Demo Impressions: Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)

Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations gets first shot being the inaugural demo download available on the Nintendo eShop. How well does it adapt to the 3DS’s capabilities and scare the crap out of me? Let’s find out.

The scary eye that greets you from the box art pops to life on the main menu. You enter the game (settling your options and such) to see a confused Jill Valentine regaining consciousness in a scary-looking bedroom. It’s always a scary-looking bedroom. With your trusty knife and handgun, you try to make your way to the bridge of the ship you are in.

The graphics are pretty. Jill’s character model looks like something out of a Wii game, perhaps better. Of course, the 3D stereoscopy makes everything better, but provides no extra effects from what I saw. The game projects stereo sound very well and you instantly know which side of your blind spot is an infected being appearing from.

The game is your usual third-person perspective affair, a common staple since Resident Evli 4. The circle pad moves Jill around and the amount you move the circle pad upwards determines whether she walks or runs. Interaction with doors or objects are done with Y. There are face keys for the primary and secondary weapon and shouldering R allows you to aim.

The touch screen is used for inventory access, reloading of weapons and changing of weapons. The demo also had me use the touchscreen to hack a panel to unlock a door, requiring me to fiddle with it GTA: Chinatown Wars style.

The only trouble I have is that the game is pretty dark. Graphically. And it doesn’t help when the 3D screen is turned on. You can’t run-and-gun, not without the Circle Pad Pro peripheral expansion at least. And being a demo, there is no save function. If you get pummelled by the infected, you die and the demo ends.

It took me a while to get around the demo. I’m not good with Resident Evil games. Not the sequences when you’re alone, even is the screen is 3.5-inches. Look, I tried my best, alright?! The demo software can only be run 30 times, although you can play the demo over and over on a single “run”. It did give me a good taste of what to expect from the upcoming game, and probably consider the purchase of the Circle Pad Pro.

The Resident Evil Revelations demo is available from today on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS at no charge. Resident Evil Revelations will be released in North America on February 7th.