Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony Reviews

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony is ranked in the 51st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2015

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 feels like a budgeted release at times visually, but given the interesting environments and insanely detailed Raid Mode, that's okay. Either mode is worth the $6 entry fee alone, and I will be playing this for weeks to come both alone and with a partner.

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8.5 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2015

A surprisingly good return to the world of Resident Evil, that could pave the way for something rather special.

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8 / 10
Feb 24, 2015

A successful start to the first episodic Resident Evil, with some genuinely inventive co-op features and the most effective scares the series has seen in years.

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8 / 10
Feb 27, 2015

Unlike its predecessor, the campaign in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 thus far places more emphasis on action rather than slow burn tension, though Claire's chapter harks back towards the item management and the notable scarcity of ammo of earlier Resident Evils. Either way with its back to basics approach to narrative, and its deeply satisfying gunplay, early signs are that Resident Evil: Revelations 2 will be a worthy addition to the series.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 6, 2015

The first episode of Revelations 2 starts off a little slow, thankfully Raid Mode keeps things interesting and alone justifies the price of admission. Hopefully the story picks up in the future chapters.

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4 / 5.0
Feb 24, 2015

Resident Evil Revelations 2's first episode is a strong start to the game and the only fault I can find with this method of release is that the next episode can't come out soon enough. Penal Colony provided just the right amount of backstory and twists to leave the player wanting to find out what's next in the story.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2015

If this first episode is a sign of things to come, I think most Resident Evil fans have a lot of good times to look forward to. While the graphics in Penal Colony are pretty disappointing, the atmosphere, pacing, and amount of content are easily worth the price of admission. You'll want to grab a friend to play with in order to enjoy this game to its fullest potential. It'll be interesting to see where Capcom is going to take the story, and those looking for a couple of scares should download a copy of Penal Colony today.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2015

A great start to what will hopefully result in a solid and memorable entry in the Resident Evil franchise. If the following episodes are as good as this one, I firmly believe it will be.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2015

Overall, this first foray into Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a good one. The two campaigns are both fun, tense and engaging with a strong Raid mode to back it up. The co-operative gameplay is interesting to experiment with and provides the player with a variety of ways to tackle situations. While the lack of online co-op is a bit of a head scratcher and the graphics aren't up to par, Penal Colony was very enjoyable and more than worthy of a playthrough. If Resident Evil Revelations 2 continues in the same vein, then we can't wait to get our hands on future episodes.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2015

The old-meets-new action in the story is solid but lacks spark, taking a backseat to what turns out to be an unexpectedly strong bonus Raid mode

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2015

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is a promising start to this four-part horror title, with some interesting gameplay dynamics let down by dodgy presentation and some technical hiccups.

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3.8 / 5.0
Mar 3, 2015

Ultimately, the first episode of Revelations 2 sets up a good followup to the first Revelations — which I actually liked — and portends a solid addition to the Resident Evil series. It's quite amusing when you find yourself in a desperate situation where you're out of ammo, low on life as your screen flashes bloody red, and running away from a large hammer-wielding brute.

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Cheat Code Central
Angelo M. D’Argenio
Top Critic
3.6 / 5.0
Feb 25, 2015

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Penal Colony has a lot of ups and downs. Combat isn't great, and the environments are boring, but the story is fun, and playing the game in co-op, while certainly weighted toward the combat character, makes the experience a lot better. It's not quite the Resident Evil we all wanted, but it's a lot better than Resident Evil 6 was, and I was one of those weirdos that liked Resident Evil 6. If Capcom keeps making Resident Evil games closer to this formula, then maybe one day it will take its place on the throne as king of survival horror once more. We just aren't quite there yet.

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IGN
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2015

Imagination takes a backseat in Revelations 2, but great co-op and an intriguing story pumps blood through its veins.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
7 / 10
Feb 23, 2015

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 gets off to a rough start with poor writing and safe design choices, but it's redeemed by strong doses of tension during the second act.

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Feb 23, 2015

Altogether, the sum of the parts for this first episode makes for an enjoyable run and, despite the rocky start, will make gamers look forward to the next episode.

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7 / 10
Feb 24, 2015

An intriguing start to Capcom's episodic adventure.

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Mar 10, 2015

The first episode of 'Resident Evil: Revelation 2' sets the scene for future episodes with familiar gameplay and local co-op, but is graphically unimpressive.

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7 / 10
Feb 25, 2015

It's hardly a revelatory release thus far – but this could yet be great.

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Gameplanet
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Mar 3, 2015

The first two chapters of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 represent a sound but unremarkable beginning to the episodic series. What's here is unlikely to appeal much beyond fans of the genre.

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