Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on PS1

Resident Evil 3is the third in the popular survival-horror series but, unconventionally, does not follow the chronological order of most sequels as it takes placea month-and-a-half after the first game and just 24 hours before the second.

In the first game, the S.T.A.R.S. members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentinebattled to find out what lurked behind the cause of the zombie-infested townof Raccoon City. It seemed the task was complete when they eradicated thedeadly T-Virus.

In the second, they realised things couldn’t be further from the truthas the Umbrella Corporation manufactured the G-Virus and those caught up inthe diseased city that time were Chris’ sister Claire and Leon, a cop on hisfirst day in the job patrolling the town.

For game 3, the T-Virus is back and this time it’s mutated into the deadlyNemesis. As you go about your business, solving puzzles, findingkeys, combinations and special weapons, not to mention trying to stay alive asfear lurks around every corner, your heart will jump into your mouth whenthe big guy makes an appearance!

There are a few nice additions to this third installment. Firstly it’s verycool to kill zombies by firing nonchalantly at an oil drum, watching itexplode in their faces! Also, by pressing the required buttons when faced withdanger you can escape from or dodge the enemy. Top of the pile though, comesthe 180o turnaround move which provides the quickest escape fromanything.

Not everything is the same every time in this game though this time round,since further playing will result in zombies, objects and herbs, etc. appearingin different places.

There’s also the Live Selection mode. A few times during the game you’llcome across a life-threatening situation. You have to make a choice quicklyotherwise you’ll be placed in a more dangerous situation. However, the firstone, fight Nemesis or enter Police Station, makes no difference whether youstick around and steal soon-to-be-dead Brad’s S.T.A.R.S. card after the big manmakes mincemeat of him, or run inside because your own is lying aroundsomewhere. That said, I haven’t got a chance in hell of killing Nemesis off.If you’re unsure who he is, he’s the ugly spud at the top of this review andshouts “S.T.A.R.S.” a lot.

It’s also possible to go Mixing Ammo, creating extra handgun bullets,shotgun bullets and even Grenade Bullets and as if that wasn’t enough theconcept of Partner Characters allows you to swap bodies and play asthe other, but if the partner dies in this scenario the game will end.

If you’re worried about how much ammo you get initially, it is limited if youchoose a hard game – and you only get a handgun – but the easy game providesyou with an Assault Rifle with stacks of ammo and infinite ink ribbons (woohoo!)

Don’t forget to check any dead bodies you find lying around as they maycontain a surprise or two. It’s also fun to use the tried and testedtechnique of using your shotgun to take out more than one at a time in closerange by lining them up – and aiming up – to blow their heads off with asingle shot. For added entertainment, watch their bodies twitch when they’redead!

There are two main characters you’ll meet in this game :

Jill Valentine

Jill is a member of S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) a specialtaskforce in the Raccoon City Police Dept. She is a specialist in disarmingexplosive traps. With her experience training in the U.S. Delta Force, she isone of the survivors of the original incident that occured in the ArclayMountains.

Cheerful and independent, Jill has a strong sense of justice. Though she has ahealthy emotional side, she is a talented woman with strong will and excellentjudgement.

Carlos Oliveira

Carlos is from South America. His exact nationality is unknown but he carriesIndian blood. He is a U.B.C.S. (Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service)soldier, in charge of heavy firearms, security and mission back-up. He is alsoresponsible for weapons maintenance. At first sight he may appear inexperiencedand immature. He is actually warm-hearted with a strong sense of right andwrong.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

The graphics are just the same as they were in Resident Evil andResident Evil 2,so just as good as they used to be: crisp, clear and colourful with excellentinteraction between yourself and the characters than inhabit the city. Howeverthey are starting to look rather dated now because they haven’t changed.

The sound still impresses though. The menacing background music, thepistol-shooting followed by the sound of each spent cartridge hitting thefloor, the groan of the zombies as they come at you, or slump to the floor.Plus, the squelching sound of several zombies sucking your blood as they pinyou to the floor…

The gameplay is also very good and the 180o turnaround functionhelps. The controls take a little getting used to although if you’ve playedthe other games then you shouldn’t have any problems with this game. Themenus within the game are slow to negotiate though.

Overall

Overall, when the first game was released it was quite unlike any other.Now in its third incarnation, the edge it once had has certainly lost itsshine. You do feel great fear when Nemesis is lumbering about after you,mainly because he’s a real bugger to get away from – and I’ve been killedby him several times with no chance of bumping him off – but some of theoriginal setting and the style of the game is way too similar.

It’s time to move on to something new rather than re-hash the original withdifferent puzzles.

And still it has the most annoying feature of all, which was something thePC version of Resident Evil 2solved to some degree. Every time you go through a door you get the ‘openingdoor’ sequence. It’s very annoying if you need to go through a lot of doors toget somewhere and you know that there’s no more zombies left in that room.Therefore I feel you should only get the ‘opening door’ graphic the first timeyou go through.

That said, while I doubt we’ll get another Resident Evil game on thePlaystation – bar the first-person-shooter Resident Evil: Survivor -I’ll be very interested to see what advancements have been made whenResident Evil: Codename Veronica comes to the Sega Dreamcast.

If you’re after some more info on Eidos Interactive’s games, you can checkout their official Website atwww.eidos.co.uk

Also, check out Capcom’s site at www.capcom.com

GRAPHICS
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT



OVERALL