The first episode of Resident Evil Revelations 2 was a solid foundation. It introduced the game's mechanics, characters and overarching story in a way that wasn't overwhelming...however, it didn't do anything particularly new, either.

It was a good start, but it just didn't do a lot to really draw people in.

Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode Two has just launched - and, if the first episode was supposed to be a foundation, then the second should build upon it.

Good news: that's exactly what Revelations 2: Episode Two does.

Claire's story picks up sometime after the first episode's ending, and immediately introduces a wealth of new characters. The overall goal is still to try and find out who's behind everything, but there's more of a focus on working together with other survivors. None of these new characters are particularly developed or three-dimensional - one comes with a borderline racist accent, and another disappears and reappears several times for the sake of the plot - but they're of no real detriment to the story. Everything is about getting to that giant, ominous tower in the distance and finding out just what exactly is going on.

This theme continues into Barry's campaign, where the Raccoon City veteran is still trying to catch up with his missing daughter. It's here that the story begins to expand, and at a much faster rate than some may expect. The larger, overarching plot starts to take form rather quickly: hints about a new virus are dropped, the main villain becomes more tangible, and ties to the first Revelations game and the main Resident Evil story are revealed. There are still plenty of mysteries left unsolved; don't worry about that - but there's also a much stronger narrative hook this time around.

Let's put it this way: once the credits role, the wait for the third episode is going to feel a whole lot longer.

For the most part, Revelations 2: Episode Two plays exactly the same as the first. The campaign is still split between pairs of characters: Claire and Moira, followed by Barry and Natalia. Claire's campaign focuses a bit more on 'traditional' survival horror and tracking down whoever's talking through her bracelet, where Barry's campaign focuses on stealth, combat, and finding his still-missing daughter. While much of the game is structurally similar to the prior episode, there are important tweaks to both gameplay and level design...and it's not always for the better.

Unfortunately, when it comes to gameplay, Claire gets the short end of the stick. Survival horror needs to find a delicate balance between restricting resources and giving players the tools necessary to succeed, and that's where things start to fall apart. Early sections of the campaign force players into combat without enough resources to survive, and any mistakes here can have a lasting impact...which, in turn, can lead to repeated deaths and trouble further down the line.

Thankfully, once the opening battle winds down, the episode finds its rhythm. There's still a bit more combat than most would expect, and Claire's campaign ends with a relatively generic boss fight, but the episode certainly finishes stronger than it started.

On the other hand, Barry's campaign shines from start to finish. There's an immediate harmony between level design, combat and stealth - whichever way you choose to play, it feels as if the game was catered to that style. Barry's campaign in Episode One was built around fighting more advanced enemies, and the same holds true in Episode Two. Barry's awfully good at both sneaking and shooting, and you'll be doing a lot of it throughout his campaign.

The highlight of the episode - and the game as a whole so far - are the new enemy types. Roughly halfway through Barry's campaign, things go to hell pretty quickly...and it's fantastic. It's scary in a way that the first episode (and several recent Resident Evil games) failed to be, and the gameplay relationship between Barry and Natalia is absolutely perfect. Simply put, this is the sort of thing Resident Evil's AI companions should have been doing all along: hopefully, these mechanics are continued and expanded upon throughout future episodes.

It should come as no surprise that the second episode of Revelations 2 looks identical to the first. The best parts of the first episode - namely, the character models and textures - still look great. Unfortunately, some of the weaker points make a return as well: some animations still don't look right, a few weird glitches pop up and the CG cutscenes still look sub-par next to the gameplay. That being said, when it comes to Revelations 2's presentation, the good far outweighs the bad - and by a hefty margin, too.

Any fears that Revelations 2 would fall apart after the first episode should be quelled. The second episode does just about everything right: the plot goes deeper, the gameplay mechanics evolve and everything else is tightened up and polished. There are a few level design problems, sure - but aside from those few minor quibbles, the second episode improves the formula in every way possible.

With any luck, the remaining episodes of Resident Evil Revelations 2 will be just as good - the second episode is going to be a tough act to follow.

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