 Welcome back! I've been wanting to write another post for the gamers. Lately, I've been playing a survival horror game called Resident Evil: Revelations 2. It's actually one of the earlier releases on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Is this game part of the main series or a spinoff? Honestly, I'm not completely sure! There's a handful of positive and negative elements I want to discuss. Keep reading to find out everything about this bloody game.
Let's start with a plot synopsis. Claire Redfield from some of the earlier games is building a successful career in an organization called TerraSave. The members of this organization help clean up the aftermath of terrorist activities and provide support to survivors. It sounds like a perfectly good cause. Claire befriends a new and feisty recruit named Moira Burton. Unknown assailants kidnap Claire and Moira, taking them to a former penal colony. At that point, Claire and Moira have to use their wits and teamwork to survive against hoards of mutated enemies. Moira's father, Barry Burton, receives a distress signal and arrives to the island for help. Soon, he meets a young girl named Natalia Korda and they also have to fight off bloodthirsty monsters. The gameplay goes back and forth between both teams, showing the player different parts of the storyline with a variety of enemies. I have some good things to say about this game. The player uses Claire or Barry most of the time and both characters are awesome. They're excellent fighters with both firearms and short range weapons. Claire is a fast runner and surprisingly strong for a female character. She dishes out large amounts of damage at close range and has pretty good evasion techniques. Barry isn't quite as fast, but he's really strong and uses several effective guns throughout the game. Both of these characters were featured in much earlier Resident Evil games and it's nice to see them again. In fact, they have more prominent roles in this particular story. Revelations 2 is refreshing because it's a genuine survival horror game. A lot of survival horror games are switching to a modern action setting, but this one is returning to the roots of Resident Evil. It definitely reminds me of the earlier games in the series. The atmosphere is creepy and unsettling with an assortment of terrifying enemies. This game includes suspense, dread, and jump scares. Many of the enemies are frightening and disturbing with very unusual creature effects. It's kind of like a combination of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and the creations of Clive Barker. I actually have a few favorite enemies because they're so freaky. A zombie called an Ironhead is a hulking being with a bizarre metal helmet and a deadly sledgehammer. Revenants are almost like a disturbing parody of Frankenstein's monster. They're jigsaw puzzles of various body parts, but not very difficult to kill. The Orthus is a zombie dog that's pieced together. It's a tough enemy and really weird looking. The Dhurlga is a horrific and challenging boss enemy that's comprised of multiple corpses. If this sounds too gross for you, avoid Revelations 2. You'll see a lot of strange monsters. I appreciate the game's wide variety of weapons. The player picks up all kinds of guns, knives, and blunt weapons along the way. There's a decent amount of ammunition and health supplements, keeping the frustration element somewhat lower. I had fun customizing weapons. The player finds various items that can be combined into toxic sprays or explosives. You can upgrade firearms to include more damage, extra bullets, better accuracy, and other perks. It's an amusing experience. Revelations 2 has a linear gameplay and story, which is a smart idea. It works really well for this type of game and keeps everything on track. I don't believe an open world environment would be appropriate for this game. It's not a very complex story and the island seems kind of small. Modern games are becoming more elaborate with larger environments, but smaller settings can be good for certain tales. This game also has many flaws. Eventually, the gameplay becomes very repetitive, killing some of the effective scares. I encountered many of the same enemies throughout the game. They had some novelty at first, but then I became somewhat tired of the redundancies. Revelations 2 has multiple types of enemies, but you rarely see some of them. I don't know why the assortment is so lopsided. The gameplay's difficulty is wildly inconsistent. Most games have a level of difficulty that increases while the player moves along. Revelations 2 is somewhat different. Certain sections of the game are surprisingly easy and others are a serious grind. The same problem is true for the monsters. Some of the regular enemies are considerably more frustrating than the bosses. It's really weird. I also encountered some glitches. Sometimes the screen has trouble loading. The screen also froze three or four times during the gameplay and that was annoying because it negated large portions of my progress. I had to reset my Xbox more than once. So, beware of possible setbacks. One of the worst elements is awkward co-op play. Here's what I mean. Usually, the player uses Claire or Barry, depending on the chapter. However, the game forces the player to use Moira or Natalia sometimes. Moira uses a flashlight to find hidden objects, but she's not much of a fighter. That means she's vulnerable to enemy attacks. Natalia is very similar. She has a psychic ability to detect weak spots on certain monsters. Natalia also has the ability to see enemies that are completely invisible to Barry. Occasionally, she can pick up a brick and throw it at a monster, but her overall fighting skills are completely useless. That's how it works. The player has a character who fights and another one who finds hidden items. That might sound cool, but it's a very awkward style of gameplay. I toggled between the characters to defeat certain enemies and to accomplish various tasks. It's actually really hard to fight something when you're switching around the characters. This type of gameplay is probably fine with two players, but it's awkward for a single person. I'm not thrilled with the story either. It has a lot of plot holes and seems like a soap opera sometimes. Naturally, I wouldn't expect anything sophisticated from Resident Evil, but the plot still has issues. Every Resident Evil game has a killer virus. This one is called T-Phobos or Tyrant Phobos. It was named after the personification of fear in Greek mythology. That's how the virus works. People are infected with the T-Phobos virus, but it's dormant until they become overwhelmed with fear. Then the virus turns the victims into zombies or monsters. How can a virus become active with fear? It went over my head entirely. Some of you guys might remember a virus from Resident Evil 5 called Uroboros. Supposedly, all samples of the Uroboros strain were destroyed several years ago. I guess that wasn't true because it resurfaced in Revelations 2. The main antagonist injects T-Phobos and Uroboros simultaneously into corpses to create monsters. I don't know how a virus can infect dead bodies. But that might have been done in previous Resident Evil games. I always assumed the zombies were live people who became infected within the franchise. It gets confusing. Revelations 2 also has a couple of weird twists near the end that contradicts events in previous Resident Evil games. Newer players won't notice, but Resident Evil veterans will know the difference. I also noticed some romantic tension, family drama, and other elements that weren't necessary for the game. That's why it seems like a soap opera. Revelations 2 is much shorter than most of the Resident Evil games. It's a minor complaint, but some players might want a little more gameplay. More gameplay usually means better storytelling as well. I think this game would be a good start for beginners of the survival horror genre. Overall, Revelations 2 is a middle of the road game. But it's fun and super creepy. I would actually recommend it even though the game has some issues. Revelations 2 is one of the earlier Xbox One games and it should be super cheap on the market at this point. You can probably download it online. Would fans of the Resident Evil franchise enjoy this game? I'm not totally sure. It might depend on the individual person. I like it, but other people might be less receptive. Just give it a shot and find out for yourself. Well, that was a pretty long review. Leave a comment if you have anything to say about this post or gaming in general. Be prepared to see plenty of topics this summer. Try to stay out of the heat and I'll see you guys next week.
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 I hope you guys are having a fabulous summer! It's dreadfully hot over here in LA County. There's going to be a lot of summer movies on my viewing list. Ant-Man and the Wasp is getting major hype. Does this film stand up to other blockbusters like Infinity War and Black Panther? I'll tell you all about it.
It's always a good idea to start with a plot synopsis. Many years ago, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne were the original Ant-Man and Wasp. They went on an important mission to stop a nuclear missile and their only option was to enter the microscopic quantum realm. Janet turned microscopic to disarm the missile and never returned to the normal world. Today, Hank still believes Janet is alive and there might be a way to save her. Their daughter, Hope van Dyne, feels optimistic about the rescue mission and takes on the Wasp mantel. They team up with Scott Lang, the current Ant-Man. Scott is still under house arrest from the disaster in Captain America: Civil War and he needs to make sure the FBI doesn't find out about their mission. They encounter a couple of villains along the way, including a racketeer named Sonny Burch and a strange entity called Ghost. Hopefully, the trio can rescue Janet, stay away from the FBI, and avoid getting killed by other enemies. I'm not a fan of this movie, but it has some decent elements. Some of the characters are pretty good. I really enjoy Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp. She's a great action heroine and quite feisty. Hope van Dyne is a nice contrast to the silly nature of Ant-Man. Her abilities are a little more diverse than Ant-Man's tech. She can shrink, fly, and use blasters for the Wasp sting. I think she has really good chemistry with the other characters too. Michael Douglas plays her father, Hank Pym. I like his character a lot too. He's a little bit amusing, nerdy, and bossy. The story gives him some decent character development. Michelle Preiffer's character is Janet van Dyne and she's not in many scenes, but I still like her quite a bit. The entire Pym family makes a great trio. They seem like a legitimate family who brings an emotional component to the film. Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost and she's an interesting villain. Ghost has a fascinating backstory and her character spirals out of control as the movie progresses. Her powers are really cool too. She has the ability to phase through matter. Basically, she's literally like a ghost or specter. She can walk through walls and bullets will fly right through her. Ghost is also a mean fighter who brings some good elements to the actions scenes. Ant-Man and the Wasp has pretty good visual effects. I think the VFX team did a really nice job with the shrinking and enlarging effects. Ghost looks great and the quantum realm is quite interesting. Some of the characters have de-aging effects in flashbacks and they look terrific. It used to be weird when VFX teams made actors look much younger, but the technology seems to be a lot better nowadays. Stay for the post-credit scenes! They tie into the other Marvel films. The MCU is infamous for their post-credit scenes and some of more relevant than others. If you don't want to stick around until the end, stay for the mid-credits scene. That one is very important. I'm not impressed with anything else. Ant-Man just isn't one of my favorite superheroes. I thought this film might give him some improvements. Unfortunately, Lang is still the same Ant-Man with the problems and limitations from his first movie. However, some people will enjoy that part. If you're a huge Ant-Man fan, this film will probably make you feel happy. Frankly, I think he makes a lot of bad decisions in this movie. I'm not sure if Ant-Man is capable of learning from his mistakes. Some of the other characters aren't great either. Michael Pena is Luis, one of Ant-Man's friends. I find him annoying and not particularly funny. Luis is supposed to be comedic relief, but his dialogue is super awkward. Walter Goggins plays Sonny Burch, the other main villain. He's generic and bland. I don't even know why Burch is in this movie because he doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose. What about the action scenes? Most of them are in the theatrical trailers. It deadens the excitement because the viewer pr0bably saw the best parts already. This movie needs a lot more action. It would help the pacing and add more entertainment value. Action is part of the superhero element too. I'm not sure if Ant-Man and the Wasp seems enough like a superhero flick. The screenplay is surprisingly weak for a Marvel film. I don't mind the directing, but the writing is disappointing. The script had multiple writers and that might have been part of the problem. Everything could have been more impressive with a stronger plot, more character development, and better humor. The scientific elements are incredibly confusing. In fact, this is one of the most confusing movies in the MCU. I don't understand the quantum realm very well. They tried to expand on its mythos, but everything seems like junk science without a real outline. It simply goes far beyond my suspension of belief and that says a lot because I'll go pretty far with sci-fi movies. What about the humor? Some people will enjoy that part, but I didn't feel particularly amused. It has a few witty moments, but they're in the trailers too. This film is surprisingly tame and sparse with the humor. Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians of the Galaxy films went much further with the comedy. I thought this movie would be really wacky and over the top, but it just doesn't go far enough. A lot of the jokes are lame and mundane as well. Sorry for disappointing you guys. I want to give Ant-Man and the Wasp a ringing endorsement, but it doesn't appeal enough to me. However, I don't think everyone will agree with my opinion. Ant-Man fans will like this film quite a bit. Fans of modern comedies might like this movie too. I don't believe this film will satisfy the action crowd. You probably don't need to see this film on the big screen. Just wait for Blu-Ray or streaming. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for premium screens like IMAX. That's my complete review of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Did anyone see it yet? I'm wondering if some of you liked it better than I did. Tell me about it in the comment section. Don't forget to hit the like button if you enjoy my blog. Have fun with the rest of your summer and watch out for next week's post. |
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