http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGFWtM0OJcA

Capcom's upcoming sequel/sidequel Resident Evil: Revelations 2, which is set between the events of Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, is notable if for no other reason than it's leaving behind the Nintendo 3DS and jumping straight into a console and PC release next year.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 will see the return of Claire Redfield as the main protagonist, as she is abducted along with Barry Burton's daughter, Moira Burton, and taken to an abandoned island detention facility that's ridden with the undead. Available to play in either single player or two-player co-op, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is being pitched as a return to the franchise's classic survival horror roots.

The only footage so far has been a concept teaser and a largely cinematic trailer, but now we have our first real look at the gameplay of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 in a demo that was shown at TGS 2014. Picking up immediately after Claire and Moira have been abducted, the player shows the early stages of the game as the basics of each of the characters' abilities are introduced and they try to adjust and survive in their dangerous surroundings.

The demo reiterates what has previously been revealed about the balance of duties between the two characters: Claire takes care of the combat and is the only character whose death can trigger a Game Over screen, so Moira's job is to use the flashlight to aid Claire in combat and to find useful objects hidden around the environment, as well as healing Claire with the herbs that can be found scattered around the game.

It's possible that Capcom is keeping the best content hidden until the game's release, but if that's the case then it leaves this demo looking like quite an underwhelming experience. Between the flat dialogue, the lack of puzzles (unless you count "find key" or "smash window" as a puzzle), the somewhat lackluster environments and the uninspired design of the lurching zombies, there isn't much here to make Resident Evil: Revelations 2 look like a must-buy game.

Although it belongs to a long-running and successful franchise, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 faces some strong competition in the survival horror genre from other upcoming titles like Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within, and we're going to have to see something a little bit more impressive before we're convinced by this title.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is set to release on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in 2015.