3D Zombie Spree

Just when you thought the zombie apocalypse would never be more than a punch line on some hack‘s web article, the displays through which we watch the undead won’t keep us safe much longer thanks to Nintendo and Capcom. Conserve ammo and stock up on first aid spray, because Resident Evil Revelations and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D are coming to the Nintendo 3DS.

For the most part, a zombie game will fall under one of two categories: either a slow-paced survival thriller, where the undead eat more bullets than brains at a Harvard alumni dinner; or the faster variety, where zombies serve as endless cannon fodder. By these standards, RE Revelations falls under the former, while RE: The Mercenaries 3D would be filed under the latter -- and they both look like bloody good adventures in their own right.



- The atmospheric terror will be enhanced by the 3D visuals -

On January 9, Capcom released a hands-off demo of both titles, starting with Resident Evil Revelations. The demo showcased some core game mechanics and glimpses into the plot, leaving us drooling for more (not unlike zombies drooling for human flesh). The first thing we noticed was the setting. Revelations is set on a leaky, creaking cruise liner and other locations in Europe (though we didn‘t get the chance to see any missions on land). The tight corridors and dim lighting of the ship are reminiscent of old school Resident Evil games, and from what we saw, the monsters were just as tough.

Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield headline Resident Evil Revelations, but Jill was the only character putting on a show in the demo. Traditional to RE games, players will navigate levels in classic third-person, but RE Revelations handles aiming and firing weapons in first-person. This is a new feature for core RE games, but it suits the 3D perspective nicely, allowing zombies and other monsters to get right in the player’s face. Aiming looked a little sluggish in the demo, but there’s plenty of time for fine-tuning. We also saw a timing-based counter system like RE 5. A nice secondary mechanic featured is the addition of camera manipulation using the circle pad on the bottom panel of the 3DS.



- Headshots with a laser sight? Where do we sign up? -

The demo didn’t solve any of the head-scratchers that the Resident Evil Revelations E3 teaser video left us with, but solving the riddles is half the fun, right? Finding out why Jill and Chris are at odds and who the new “villain” in the teaser is promises to be a harrowing quest. The official launch date for Resident Evil Revelations hasn’t been announced at this point, though signs point to fall 2011. From what we’ve seen so far, we can’t wait to see zombies jumping out at us... literally.

? COMMENTS Posted on 01/11/2011 |

John Arkontaky

John loves gaming and loves writing about games. He wants to become a known voice in the gaming community and a game designer one day.

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