Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode 4 (Video Game)

Ted Hentschke   |  

Mar 23, 2015

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Developed and published by Capcom

Rated M for Mature

Available on PS4, XB1 (reviewed), PC, PSVita, PS3, Xbox360

And here we are, at the final episode of this unnecessarily drawn out road known as Revelations 2. I would be lying to say that I didn’t start looking forward to the next episode halfway through the second, but the installments have drawn some ire from me for being poor self contained experiences. Altogether, the package is amazing, but this is not a review of the package. That will come a bit later, when I have had more time to delve into the plethora of secrets and features that makes the game stand out in the DLC laden markets of today. This is a review of just the content in episode 4, so if you are buying them one at a time and want to know how this stacks up, then keep on reading, but if you want to know whether to buy the whole thing, wait for my review in a couple of days.

When we left off, the two different duos were in very different spots. Claire and Moira had just killed their mutant boss and where on their way up to the final confrontation with Wesker, while Barry and Natalia had just gotten separated on their way to the mine where the mutant future Wesker resided. Barry had a long way to go, so naturally I expected the Claire/Moira team to either have a shorter episode or be complicated in some way. With how robust episode 3 was, I figured this would be long as well. I was half right, as the Barry section turned out to be a multi-level and puzzle extravaganza of content, while the Claire/Moira section was 15 minutes long. Really, they walk out of the elevator, go up some stairs, sit through a monologue, and run out. Considering the big action scene has a timer somewhere around 7 minutes, I’m really not exaggerating how short it was. It wasn’t bad, and it set up well the future conflict, but it was shockingly sparse.

Barry “The Arsenal” Burton, on the other hand, treks through a dam, puzzles through a crumbling crane, speed runs his way though a poison gas mine, objectives his way down a mineshaft, keys his way through a mansion, and beats the final boss to death with his massive, throbbing, explosive python. The dam has two pathways, and which you take is up to whether or not you pulled a lever in Claire/Moira’s section. This split plays really well into the replayability that the game is going for, and I’m glad to see that they kept the theme going strong until the end.

Speaking of replayability, this episode brings to completion the main campaign, and with it gives access to all the unlockable weapons. As it stands just having completed the main campaign, I have two unlockable guns, but I can see at least 4 more. Unlock conditions range from completing the game in under 3 hours to completing all of the special modes, which though standard for a Resident Evil title is well implemented and robust enough to inspire more playthroughs. More on that in my full game review.

As for the plot, I was actually very surprised to find that the game did not go exactly where I thought it would. It got close, but it twisted the formula enough that I at least wasn’t bored. There’s something endearing about the characters, especially the Burtons. Moira “Jump on a Dildo Boss” Burton is younger and more energetic, with cheesy lines you’d expect from a millennial. Barry “The New Master of Unlocking” Burton is an old man, and his one liners usually revolve around the opponent’s ass and how kicked it is about to be. Claire is kind of blank, and Natalia is a little girl, but this isn’t their story. It’s a father/daughter story, and it is done with a perfect amount of cheese for a game that ends with a helicopter battle against a mutant “she-Wesker.”

It was the perfect endpoint to an incredibly satisfying experience. Don’t be put off by how short the first part is, because the concluding mission is so robust enough to be the whole episode. It was a great conclusion to the story, explaining what was going on in a reasonable and satisfying manner, which is far above and beyond the call of duty for a Resident Evil title. Really, they could have just said they brought people to the island to assist in the rise of the evil gnome empire and I would have just nodded and went with it, but they come up with a pretty reasonable explanation of what is going on. Remember, this is a series whose first game’s plot involved a scientist who was also a S.T.A.R.S. member engineering getting his team killed and releasing a bio-weapon to test his ultimate creation while himself being killed by it, and whose best installment told the tale of an insane Spanish cult leader who used parasitic tentacle beasts to subdue a rural village for the purpose of kidnapping the U.S. President’s daughter to infect her and take over the world. This is a series who thought it could combat allegations of racism by creating a black side character whose special weapon is a bow and who has an unlockable “tribal” costume with a leopard bikini and a necklace made of bones. The fact that they went with believable characters and a plot that actually kind of works is fucking staggering.

The episode isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty darn close. If you have stuck around episode by episode, waiting to see if this was worth it, the answer is “well you have already bought this, why are you reading my review.” This episode isn’t so great that it would make a lackluster package worth it, but luckily it fits in so well with the rest of the game that it ties together an excellent $25 dollar package. If it were $10 an episode, it would be worth it. Considering how short most $60 titles are nowadays, I’d even venture to say this might be worth $15 an episode. If you aren’t convinced, go ahead and read my full game review, but just as far as to answer if the 4th episode is worth the $7 asking price, the answer is a definitive yes.