cjmelendez_I have high hopes for Resident Evil: Revelations. Promises of bringing back Resident Evil to the throne of survival horror have been swirling around Revelations since the announcement. Yesterday’s reveal on the new character Rachel has really made me question if Capcom can get away from the cheesiness that infested Resident Evil 5.
Sure, Resident Evil was never exempt from cheesy, over-the-top characters. Resident Evil 5 was filled with them. Wesker became David Bowie; Excella’s rich snob attitude, and eventual demise was expected; Chris became He-Man; and the cackling little twerp Irving was annoying as all hell.
Even in the past we have been shown some cheesy characters, but Rachel’s reveal in the time of post-Resident Evil 5 series rebooting brought my faith in the game down a notch. Are we supposed to take her seriously? A “special operative” with 10 lbs of hair, 20 lbs of chest, and an obstructed face full of hair is supposed to be interesting? In a series with powerful female roles such as: Jill, Claire, Rebecca, and Ada, should such a shallow character design be taken seriously? No doubt some will enjoy her look while utilizing the 3DS’ 3D capabilities, but aren’t some of you tired of sex-object characters in serious games?
Now don’t take my comments to heart as if I’m personally going to hurt the game with my words. I just find it pretty silly to have a character that looks that way try to sell a serious and frightening scene. She can’t even look through the hair on her face. No wonder she tripped and fell. Maybe she slipped in that white goo that she just had to touch.
Perhaps she’s a satirical nod from the developers on the series’ last title. Maybe she’s not even an important role, but I just couldn’t resist laughing at her design. I’ll just have to wait and see how her role plays out in the full game.
