Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 3: Judgment

As penultimate episodes go, Episode 3: Judgment does a rock solid job of keeping players engaged in its story as it leads into the game's final chapter. We’re now eagerly anticipating the finale, but we’re also a little bit apprehensive about where things will go next. Like all good serialized story-telling, that means the creators are at least doing a great job keeping us invested.

In the make-or-break chapter, Revelations 2 has made amends for previous chapters’ lack of amusingly wacky puzzles, storytelling finesse and interesting locations. It’s taken a while, but the third chapter is really rather good, and has my attention for the conclusion. In fact, I enjoyed Episode 3 enough that for the final chapter I might even lift my boycott of the ‘Previously On’ prologue and allow myself to enjoy it.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is in a holding pattern until its final chapter. It still does certain things very well – panic moments when zombies crowd the player out, the intertwining of the same environments at different points in time – but Episode 4 will have to up its game if it wants to end what has been a successful experiment on a satisfactory.

Speaking of recycling, their puzzle-heavy chapter is mostly made up of tired old brainteasers, including a lame redo of the original Resident Evil ceiling trap sequence. If you like shining a torch on a floor to follow footsteps, banging a button to turn valves, or solving obtuse riddles, then Judgment is for you!

Resident Evil Revelations 2: Judgment is, at least thus far, the best episode Capcom has offered. ...This is what Resident Evil is all about; not a barrage of infected crazed men foaming at the mouth, but solving puzzles in an interconnected network of locked rooms. We also get to see a little more of the effects the heroines have on Barry’s campaign, opening up new areas for him to access.

Of course, Raid Mode is still the main draw for me, and the more I've played, the happier I've become. The systems are starting to show even more depth than before as I accumulate a larger weapon pool, and the modification system used for customizing weapons and making them your own is excellent.

Judgment at this point is the best of the episodic series, and though there are several unanswered questions at the end of the episode, it feels like the disjointed condition of the two stories are about to come together in some bizarre, just-go-with-it fashion that Resident Evil fans are used to at this point.

Episode Three is easily the best episode of Revelations 2 yet. It no longer feels like it was designed in such a way that forcefully attempts to justify having a partner. Instead, your appreciation for your sidekicks comes organically as you work together to solve interesting puzzles and protect each other from danger. Controlling Moira and Natalia no longer feels like a chore; now, it's a privilege, and Episode Three's greatest feat overall.

Still, Judgement gallops along at a great pace, and ends once again on a very curious cliffhanger. I’m properly invested in Revelations 2’s pulpy, dime-novel story, which is a great thing to be able to say at the pointy end of the series; here’s hoping the final episode delivers on its many promises.

Part of the reason Revelations 2 works, however, is brought to a fine point in this episode—the fact that the developers clearly understand this is as much satire as serious.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Juicio sigue expandiendo la base de los anteriores y a nivel argumental por fin vemos avances, aunque queda la sensación de que donde verdaderamente va a explotar todo es en el último, Metamorfosis. Sin embargo, y aunque tiene buenos momentos, nos parece el episodio más vago a nivel de diseño de los tres estrenados, haciendo de la exploración algo tedioso el segmento de Barry.

Il laisse une porte grande ouverte tout en laissant pas mal de zones d'ombre à l'épisode final, qui va sans aucun doute se faire attendre avec beaucoup d'impatience. Un peu plus long que les précédent, transpirant l'univers de Resident Evil 4, avec une bande-son toujours très efficace, il remplit parfaitement le cahier des charges d'un bon Survival Horror... avec la patte Resident Evil en plus, et pour de bon cette fois !

Het episodische aspect werkt boven verwachting, het lijkt wel alsof horror games hiervoor gemaakt zijn! Een uur of anderhalf uur in spanning is meer dan genoeg en het is niet zo erg om daarna te moeten stoppen. Daarnaast is het verhaal erop gemaakt om in verschillende delen verteld te worden. ...Al met al brengt Episode 3 het beste voort van wat we tot nu toe van Revelations 2 hebben gezien. Meer afwisseling in de levels, een spannend verhaal en goede actie. Dit laatste geldt vooral voor speler één helaas.