JBoc924Alright, there aren’t really any earth-shattering revelations in this interview Modojo held with producer Taisuke Mizukami and assistant producer Tsukasa Takenaka but there’s still quite a number of interesting tidbits.
From the revelations that Parker would be “fun to go out and have a drink with” to the possibility of gyroscope controls, there’s enough here to make us even more excited for Resident Evil: Revelations. So, let’s start with the inclusion of the item scanner and its concept, and usage, being similar to Samus’ scanning abilities in the Metroid Prime games:
Takenaka: It certainly looks a little bit like the Metroid Prime scanner. The main function is to locate objects within the environment. However, we have yet to reveal its complete functionality. It does other things.
In fact, it won’t be called the Supply Scanner moving forward. We just called it that to introduce one of the functions within the game. It has a new name, but we’ll tell you later.
By “other things” he most likely mean being able to detect an enemy’s specific weak point. This can be put to good use in the game’s boss fights and if you’re up for a challenge you can opt to not use it all. I could also see them implementing the scanner into puzzles and possibly also into traversal. Taking another page from Metroid’s book would be having to scan your environment for breakable surfaces that you wouldn’t be able to see without such a device.
Then we get some insight in regards to the overall notion of ammo conservation:
Takenaka: Yes, absolutely. Revelations goes back to the franchise roots of survival horror. We wanted to take things back before Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, which are more action based.
Damn right it does. I found myself running out of ammo on several occasions while playing through the E3 demo. I was glad, too. It was nice to see this limitation come back after such a long time. But, what if you run out of ammo? Can you rely on your trusty knife or, perhaps, melee attacks? Modojo asks this very question and gets the following response:
Takenaka: Yes, gamers will definitely have those options. If you think back to the original Resident Evil, you don’t have to kill every zombie to clear the game. It’s more about doing what you need to do and conserving resources.
As you can see, Takenaka clearly dodges the question of melee here. Capcom still isn’t ready to talk about that it seems but hey, at least we know we can pull out or knife for some first-person slashing! I personally wouldn’t suggest using a knife on these new BOWs, though. I don’t know, just the thought of such an act scares me.
Modojo goes on to ask the producer about the environments of the game and how much of the story will be taking place on the ship we’ve been heavily exposed to thus far:
Takenaka: We can’t say right now, percentage wise. If you look at the trailer, there are a lot of situations and environments. Having said that, even within the boat, we’ve created many different situations, so you’ll find a lot of variety and scary places.
Well, based on concept art and the recent trailer, we know that we’ll also be exploring a snowy mountain range in Europe. Chris and Jessica were seen traversing the land there already, which will definitely be playable even though Capcom hasn’t officialy confirmed it yet. Speaking of which, Modojo asks the producer about other playable characters besides Jill and Parker:
Takenaka: You can play as Parker, Jill’s partner. As for other playable characters, you’ll have to wait and see.
Ah, the suspense. As aforementioned, Chris and Jessica will most definitely be playable to some capacity and let’s not forget about the series tradition of offering extra scenarios after you beat the game in which you sometimes take on the role of different characters. Yeah, I know Revelations is limited due to its handheld nature but we can’t automatically rule that possibility out. Hunk, anyone?
Modojo then asks about the Parker and what his background story is:
Takenaka: Well, the story takes place around the forming of the BSAA. He comes in as Jill’s new partner. He’s an assault specialist, definitely a handy guy to have around in a fight, but also a fun and genuine person. He’d be fun to go out and have a drink with.
Still doesn’t change that fact that his face looks funny. Who wants to bet that he’ll die?
Now here’s a question all of us have been storing in our head: Where’s Chris? Modojo asks the producer that and gets the following answer:
Takenaka: At the beginning of this game, Chris is missing. They don’t know where he is, but his last known whereabouts, from GPS readings, are on this ship. Parker and Jill go to investigate.
Once again I’ll bring up the game’s debut trailer. There we saw both Chris and Jill going through the corridors of the ship. Now, it’s Parker and Jill doing the same. I brought up the possibility of the previous version being scrapped but I still think it may end up connecting with this new trailer when all is said and done. Those theories about a Chris clone? Yeah, it could happen.
Then Modojo asks the necessary question of co-op or some other form of multiplayer mode being implemented into the game:
Takenaka: It’s a single player game. We want to focus on the horror atmosphere and story. It might seem like co-op is the right choice, but to present the survival horror atmosphere, we felt single player was the way to go.
Well said. Leave all the online modes to Mercenaries 3D and Operation Raccoon City. It’s clear to see Capcom is serious about bringing the series back to its roots withh Revelations.
Lastly, Modojo brings up the possibility of other 3DS features to be implemented into the game:
Mizukami: Other than the 3D, the most interesting new feature we want to exploit is the gyroscopic controls. Using that to do different things in the game has been cool. That’s the most exciting feature, aside from 3D.
Takenaka: That was supposed to be a secret, but the producer let it out of the bag.
Mizukami: It’s something we’re working on. It may not be in the final game. It’s one of the interesting things we’re trying to do.
Interesting. How would gyroscope controls actually come into player, though? Personally, I get a feeling they may end up being implemented into the swimming mechanics. That’s a big “maybe”, though. It would make sense, somewhat, due to your movement underwater being different than on the surface, motion controls would be a good way to make that distinction to the player. We’ll have to wait and see, though. Just as long as we’re not forced to shake our 3DS like a madman in order to get enemies off us, it’ll be good.
[Source]
