Back in 2012, Capcom released Resident Evil: Revelations. As a 3DS exclusive, most fans of the franchise thought it would play second fiddle to the upcoming Resident Evil 6.

Surprisingly, Revelations didn't just outshine its console counterpart, but it felt like a sincere apology for everything that had gone wrong with the franchise over the years. It was a return to form, and fans absolutely loved it.

Now, three years later, Capcom has released the first episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Can survival horror succeed in its new episodic format, or is Revelations 2 just cashing in on its predecessor's success?

From a story perspective, Revelations 2 is relatively light. Taking place months after the events of the previous game, Revelations 2 follows the story of Claire Redfield and her partner, Moira Burton. Within the first few minutes, the two are ambushed, kidnapped and left in the middle of a penal colony. Aside from that scene and a few brief snippets of story, there's not a whole lot of exposition.

It's understandable, as the first episode focuses more on introducing gameplay elements than anything else, but barely anything happens outside of the immediate story. Even when the game switches over to fan-favorite Barry Burton and a young girl named Natalia, the story fails to gain any momentum. There are no hints as to who the main villain is, what caused the outbreak, or where Natalia came from - there is some setup between Barry and his daughter Moira, but it doesn't go anywhere in the first episode.

Sadly, the only real motivation to continue only comes during the episode's final moments. It's understandable that Capcom didn't want to tell the entire story right away, but as it turns out, Revelation 2's plot is easily the weakest part of the package.

Considering that Revelations 2 is only a single episode at this point, there's more here in terms of content than most fans might expect. Basically, Revelations 2 is split into two modes: the main campaign tells the game's story, while Raid mode is a timed survival challenge for one or two players.

The campaign, while generally well-designed, is astonishingly linear. There's no real reason to go off the beaten path - unless you're looking for secrets, you're basically on a track the entire time. It's incredibly straightforward, even when compared to the first Revelations game.

The first episode clocks in at roughly two hours, though that time will vary depending on difficulty level and number of retries required. For completionists, Capcom included several hidden collectibles and challenges throughout the episode, though if you're not into replaying the same sections over again, this likely won't matter. Raid mode is quick fun if you're looking for more bite-sized chunks of gameplay, and it's great that Capcom included weapons, characters and locations that aren't in the main campaign. That being said, if you're not into grinding for a higher score and more powerful weapons, it probably won't hold your attention for too long.

The best part about Revelations 2 is its gameplay. This is easily the smoothest Resident Evil game ever made: the aiming, movement and camera controls all feel great. Firing all of the different guns is satisfying, and the feedback from scoring a headshot is spot-on. The arsenal isn't exactly the most diverse in all of gaming, but at the end of the day, the game plays great.

Claire and Barry are the standard Resident Evil protagonists: they're all about shooting, dodging enemies and healing. Moira and Natalia, on the other hand, can't contribute much to combat at all, as their attacks are weak and generally ineffective. To counter this, each has unique abilities to help the stronger characters out: Moira can pick locks, while Natalia can sense zombies through walls. Strangely enough, Moira is basically useless for much of the campaign (there's only a few doors that require her crowbar to open), while Natalia quickly becomes an important part of player strategy.

While it's possible to switch between characters at almost any time, you'll likely want to stick with either Claire or Barry - aside from a few scripted encounters, using the secondary characters isn't necessary, and you'll want to be ready for whatever's lurking around the corner.

The two halves of the episode feel similar, yet distinct. Claire's opening half is more about actual survival horror, while Barry's features much more emphasis on combat and stealth. It's mostly action-horror shooting, but there are a few 'puzzles' here and there...unfortunately, they're mostly about finding and then pulling a switch, and the level design doesn't always compliment this.

It's not a frequent problem, but there are a few obtuse level designs strewn throughout the campaign. Revelations 2 doesn't exactly hold your hand, especially when it comes to environmental interactions. Most of the time, the path is pretty obvious, but there are definitely times where you'll be running in circles, desperately trying to find that hidden switch or climbable piece of wall. Again, it's not terrible - just annoying.

When it comes to Resident Evil, the question must be asked: is the game actually scary? Well, if you're looking for actual horror, there's a good chance you'll be disappointed. Revelations 2 isn't exactly scary - as always, part of this is based on the individual player, but there's nothing that'll really get under your skin. There are plenty of zombies to go around, but aside from a single section outside of an old cabin, there just aren't that many actual scares.

For a cross-generational game, Revelations 2 looks and sounds great. The game runs at a mostly steady 60 frames-per-second on Xbox One - there are a few hints of choppiness here and there, and some animations are a bit clunky, but it's nothing that'll ruin the experience. The textures, character models and environments all look great, too - the only drawback is that none of Revelations 2 is very original.

A haunted prison and outlying forest aren't exactly the most original locales in survival horror, and shambling zombies/genetic abominations have all been done before - that being said, everything is still very well done. The sound design is a mixed bag: effects and ambiance are great, but the voice acting is relatively uninspired. Barry's voice always seems just a little bit off, and Moira can get a little whiny after a while...but it's not so bad that you'll want to mute the TV.

If there's one thing about the presentation in Revelations 2 that doesn't hold up, it's the pre-rendered cutscenes. The gameplay itself looks great, but when it shifts to a CG movie, Revelations 2 falls apart: the cutscenes are compressed and grainy, the framerate doesn't match up, and both the lip sync and animations are incredibly stiff. Considering the cutscenes represent the only real story in the entire episode, it's a shame that they look so bad - instead of wasting time on lackluster CG, Capcom should have kept everything in-game.

All in all, Revelations 2 is off to a good start. It plays smoothly, it looks great, and while the story may not be a selling point just yet, there's enough here to please long-time fans of Resident Evil. Non-fans may want to wait and see what the rest of the season holds - outside of the story, there's nothing really unique about the experience, so it might be best to try it out with a friend or see what happens with future episodes before buying.

The first episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 feels like the opening chapter of a traditional Resident Evil game, which is definitely a good thing - it's just not all that revolutionary on its own.

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