Revelations does the impossible, catering to both fans of the old and the new.
In Revelations, the story revolves around a mysterious conspiracy, which is introduced early on as the game begins. While the story is good, the script is rather shoddy, especially when it comes to some really typical drama "no-duh-Sherlock" moments and a good number of its jokes from Keith Lumely and Quint Ketcham. Sometimes the joke itself isn't the problem, but the fact that it can drag on after it stopped being funny is definitely irritating. Resident Evil: Revelations is allegedly a prequel to Resident Evil 5, supposedly intended to tie the fourth and fifth games together to close the gap that happened between them (however, the game's story, while thoroughly entertaining, feels surprisingly non-cannon, as hardly any of the events actually connect with the other two games). The voice acting ranges from decent to good, but some characters just aren't given proper voice casting. Quint, for example, who loosely resembles Jason Stratham in appearance, is given an uncharacteristically whiney voice that sounds as if he was a child trapped in an adult's body. Revelations takes place primarily aboard the Queen Zenobia, a mysterious ship floating in the middle of the ocean. It is exceptionally large, and feels like it's considerably bigger on inside than the outside. Many parts of the environment are connected (though they are locked initially) providing an experience more akin to the original, less linear Resident Evil. Not to say that the ship is entirely explorable, but backtracking through the levels will often give you the opportunity to find unique treasures that can't be obtained by going through the game's actual story in a linear fashion. The story is rather cheesy, but it seems right in place with the Resident Evil franchise. In some aspects, it does live up to its name as well; a lot that happened in the trailers finally begins to make sense in the actual game, although many things that happened in the trailers and demos never actually happened in the true story. Everything will start to click by the time you finish with Revelations, save for the absurd ending which has little to do with anything and suddenly makes everything that once made sense become a total mystery.
The perspective is still over the shoulder combat, and there is the option of aiming with either the circle pad pro or the gyroscope methods, in addition to every other method seen in Mercenaries 3D for the 3DS. Throughout most of the game the players will play as Jill, the heroine from the first and third game in the series. Jill boards the Queen Zenobia in search for Chris, who's signal mysteriously disappeared somewhere in its vicinity in the middle of the ocean, leading the BSAA (Bioterroism Security Assesment Alliance) to believe that he had been captured or kidnapped. In some sequences, you can actually play as Chris Redfield, with his new partner Jessica, in a snowy mountain environment; Parker Luciani, a new character made for the Revelations storyline as he battles through an action packed romp against Hunters in a futuristic, self-powering city, Terragrigia; and as Keith Lumley along with his trusty sidekick (or is it the other way around), Quint, the comedy duo who sadly have only a few shining moments of humor, amounting to less good jokes than the unintentionally, genuinely funny Parker. As Jill on the Queen Zenobia, you will make your way through a creaky old ship, with metal doors that can no longer be kicked open as they could have been in 4, 5, and Mercenaries 3D. Instead, Jill can only walk through them, opening them in a similar style and feel as she could in the original Resident Evils, although the action of doing so does not result in a blackened cutscene with nothing but a door visible. Enemies will appear through ceilings, vents, bathroom stalls, and sometimes just waiting in another room for you to enter. Unlike in 4 and 5, the aquatically based T-Abyss zombies cannot be stunned by shots to the head or leg, although in a realistic manner they can still be brought down to size by shooting their legs to trip them over. It is still possible to stun them for a powerful, and this time around chargeable, melee attack, but it happens entirely at random from bullet fire which makes melee combat more rare and all the more satisfying and rewarding whenever Jill gets this occasional opportunity. Since monsters almost never even react to taking damage, let alone get stunned, it often invokes the question of whether or not your gun is even doing any damage, and the delayed reaction to death often causes you to panic and fire away at an already defeated opponent, causing you to lose precious ammo if you don't observe the situation more cautiously. No longer is Resident Evil a run-and-gun zombie kill-fest. Every bullet counts.
In Revelations there is no purchase method during the main storyline. All weapons are found via searching through the ship or by accomplishing puzzles. There is no cash that is usable for upgrading weapons and no means of obtaining ammo through killing enemies. Ammo is scarce from start to finish, although you are always well equipped for unique and ever changing boss fights aboard the Queen Zenobia. New to the series is the (inaptly named) Genesis scanner, a sort of visual metal detector that can spot hidden objects in the environment, which helps to search items that you can't find otherwise. Initially, the tool feels and acts like a gimmick, but even before its use is significantly important, it is very fun to use. Later in the game, its uses increase to spot hidden monsters like invisible Hunters and underwater leech-like beings, adding a new element of horror to the franchise: A mixture of survival action and a knee-deep in water "I SPY" experience, which inexplicably makes a lot of sense in Revelation's fear of the unknown. The Genesis scanner is also able of discovering Custom Parts, the sole method of upgrading your gun. It can be attached or removed at will, and there are enough custom parts to change the weapon's overall abilities in combat. An assault rifle can be converted to burst fire, a pistol or magnum can actually charge their bullets for ludicrous amounts of damage, a shotgun can fire two shells in a single trigger pull. Those are only a few of many effects that can be used.
It's a shame that the Genesis scanner doesn't transfer over to Revelation's new Raid Mode, the replayable mode that succeeds the former Mercenary Mode (which makes sense, given the 3DS already has it as a standalone title), though in reality it doesn't need to. Raid mode is far different. It is an arcade-esque take on the actual stages from the story mode, throwing the monsters in a different variety from the campaign with levels, health bars, and attributes like extra damage, defense, or speed. Raid Mode can be played co-operatively or solo, although it is lacking the superb co-operative elements from the fifth game in the series like sharing ammo and health herbs. In any case, Raid mode can be a blast. As you progress through each level, you will unlock new weapons and custom parts to give you the edge over the next difficulty, as well as new playable characters, even those that weren't originally playable in the story (like, Norman, who only makes his appearances strictly in cutscenes). Completing "missions," which are essentially achievements, gives you concrete rewards to use both in the campaign and the additional mode, depending on the reward given, and it's nice being given the edge if you are stuck somewhere in the story with a lack of ammo.
¬¬The visuals are, to say the least, astounding. The texture details, the character and enemy models, the environments, they are all unprecedented by anything else on the 3DS both in quality and fluidity. It even rivals some games available on the PS Vita, such as Unit 13. That is to be expected considering the new MT Framework Mobile engine Capcom had previously tested on Street Fighter 4 3D edition and Mercenaries 3D before finally using a more polished version to power Revelations. For the most part, the entire game is smooth, save for loading screens disguised as chambers that connect from one part of the ship to the next. It is pretty evident that the time-triggered chambers and elevators are loading screens as the frame rate drops to an absolute zero while the player waits inside until the door opens. But when the loading has passed, the ride is a smooth one, and quite a gorgeous one at that.
Revelations is probably the best game to hit the series to date, offering a relatively lengthy, scary, action packed campaign with true-to-its-roots survival elements married with the new content, mobility, features and graphics of the later editions. Despite some flaws like the inexplicable epilogue and a somewhat poorly written script for an otherwise great story and presentation, it is a treat that will please fans, old and new, whatever their take is on what Resident Evil should be.