I didn't really know what to expect going into this game. I knew what the 2nd game was all about, so I expected something along those lines, but considering that this game was originally made exclusively for 3DS before it got ported to everything else, it's a really cool and great 3rd person action/horror game. Before I begin, for the record: I played on a NEW 3DS XL on normal mode, and it took me about 10 hours 20 minutes, deaths and all. I only used a guide to make sure I was fighting the final boss correctly (because he was a tough fucker).

The game is divided up into chapters, which act sort of like television episodes, even giving a "Previously, on Resident Evil Revelations" whenever you finish a chapter or start the campaign back up again. I don't think this game was even released episodically, so I have no idea why they did that really O.o . The story is pretty standard Resident Evil though. Lots of mysteries, betrayal, humanoid and animal zombie/mutants (they're very clearly mutants, almost in a Dead Space kind of way, but Jill even refers to them once as "zombies," at one point.) Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for a mystery, but it sucked me right in, even though not everything made total sense. I thought it was a good mystery, even though it does have a couple "really?" moments.

The chapters have you constantly hopping between Jill in the present, and other members of the BSAA either concurrently or flashbacks. Jill has persistent ammo levels, maps, and weapons mods and max-ammo expansions she can find. The weapon mods can be equipped into your weapons at benches, and added and removed at the benches whenever you want. They're stuff that makes your guns better, and the harder you look for them, the more powerful and unique ones you'll find (more damage, more rate of fire, more stopping power, more crits, fire more bullets with one trigger press, etc.). Also, if you look really hard, you can even find extra, more powerful guns. Though not necessarily always more powerful. Usually just balanced in a different way. The other BSAA agents are just one-offs though. Even if you pick back up with them at a later time, their ammo and items will be reset. It's pretty fun, regardless and serves to keep the pacing up and the environments fresh.

The gameplay is a 3rd person shooter horror experience. I hesitate to call it "survival horror," because the original games really had an emphasis on conserving ammo and picking and choosing your battles, where this game really doesn't. I blasted everything I came across in the face, and I usually didn't have any trouble running out of ammo. Though the threat of running out of ammo was always there, especially at boss fights. Those things really drain your reserves, in traditional RE fashion. There are a couple of points where its feasible to dodge past an enemy or physically go around him, but the ship you're on has tons of really narrow hallways, and the enemies are right fat fuckers, so usually scooting past them isn't possible. There's also no run mechanic, so you're a right slow bastard. There is a dodge mechanic, but it's total wank. I only ever did it by accident.

This brings me to the controls. Though I had a very fun time, my NEW 3DS XL was constantly fighting back at me. The 2nd joystick just isn't very intuitive to use. Sometimes it's like a D-pad where you just push it down a certain area, and other times you gotta jam it with your nail just to make your fat self turn, especially in the under-water parts. I had a lot of issues realted to aiming, but you should KEEP IN MIND: I never even tried to use the other control methods. Given the litany of positive reviews this got when it came out, which was before the NEW 3DS, I have to imagine that that method might be a bit better. The console versions are slightly different, so if you insist on playing it on a 3DS, I think that an original 3DS with a Circle Pad Pro would be the optimal way to do it, though that is only a guess, as I do not have one.

Finally on the graphics and presentation. In a word: Amazing! For a 3DS game, this has SO much voice acting and FANTASTIC music. The final boss theme and credits theme especially were really ear-catching. The cutscenes are in a fairly low resolution, but still look pretty good. The in game models though, even on the bigger XL screen, look great. They look almost like a PS2 or a Gamecube game they're so good. This has to be one of the best looking games on 3DS, even now.

Verdict: Highly recommended. If you want a seriously different experience from the normal 3DS game, this is your ticket. It's a fantastic 3rd-person shooter, and control gripes aside, I was still loving the crap out of it. I'm thinking of even buying the Wii U version just because I wanna see the game in HD (and play Raid Mode with a friend, which I have not tried yet).