Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Review!
Overview:
Systems: RetroPros:
New dodge move and ammunition creating system.Cons:
Difficult puzzles, tons of backtracking.Jill Valentine is one of the only survivors left in Raccoon City. A new enemy is on the trail of every surviving S.T.A.R.S. member. Will Jill be able to escape the city alive?
Resident Evil 3 once again takes place in Raccoon City. The player controls Jill Valentine, S.T.A.R.S. member and one of the survivors from the initial outbreak in the Spencer mansion. The Umbrella Corporation has sent a new weapon to destroy Jill while she tries to make her escape. Resident Evil 3 offers updated features with the continuation of a remarkable story.
Story:
The story of Resident Evil 3 takes place during Resident Evil 2, with the first half of the game taking place before 2 and the second half is taking place two days later after 2. Jill Valentine is trying to escape the zombie infested city. Along the way, she encounters fellow team member Brad Vickers (you remember Brad…the guy that left them for dead in the first one) and a new bio-engineered weapon called Nemesis. Nemesis was created by the Umbrella Corporation to eliminate S.T.A.R.S. members so that the survivors would stop trying to bring the Umbrella Corporation down. Brad is brutally killed by Nemesis and it’s clear that Nemesis has a brand new target: Jill. Soon after, she encounters a member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service named Carlos Oliviera. Naturally, Jill is untrusting at first but they work together to avoid Nemesis once again. Jill meets with the other UBCS members on the cable car they plan on using to esc ape the city. Mikhail Victor is already incredibly injured and eventually sacrifices himself to save Jill and Carlos from Nemesis. Nicholai Ginovaef is presumed dead after a run in with a group of zombies. The cable car explodes and Jill becomes separated from Carlos. They meet again at the clock tower where Carlos tells her about a helicopter coming to rescue them. Jill rings the bell on the clock tower to signal the chopper but Nemesis takes it down and infects her with the T-virus. She temporarily defeats Nemesis and blacks out from the infection. While she’s under, Carlos searches the nearby hospital for the vaccine to save Jill. As he leaves the hospital, the still alive Nicholai sets off a time bomb and blows up the hospital. Jill is given the vaccine and makes her way towards Raccoon City Park. She comes across Nicholai who explains his part in Raccoon City’s destruction. Jill and Carlos meet again in an Umbrella facility and he tells her that the governme nt plans to cover up what happened to Raccoon City by launching a nuclear missile to destroy the city. Jill faces off against Nicholai and a mutated Nemesis. Jill escapes the city with Carlos and they watch their beloved city destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Gameplay:
Once again, Resident Evil gets updated features with some slight differences. The one that stands out is that Jill is the only selectable character while Carlos is played for a brief period of time. The other main feature of this game is Nemesis. He is able to use a rocket launcher; he can dodge your attacks and even follow you between areas. No longer are you safe behind closed doors because Nemesis will find you. Even if he’s defeated, Nemesis continues to keep coming back and continues his hunt. Resident Evil 3 also incorporates a new dodge move that can let the player quickly avoid enemies’ attacks. Instead of having to press the action button to walk up and down stairs, the player can simply use the directional pad or joystick to ascend and descend stairs. A new ammunition system is added so that the player can create ammo for guns with a reloading tool with gun powder found throughout the game. This game keeps to the classic Resident Evil theme of solving puzzles (in this game, the puzzles are now slightly randomized) but there is a new quick timed event (QTE) feature. At certain times throughout the game, the player has to choose between two options. These QTE cut scenes affect both the direction of the game and the ending while choosing the wrong option or letting time run out results in taking damage or an instant death. There’s a new unlockable minigame called The Mercenaries: Operation Mad Jackal where the player can choose between the three UBCS members that are in the story. Each character has a different inventory and the objective of the game is to run from the cable car to the beginning of the game before time runs out. Time and additional items are awarded by saving survivors and visiting hidden areas.
Graphics:
The graphics of Resident Evil 3 are better than ever. There’s so much detail with the prerendered backgrounds and adds flair to the city. It’s nice to see so much detail to the ruined city. There are tons of crashed cars and wreckage scattered throughout and makes the city pretty dark and barren feeling. Seeing the fires ripple and crack with their oranges and yellows make the flames look real. The characters have been updated once again. Jill has a much sexier look to her while remaining a strong female. The cut scenes look really good but for people who choose alternate costumes will notice how the cut scenes use the default Jill costume.
Sound:
Once again, the game relies on its’ sounds heavily to induce fear and creep us out. The doors still have the creaking and the windows still bust out like games before so that’s really nothing new. The past games have had questionable dialogue but this game has really improved on that. Conversations between characters seem a lot more serious than the previous games but they aren’t too over the top. The music is also just as creepy as ever, inducing panic and horror.
Verdict:
I enjoyed Resident Evil 3 quite a bit but I was never as fond of it as I was with Resident Evil 2. I love that the game brought back Jill who was in the original game and continued on with the story effortlessly. The one thing I did hate about Resident Evil 3 was that the puzzles were just ridiculous in their logic. It’s nice that the game included a dodge move and a new ammunition creating system while updating the graphics and keeping the sounds scary. Resident Evil 3 is a great addition to the series and while it isn’t my favorite Resident Evil game, it’s still one that I love to pick up and play.
(The score of reviews of classic games are based off of how the game was when it first came out)
