyone is treated the same, but don’t expect anything better looking than the original Revelations.

I can’t honestly recall the last time there was such an absorbing Resident Evil title; most likely Shinji Mikami’s masterpiece Resident Evil 4, which was 10 years ago now. The fact that Revelations 2 is still building on that genre-defining blueprint is no surprise. Now we are at the halfway point of this tale, it appears to be moulding from that blueprint with superbly positive results.

Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 2 is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.