Resident Evil Revelations 3DS Review

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"RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS" Any true Resident Evil fan read that in the title screen voice over which has been part of every Resident Evil game (also for some reason is still terrifying). I have been a fan of the series for a long time and I am now at the stage where I buy any new Resident Evil game (not Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, we all know that is not a real RE game). To be honest this series has been disappointing lately. I was nervous for this game, but Capcom finally made another good RE game.

I am reviewing the game for the 3DS (again played on a 2DS because that is what I have). This game did come out for Xbox 360 and PS3, but I have not played those versions. This is a straight up 3DS review.

There are two different modes in the game and I am going to review them separately, but will start with gameplay:

Gameplay:

I thought the controls for this game were great! It does not play like an action shooter like RE 5 and RE 6. To me it plays a lot like RE 4, but on a 3DS. In my mind RE 4 controls are the closest to perfection in gaming control, so having similar style is a great compliment. You either run from an enemy or you stop and you shoot it, that is survival horror, no run and gunning (or stupid slide moves, yes I am talking about you RE 6).

The weapons are good in this game as well. Multiple versions of handguns, shotguns, etc and there are special power ups so you can really customize your load out. I like this because you can fit your load out to your style. My go to was the rifle and handgun. This really becomes important in Raid mode.

Nothing really special to note about the enemies. Dog are terrible to deal with as usual. There was one part where I felt completely overwhelmed against enemies because not only was there multiple enemies in a tight spot, but a time limit as well, not ideal.

Again overall great controls, I am still going to complain about something. I hate the idea of the Genesis scanner. Switching to it was annoying. It was just used to make you scan everything, which slows down game progress. There really isn't anything like this in the series before this, so I am not sure why they added it. At no point did I say "Yes finally I can scan that goop on the floor! I have always wanted to do that!"

Story Mode:

Resident Evil plots are pretty standard: You are trapped in BLANK. This time the blank is a ship. One thing this game does that is not typical of RE games until this game (and RE 6) is that there are multiple playable characters and locations. So I lied above, the main area you are trapped in is a ship, but you are also trapped in a city/building and a secret snowy base. Surprise, surprise, one of these locations is much much better than the other two, hint hint it is the game's main location.

With the multiple locations are multiple characters. You have the classics of Chris and Jill (these two may need a survival horror intervention, just stop putting yourself in these situations), but you also have newcomers Parker, Jessica, Quint, and Keith. New playable characters are completely hit or miss in the RE series and these new players are no different. I completely didn't like two, one was fine, and I liked one and hope he would return in a future game (I may have pictured him below). 1 out of 4 is not great new player success rate.

Parker maybe you will STAR in a new RE game??? (pun intended)
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To be honest, I am not sure why they needed all these locations and characters. Seems like they built a elaborate story for the game, and made the gameplay fit in that story. It would have been very easy to adjust the story to just be on the ship with Jill and Parker. The story is completely B Horror film story too, which I am completely fine with and typical for RE series. Don't come for A+ story.

To help fit multiple locations and characters, this game plays out in chapters, which there are 12. RE has been doing this for a while now, started in RE 5, but chapters, even if your supplies carry over between chapters, make it seem less like a survival horror game. In RE 4, I was saving the game in some random shack, there was no end of chapter celebration. In games before RE 4, I was conserving ink ribbons to save the game. I believe I read they did this to make the game more mobile and not require long sessions to play, which in theory makes sense, I just don't agree with it.

I got about 10 hours of gameplay out of the Story Mode, which I think is good value for a 3DS game.

Raid Mode:

I thought this would be a pass over mode that I would try and really not play. Boy was I wrong! This mode is outstanding! I played this mode longer than the story mode and I only got through a third of it! Whoever came up with this mode at Capcom, needs to get promoted. So addictive.

This mode basically turns the game into a RPG game, where you replay the locations from the Story Mode, with different enemy layout and enemy difficulty. You decide what you want to bring in and how you want to tackle it. The better you do, the better the rewards, which prepare you for the next level. You play with whichever character you want to and each character has different abilities, like reload speed for certain weapons.

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One gameplay change in this mode is a health bar above the enemy, which you can see in the picture above. Love this addition. Saving ammo is key in this mode as well, so knowing how many bullets you will need to take down an enemy is super helpful. I felt that I could be more surgical with my handgun and rifle shots.

I think if they made a RE: Raid Mode game with all our favorite locations, make it highly playable online with friends, it would sell like crazy. So Capcom, if you are reading this, just do it.  This mode seems like the tip of an iceberg for a mode/game that could redefine RE forever.

Final Verdict: B+

Good Story mode + great controls + return to survival horror + excellent Raid mode = a must own for 3DS survival horror fans.

Bonus Rant

Resident Evil Revelations 2 came out this week for practically everything except 3DS. Sigh Capcom.... Really? I mean really? I know there was an article out there explaining that "the engine used was the same as the port from RE Revelations to PS3 and Xbox 360 and that engine does not work on 3DS." Fine, okay, whatever you say, but why on earth did you call it RE Revelations 2? You could have called it anything. RE 7 or RE Code Veronica 2 (since it does have a same main character as RE CV) or RE Episodes (that is a different rant). At least in all the trailers and articles I read, Chris, Jill, Parker, or anyone from the first game are not going to be in it. Personally, I think it is a dumb decision, but I guess whatever floats their boat.

The Legend of Zelda Review

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"Oh cool, you must be doing a classic review, since The Legend of Zelda came out almost 30 years ago" Nope. I just played and finished The Legend of Zelda for the first time! I was looking to cash in my Club Nintendo points and saw this available and figured I would give it a shot! I am really happy with the choice!

Why had I waited to beat my first Zelda game until now? Well I had played prior games, for example I own A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advanced. Whenever I played Zelda, I had no idea what I needed to do, so I would run around a little bit and then stop playing the game. Gaming before the internet was really a totally different beast. There was no way to look up what to do if you got stuck. Either you had to figure out what to do, had a friend who knew what to do, or own a strategy guide. Now with the internet and having it on my iPhone, I can pull up a guide when I get stuck! (I know the counter argument to this would be an actual gamer would spend the time to figure it out, well I don't have the time anymore and there are so many games I want to play, so internet = my friend)

When you first start this game you can really tell it is a blast from the past. Talk about cold opening, you can get a little bit of story for the title screen, but not much. Now a days you start a game and you have to sit through 20 minutes of opening cut scenes or a step by step tutorial. This game throws you in the deep end and says "Figure it out!" I really liked that about the game (with being able to look up a guide to tell me generally where to go).

Here is a little breakdown of my first couple minutes of play:

• "Okay just got dropped into this world... what do I have to do..."
• I walk into cave... "Cool! I got a sword!"
• I find my first enemies. "Look! Enemies to kill. Wow, I can throw my sword! That will make things easier!"
• "Crap took my first hit of damage, well better throw my sword at this guy..."
• "WAIT, why cannot I throw my sword anymore! "
• And in the chaos and panic of trying to escape the enemy still attacking me... I am killed...

This is how a lot of learning happens in the game. Learning how to kill new enemies, learning new weapons (I made a costly mistake with learning how arrows work, literally), etc. Some will not like this, but I thought it was a fresh change of pace from current games.

I do not know how anyone beat this game without a guide or the internet. I used this online guide to help me through the game (thank you!), mainly for the locations of the Dungeons and special items on the main map. A really nice walkthrough and I loved the detailed maps. With a guide, I felt the difficulty of this game was do able, but if you are going rogue without help... Good luck because you are going to need it.

I love how this game really let's you do whatever and however you want to do it. If you want to do Dungeon 2 first, go for it, it will not be easy but you can. You want to do a ton of preparation before the first Dungeon, do it, because that will make the game much easier.

Special shout out to Dungeon 6! YOU SUCK! I was going through the game at a good pace and then BOOM! Dungeon 6 knocked me back a peg or two. I mean it was crazy tough. Those damn Like-Likes really pissed me off. Whoever created this enemy is evil. "Yeah, let's make an enemy that just eats expensive shields, that you have to work really hard to get. People will like that. Oh wait let's call it a Like-Like to symbolize their enjoyment!"

I do not like you a little bit, I do not like you at all...
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The game has definitely opened me up to play more Zelda games. I purchased A Link Between Worlds and that will be my next 2DS adventure! I even dusted off the old Game Boy Advance SP to play A Link to the Past. With that said, everything that I have read and seen makes this game seem not extremely highly rated compared to other Zelda games. So the games audience now is probably just NES super fans and Zelda super fans, or people like me who just wanted a good deal and gaming experience :)

Final Verdict: B+

A classic NES title that is still fun 30 years later, but now is probably only for NES or Zelda Fanatics

Super Mario 3D Land Review

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It seems whenever you buy a Nintendo system, there is a Super Mario game that you must own. Super Mario 3D Land is that game for the Nintendo 3DS/2DS (wait why did he call out the 2DS??? Yeah I did because that is what I own! BOOM! Expect a 2DS review post in the future). This game is everything you hope for in a Super Mario game.

When I got my 2DS last year, I struggled between this game and New Super Mario Bros 2. You have to have a Super Mario game with a Nintendo system (there is a personal N64 story that comes with this, that I will have to tell some day) so I had to pick and I made a great choice. I enjoyed this game so much I got it for my 8 year old nephew for Christmas last year (shout out to Target for having a crazy Black Friday sale on it too!)

One of the reasons that I got a 2DS was because I did not have time to sit down and play video games for hours at a time anymore, because 1) I am not at home that much and 2) I have a 14 month old son. Super Mario 3D Land is a game that you could play for five minutes or 5 hours, if you really wanted to, because you can play one level and be done or plow through the whole game.

I really like the audience this game reaches too. My nephew and I, who are at completely different skill levels, can play and enjoy this game. All you need to do in each level is get to the end, but for more advanced players they can collect three golden coins hidden in each level, which can require certain powers and creative thinking. Also, there are special more difficult levels after completing the game the first time, a real value adder for those looking for more of a challenge (and it added Luigi to the equation!).

Since I have a 2DS, I cannot comment on the 3D in the game. IGN's Review praises the 3D in the game, so I am going to trust them. Without the 3D feature, it can be difficult to collect some of the Golden Coins, but it was not an issue.

I was a little underwhelmed by the power-up options in this game. Typically in a new Super Mario, a new power-up really shines, but while there is a new power-up, the Boomerang Flower, it was the classics that were the most important. I love Fire Power and the Tanooki Suit aka raccoon tail pictured below, but comparing the Power-Ups to my favorite Super Mario Games: Super Mario Bros. 3/Tanooki Suit, Super Mario World/Cape Feather, New Super Mario Bros Wii/Ice Flower, it felt a little like a missed opportunity.

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Speaking of comparing this to other Super Mario games, this is not the best ever. Some of the levels feel a little too short. I was beating some levels in a minute. I know there are special levels that double the game, but the main game feels too short compared to other Super Mario games. Also in previous games, I had way more concern for lives. This game I did not have that problem. Not being the best Super Mario game is not a knock on this game, it really speaks volumes to the quality of the Super Mario brand.

Final Verdict: A

Great game and should be owned by every 3DS/2DS owner. I don't think this will be remembered as the best Super Mario game ever, but it may be the best handheld Super Mario.

Review Grades

Welcome back for post number 2! 

And I am sorry it is still not going to be an exciting one! I was going to start writing my first review and thought "How am I going to score/grade games?"

I started thinking that 1-10 would be good, but then I have to define the difference between 7-8 and 8-9 etc. So I thought let's do 1-5. Again what is the difference between 3-4 and 4-5. Thinking about most of the gaming sites and magazines I read and their review score systems, I realized most are using a numerical system. I come from a long line of teachers, so screw it, I am going to use letter grades! Everyone understands letter grades so me having to define them is not as big of a deal.

There is one other piece to my review scores: expectations matter. If I go into a game expecting high quality  and only get pretty good quality, that game is going to be penalized for it. That may be harsh and make it a little more difficult to judge game vs game and movie vs movie, but it is my belief that expectations matter and whether you like it or not it will always effect your feelings of a game.

Here is a quick break down of the my letter grades (game and movie are interchangeable):

A+ Cream of the crop. Legendary. The absolute best. I am going to make this very hard to get. (As a side note, I am going to review some of my favorite games to start so of course you will see a good amount of A+ work, but I promise it will not be the norm)

A Great Game but not legendary. A must own game.

A- Great Game, but there are a couple of things holding it back. Still a must own.

B+ Game that should be played, may not need to own or put a high priority to do

B Good Game that should be played

B- Maybe not a good game, but definitely better than average.

C Average. At this level no more pluses or minuses. You are what you are.

D Below Average, but not a complete train wreck.

F Failure. Train wreck.

Everything is set! Let's get started!

Prelude

It is finally time....

Time to start blogging my random thoughts!

After thinking about blogging for centuries a couple of months and always getting hung up on the name of my blog, I said screw it and started with a generic super boring name! CPB GAMER! It does seem a little cooler in caps and what the Blogger template is calling "Largest" font, but still very generic. I reserve the right to change it if I get popular.

You may be thinking "What is this amazing blog going to be about?!?!" Well first off I love your question and per the name, I enjoy video games so I am going to review games and lay out my video game thoughts. As an adult with a child, my video game prime is in the past (for now, soon my child will grow and be ready to game with me!), so I am going to review games as I finish them (don't expect these a ton), but at first I am going to review and talk about my favorite games from the past. Also, I love sports and movies so I am going to post about that too. So won't it be fun in two years when we come back and look at this first post and be like "My blog is nothing like this, what was I thinking?"

Some ground rules:

• Gonna Hate, Hater Are: Two things for this 1. I love Star Wars and 2. No hatin' with this blog. I welcome opinion on subjects I bring up, but leave the hatin' on me, the blog, or others at the door. Ain't got time for that.
• Me Fail English that's Unpossible: I am not an English major and am horrible at spelling. You expectin' beautiful grammar it is not going to happen. I am decent at grammar, but I am going to make mistakes and probably already have. 
• Let's have fun: I am going to try and keep my posts pretty short. I don't want to take up your life, you got games to play, movies to see, and sports to get heart broken about.

Let's do this....