Resident Evil Revelations 2 review for PS Vita

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Capcom
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-2
Online: Yes
ESRB: M

Iโ€™ll be honest here: the odds of me disliking Resident Evil Revelations 2 on the Vita were extraordinarily slim from the get-go. No matter how much I may love indie games, no matter how much Iโ€™ve come to appreciate Japanese games, the truth is, Iโ€™m always eager to play more full-fledged 3D action game on Sonyโ€™s handheld. I didnโ€™t have any illusions about it, obviously: I didnโ€™t expect Iโ€™d be getting another Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Killzone Mercenary or anything, but I figured this late port would fill a niche thatโ€™s been a little underserved in recentโ€ฆwell, years, if weโ€™re being realistic.

resident evil revelations 2-7

To say, then, that RE Revelations 2 lived up to my expectations probably doesnโ€™t mean all that much. It delivers that action game fix I was hoping for, and it does so in a fully competent manner. There arenโ€™t any game-breaking bugs or glitches, the controls generally work as theyโ€™re supposed to, and the whole thing more or less approximates the experience the game presumably delivered on consoles. (I say โ€œpresumablyโ€ because I forwent those console versions in favour of waiting for the game on the Vita.)

While the preceding paragraph may leave the impression that I was wholly underwhelmed by RE Revelations 2โ€™s Vita version, thatโ€™s not entirely accurate. Rather, Iโ€™d say I wasโ€ฆI donโ€™t know, whelmed. Not dazzled, not disappointed, just generally okay with the whole thing.

Pick some aspect of the game, and Iโ€™d say I was relatively satisfied by it. The graphics? Theyโ€™reโ€ฆalright. Most of the cutscenes look moderately nice, but as soon as the action begins everything gets substantially uglier. Iโ€™ve seen worse โ€” far, far worse โ€” but I donโ€™t think anyone would ever mistake this for one of the Vitaโ€™s better looking games.

Resident Evil Revelations 2_9

Likewise, the controls are kind of iffy. There arenโ€™t any egregious missteps, but at the same time, too often the game will suddenly require very precise movements where it hadnโ€™t done so before. Generally itโ€™s more annoying than anything else, but when you get attacked by monsters after you didnโ€™t approach a weapon or a ladder from just the right angle, itโ€™s easy to get a little frustrated.

If and when you die from finicky controls, though, youโ€™ll have plenty of time to get over it, since Resident Evil Revelations 2 has some of the worst load times outside of the first Telltale Walking Dead game. โ€œInterminably dullโ€ is really the only way to describe them, since they generally consist of nothing more than a black screen with โ€œLoadingโ€ฆโ€ in tiny little letters in the bottom corner.

That, however, is the only area in which Resident Evil Revelations 2 on the Vita ever deviates very far from middling โ€” in either direction, good or bad. It wonโ€™t wow you, and it wonโ€™t disappoint you: itโ€™ll basically just kind of be there.

Grade: B
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