Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 2: Contemplation Reviews
The intense boss fights and action-packed sequences jammed into this three-hour play make it an at-times exhausting experience. It suits the episodic nature to a tee, giving you a week or so to gather yourself before heading back in for more. Let's just hope Capcom can keep it up for the final pair of episodes.
Picking up where the first chapter left off, Resident Evil Revelations 2 is looking great after a good cliffhanger ending and looks like a promising entry in the franchise.
Episode Two: Contemplation is hands down, a better, stronger, and more satisfying entry than the Revelations 2 premiere episode was.
'Resident Evil Revelations 2' is making modest progress with 'Contemplation'. The ending in particular makes me feel like we're getting somewhere. A lot of the persistent 'Resident Evil' issues are still hanging around, but as more of the game becomes visible, more of its merits are surfacing at the same time. So far, so good.
A few technical issues still remain, such as the unreliable stealth mechanic where enemies will arbitrarily sense a player's presence even if they are properly concealed, and the AI-controlled character still has a habit of staying behind and/or failing to pull their weight during more heated skirmishes. Nevertheless, this latest episode has gone a long way to raise optimism over Capcom's latest RE experiment.
The continuation of the story a single week after the first episode released is a welcome change of pace compared to most episodic releases. Picking up right where you left off, after the events of the previous episode are still fresh in your mind, is a bit more pleasant than waiting an entire month or longer for new episodes of other games to release (I'm looking at you, The Walking Dead!). If you bought the first episode, nab the second. If you haven't bought any episodes and enjoy horror games, ponying up the cash for the season pass can be assumed to be a safe bet by now.
Capcom already laid out its stall with the previous instalment, so Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode Two: Contemplation can no longer be considered a pleasant surprise. This is another enjoyable romp, though, which sprinkles just enough new ideas into the experience to make it stand on its own. Most importantly, the action is much tenser this time around, and while it's still largely ridiculous, it will have you squirming at points.
In a few weeks, this episodic take on Resident Evil will be over and Tuesdays will have no longer have meaning. Episode 2 has some of the best moments I've experienced in the whole Resident Evil franchise. If Capcom can maintain this intensity and not give in to all out action (easy on the Assault rifle, Barry), they may be about to bring the series back to its prime.
Contemplation builds on the successful first episode of Capcom's latest foray into new distribution models, and piles on the difficulty, atmosphere and ever-thickening plot with satisfying results. Fans of the series will appreciate the plot twists, whilst newcomers can get stuck into a well-grounded Resident Evil game that is so far living up to its heritage.
Injecting some much-needed adrenaline into Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Episode 2 ups the ante with intense boss battles, creepy new creatures and some interesting plot developments.
In the end, Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 2 is another "of course" purchase. If you liked Episode 1, picking this episode up will be a no brainer, and frankly the game is only getting better. If you didn't, Episode 2 isn't going to turn heads and convert naysayers. It's just more of the same with a welcome tweak to difficulty, and honestly, that' s exactly what I wanted.
.. the familiar game play and dirt cheap price makes Revelations 2 worth a look for even casual horror gamers.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 strengthens itself with a solid second episode packed with compelling gameplay and some decent story developments.
With that said, Contemplation certainly doesn't let up in terms of action and horror. The increased variety in enemy types and game mechanics is certainly welcome, and with the story picking up too, it will be exciting to see how the mystery unfolds.
There are certain elements to Contemplation that have been improved from the first episode, namely the more open environments and the new enemy types, but there are still apparent flaws to the story and combat scenarios. Claire's campaign once again trails behind Barry's, including a more direct conflict structure with no real puzzle solving elements to be found.
Interesting co-op play and a decent cliffhanger sees Revelations 2 really get going.
At any rate, I dread to think how short Episode 3's review is going to be, because it's a damn effort to drum up much to say about even this one.
It really does feel like Revelations 2 is starting to hit its stride as the stakes are ramped up.
Once again, I loved this episode. Lots of slaughter, lots of new elements, lots of now plot devices, new bosses, new horror aspects, and new gameplay - all of which I really enjoyed.
Revelations 2 is getting tougher, and that's a very good thing.