The Resident Evil franchise has a nasty habit of dropping its characters out of the spotlight for years and years on end, leaving their fates unknown. Perhaps one of their most interesting characters left to the aether has been Claire Redfield, co-star of Resident Evil 2 along side Leon S. Kennedy and the star of Resident Evil: Code Veronica (plus the CG animated movie you didn’t watch, Resident Evil Degeneration). Claire’s interesting because of all the Resident Evil characters, made up almost exclusively of cops, soldiers and special agents, Claire began as a simple All American every-girl with a love for motorcycles and a barely completed college education. She was perhaps one of the most “human” of Resident Evil’s characters, with the longest way to go in terms of her development as a bio weapon fighting badass.
And so with Capcom’s announcement of Resident Evil Revelations 2, Claire will finally be returning to the spotlight. A much older woman, Capcom via Game Informer has promised us she’ll be a lot more hardened and mature from the last we’ve properly seen of her. New to the roster (and speaking of forgotten characters) will be Moira Burton, daughter of Barry Burton. In previous titles we saw Barry fight hard for the safety of his daughters, so it will be interesting to see one of daddy’s little girls entering the mix.
The bracelet on Claire’s arm seems to keep track of her health/infection level.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is the sequel to 2012’s Resident Evil: Revelations which featured Jill Valentine in an adventure reminiscent of the franchises original titles, with an emphasis on puzzles and exploration, and turning ammo and healing items into rare commodities to put much more emphasis on the survival part of survival horror. Revelations was initially released on the Nintendo 3DS, later getting a console port, and was well received by both fans and critics, around the same time the far more action oriented main numbered franchise Resident Evil 6 had gotten only a lukewarm reception. It makes sense then that Capcom would be eager to pursue a sequel to Revelations and push it straight to consoles.
Moira Burton in action
Similar to Telltale Games’ titles, Capcom will be producing Revelations 2 in broken up 2 – 3 hour episodes, purchasable for $5.99 each or in a season pass currently priced for $24.99. There are plans for a disc based version with additional content for $39.99. Unlike the original Revelations, Capcom has no plans to release the sequel on either 3DS or Wii U, though you will find it on the PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The title is currently planned for a February 2015 release in North America. The game is available for pre-order right now at all retailers.
