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Resident Evil 3: Nemesis SECOND REVIEW
As if I wasn’t going to review this game! Everyone knows that Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is my favourite game EVER! And so, in a first for DCS, I will do a second review for RE3!
Straight off, I am gonna
tell you that I am not going to treat this game as a port. I know that it
is, but really, you have to judge a game on its own merits, and not just
dismiss it as a port. Let me get straight in there with the graphics… Graphics are important to gamers nowadays. I can understand that, but it also seems to matter to gamers that games take huge leaps forward in terms of graphics with each incarnation. This really does not have to be the case. Obviously, when you look at Resident Evil 3 and then at CODE: Veronica, you will see that CV is a vastly superior game in terms of the technicality of the graphics. However, Resident Evil 3 has visual style. Those pre-rendered backgrounds have stayed intact for three games, and in Nemesis, they look amazing! Capcom has done a very good job in creating an atmosphere with its pre-rendered backgrounds – Raccoon City really does feel like an infected and over-run city. The amount of detail that has been put into these backgrounds is brilliant! Take a look at the pictures and see how detailed the backdrops really are! The characters/zombies and monsters are also all very well done. Although they are not super-detailed, they are very smooth and look great! They don’t look out of place at all in the static backgrounds. Animations are good, so Jill walks realistically and the zombies move… well, like zombies!
You walk through the deserted street. All you can hear in the distance is the haunting moans of the undead, the wind and the occasional scream… You are terrified! Well, I was bloody scared! The occasional screams really make you shiver, and the horrible zombie sounds coupled with the whistling of the wind makes the sound on this game terrific! Easily on a par with CODE: Veronica in this department! The music is truly creepy and adds to the atmosphere greatly! Zombie moans and groans, dog growls and monster screeches are freaky and horrifying, and the Nemesis himself is scary as hell! Voice acting in this is also done very well. Maybe a bit less polished than CV’s acting, but great all the same! Jill sounds about 10 times better than she did in Resident Evil 1, but I still loved her dearly back then too! Also, each and every gun has its own sound, and this really is good, as it means… MORE SATISFACTION (in blowing the undead scum away)!!!
Here comes the most important thing… gameplay! And Nemesis is not at all disappointing here! A great combination of puzzles and zombie slaying…and in the right proportions too! Unlike the Tomb Raider series, which never seems to get the proportions right, Resident Evil always does! Lots of puzzles that range from simple to ‘hmm… how the hell do I do this?’. However, the puzzles aren’t really that hard at all. There may be a couple of times when you will find yourself puzzled (no pun intended!), but you will eventually figure it out in no time at all! This aspect could be seen as good or bad. It is good because you don’t spend all your time sat there thinking, while you accidentally leave Jill to get eaten by a zombie, but it is bad, because this instalment of the franchise isn’t as challenging as the others. Aha! Fortunately for us, Capcom have realised that the puzzles aren’t all that hard, and have made quite a few of them… RANDOM! Oooh! This means that some puzzles will not have the same solution twice in a row! So, if the pass code to a locker is 2965 one time, it is likely to be 0935 the next (I made those up! They aren’t actually passwords in the game!). However, when I say random… there are about 5 different solutions to the random puzzles, and one of these will be picked randomly each time you play. There is no reason to moan though! It does mean that there is plenty of variety! This is also the case with a little thing called ‘live selection’. This is an all-new feature included in Nemesis! At certain points of the game (mainly at an important encounter with the Nemesis) you will be presented with two choices (which are usually stay and fight or run!!!). This means that you get the choice of doing one of two things, and each choice presents something new, e.g. – a new area, a cool cut scene or maybe another ‘live selection’ later in the game, which you wouldn’t get unless you had made that choice! This ‘live selection’ system is brilliant, as it means that you have a reason to come back to the game… to experience something you didn’t the first time round. Weapons in this game are also wonderful! There is a wide and varied selection (from standard Berretta to mine thrower, from shotgun to grenade launcher AND MORE!); there are a great number of weapons that add to the fun of the game!
“ARGH! THE NEMESIS!” Says you, as it bursts through the door. “STARS!” Says the Nemesis, walking up to you, rocket launcher on shoulder. The Nemesis is one scary mother fu…err… MONSTER! This monstrosity is a genetic mutation created by those evil bastards Umbrella to wipe out the S.TA.R.S. team who discovered their mansion lab in RE1. About 8 foot in height and bloody strong, this guy is out to kill you. He stalks you throughout Raccoon City, wanting your blood, and appears without warning on many an occasion! Sometimes, however, he is a part of the story, and therefore has to come in at certain points. Capcom obviously knew they were onto something with the almost human looking ‘Mr. X’ in Resident Evil 2 (a horrible thing that stalked you through the police station in the second scenario), and so decided to take the terror to a new level with the Nemesis. His stalking ways really do have a profound effect on the gameplay and atmosphere. The Nemesis makes you think on your feet as he bursts in without warning, and also makes things much more tense, as you never know when he will find you… The story of RE3 is basically a ‘fill in the gaps’ for Resident Evil 1 and 2. Questions raised in these games are mostly answered in RE3. You find out why Umbrella released the virus on the inhabitants of Raccoon, and what happened to the S.T.A.R.S. after the mansion incident. The story is cleverly woven round the events in RE2, with the fist half of the game taking place 24 hours before, and the second half 24 hours after! The story is no-where near as good as CV’s, but it still is entertaining and engrossing! There are references to RE2 as well, especially with the familiar Raccoon Police Department that Leon and Claire managed to escape from. To get am idea about crossovers, you really should read the debate that Sam Smith and I had in the Resident Evil forum (Resident Evil 3 on DC). The control system in Resident Evil 3 is… dare I say it… better than the one implemented in Resident Evil CODE: Veronica! As well as all of the moves available in CV, RE2 provides a dodge function. If you are suddenly forced to reload, and suddenly a zombie attacks, pressing the fire button will make Jill push the zombie away or duck to avoid the attack! Another thing that was stupidly not included in CV was the ability to go up stairs without having to press the action button! This makes things a lot simpler and easier! Okay… last part of the review! Lifespan! Here is the bit that will probably shock people who love CODE: Veronica. You are far more likely to play RE3 again and again than CV. Although it is no way as long as CV, RE3 has so many things that’ll make you want to come back for more! The chance to see something different (live selection), trying to get more epilogues (cool extras at the end which tell you what happened to each Resident Evil character after the events in Raccoon City), new costumes for Jill (which are very cool) and the brilliant sub-game, Operation: Mad Jackal (you play one of 3 mercenaries. You must get from the cable car to the ‘extraction point’ in the time given. If you do not, the bomb strapped to you will detonate. You can increase the time you have by killing zombies/monsters and saving civilians!)!!! Each time you complete the sub-game you get some money. If you save enough money, you can buy weapons with unlimited ammo to use in the actual game! This sub-game is actually better than the one in CV, in my opinion!
Now, the game itself is
relatively short (when I first played it, I completed it in about 5
hours), and the second playable character, Carlos Oliviera (a mercenary),
is only playable for a short period of time. So, in conclusion, this game is a true classic. While it may be a little short, you will definitely be coming back for more! Buy this if you enjoyed CV, if you are a Resident Evil fan or even if you are an action/adventure fan! This game will not disappoint!
"On its own merits, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is an outstanding game. It has everything a great game needs. Although not quite up to CODE: Veronica’s standards, it is still fantastic. Just think of it as CV’s little brother…"
Capcom seem
intent to give all DC owners the complete Resident Evil adventure. What's
next Resident Evil 1.5? No Resident Evil 3. Resident Evil 3
is the most disappointing of the series, mainly because it is linked to
closely to Res2. I am well aware that this is deliberate, but it would
have worked much better if the 'B' games of Res2 was Res3. Resident Evil 3
introduces a few new features to the genre, most notably the quick turn.
This is a good idea. One idea which I really take a disliking to is the
difficulty level option. Previously the characters have been the
'difficulty' but with only Jill running around like a headless chicken
[zombie] players can play 'easy' Jill or 'hard' Jill. The easy section is
stupidly easy, you start off with most of the weapons available - a magnum
from the start! So in short just stick to the hard setting. I believe by
giving us a really easy difficulty setting Capcom are trying to boost the
replay level of Res3. As for the
Dreamcast exclusive there are none. All the secrets are available from the
start, with the exception of Jill's diary. The backgrounds look amazing,
as do the characters…most of the time. In the cut
scenes the characters look like they are on a polygon diet, Jill talks
without moving her mouth, also the DC honours its psx rival by whirring
like a mad whirring thing during the cutscenes.. Capcom should have
thought of a way around this. Res3 also see's the return of Jill's amateur
dramatics training. In the cut scenes Jill will wave her hands around
[allegedly in a dramatic fashion] but in all honesty it looks like she is
trying to signal to a landing plane. The puzzles are
a direct return to the standard fare. Go to point A, get object, then go
to point B. A couple of the puzzles have multiple codes which change
depending on what difficulty setting you play on. Each time you complete
the game you get the 'epilogue' files. These files tell you what happens
to the characters after Res3, most of them are predictable, we all knew
Ada survived…I mean she fell to her death with the G-Virus. The only
epilogue file of any interest is the one concerning Leon and the
opportunity he was given..did he take it? Well I don't think so as Claire
was still able to contact him in Code: Veronica…even though she ran out
into the forest directly after the ending of Res2, but I digress. Resident Evil 3
is in no way a bad game, it is just the worst in a good series [baring
Gun: Survivor]. Resident Evil fans should go out and by it. People who
have never played a Res game before should go for either one or two of the
best Res games; Code: Veronica, or Res2. Here's hoping
that Resident Evil 4 finishes off this Umbrella saga, and takes survival
horror in a new direction. Overall: 6/10 You [excessive hand movements] [Ed: Exactly what Sam is getting at with these "hand" movements is beyond me, they probably have something to do with RE3, but then again this is Sam we are talking about!] Related: >>Download some exclusive Resident Evil 3 Nemesis wallpapers! >>Buy this game or get more info! >>Compare prices for this game and get the best deal! >>Discuss this game and share your opinions in the Forums! >>Read other Dreamcast reviews |
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