Resident Evil Revelations HD – Wii U Demo Impressions

Capcom just released a demo of Resident Evil Revelations on Wii U (roughly 600mb) and I jumped on it. I’m a huge fan of the 3DS game, it was so good I think it should have been called Resident Evil 6. The thought of a more polished version of the game with Wii U features is a very juicy one indeed, it’s been far too long since the last good Resident Evil home console game. First impressions were good, and by first impressions I mean the title screen. Hearing the excellent atmospheric music over my TV speakers sent chills down my spine. My body was ready to enjoy 32 inches of Jill and Parker.

Enter the gameplay, so far so good. There’s a map and a quick weapon select on the bottom screen just like the 3DS game. Capcom already confirmed there would be no Wiimote aiming, so I got over that disappointment already. Unfortunately I was hit with a new disappointment, no motion aiming at all. Shooting and scanning are both done with the left analog stick. After playing ZombiU, this feels very unnatural. Every time I hit the R button to bring out the scanner I started moving the Wii U GamePad out of habit, and disappointment smacked me in the face every time when the reticule didn’t move. The analog stick is stiff and slow and we have better options now.

The movement and camera all function well, just like they did in the 3DS game. By camera I mean the standard view, the camera controls themselves haven’t changed. They abruptly shift the angle all the way to each side with no real balance or adjustments possible. Effectively there is no camera control, just a few different angles. It’s a bit of a shame because it makes it hard to peruse all the new detail in the objects. The graphics are fantastic even though it’s simply the 3DS game with a better resolution and more detail, but you can say that about any game. The game has a good style and they didn’t ruin it.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing here that makes it a Wii U game. They had 6 months to put Wii U features in and they’ve done nothing at all. The game doesn’t even use the GamePad speaker for voice transmissions. What’s the point? Are we really going backwards on Wii U’s potential already? I know it’s a port, but they are charging full price for it just like the Wii upgrade of Monster Hunter. I really don’t want this system to be like Wii, where Wii Sports and Red Steel were still the best examples of their genre three years later. This game is a lazy effort and gives me mixed emotions because I was looking for any excuse to play through the game again, and I can’t justify this. It’s a more expensive version of the 3DS game.

The demo is very short, there’s only about 8-10 enemies through the entire thing and it’s over in 20 minutes. Based on how barebones it is, I’m hopeful there’s some kind of upgrade in the full game that lets the scanner actually be a scanner. Otherwise, I’m happy with the 3DS game. The 3D effect is just as good as the graphical upgrade to me.