[By Ben Kuchera, Ars Technica]

There are precious few 3DS titles that make the $250 system look like a good deal. After sitting down withResident Evil: Revelations, I think I may have found one to add to the small list. This is a intriguing mixture of old and new ideas, along with an all-new story in the Resident Evil canon.

The demo begins with Jill Valentine waking up in a bed and finding herself in what appears to be an old, dusty mansion. The game takes place on an ocean liner, in fact, but in the very short taste of the gameplay, the entire thing gave off the pleasant feel of the classic Resident Evil games. You can move and shoot, but everything else feels like it is a gently updated version of the game we first fell in love with back on the PlayStation One.

The 3D effect is very well done, and you can bring the levels up to maximum without giving yourself a headache. The touchscreen allows you to look around freely to get a feel for your surroundings, and the game showed us a scanning type of device that moved things to a first-person view, allowing you to manually search for objects and other hidden goodies. In the short section we played, ammunition was short, and the shambling, faceless enemies took a few rounds to destroy. If you ever complained about Resident Evil 4 and 5 feeling more like action games, you will be very happy with the direction this game has taken.

The graphics are also a step above what we’re used to from the 3DS, and they do a good job of showing off the power the portable, a job that few games so far have done well. While the 3D effect isn’t necessary for the game, and many will likely turn it off completely, the graphics wouldn’t have been possible on the previous DS hardware. It makes the 3DS feel, maybe for the first time, like a major upgrade from the past portable systems.

While story, characters, and more details are scarce, we know the game takes place between Resident Evil 4and 5, and will involve both Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. With a heavier emphasis on puzzles and resource management, this is a welcome throwback to the more classical Resident Evil titles. Although the demo only showed around 10 minutes of game time, it was enough to get the writers around me buzzing, and the game is definitely on my radar. Capcom leveraged the 3DS in a good way for this release, and hopefully other publishers are taking some notes.

Resident Evil: Revelations is coming to the 3DS in 2012.

See the original post here: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/06/resident-evil-revelations-e3-embargo.ars