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Resident Evil 3
"The graphics are better than ever, the "B" grade voice acting is back(!) and the sound effects and creepy music will send shivers down your spine" Image Loading...
Developer: Capcom
Distributor: Capcom
Game Type: Adventure
Review Date: Nov 99
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Setting the Scene:
 
      It's that special time of year again to get ready to lock horns and trade shots with the vile offspring created by the evil conglomeration known as the Umbrella Corporation.

That's right ladies and gentlemen Capcom has just released their latest tale of terror in the horror survival series known fondly to the world as Resident Evil…this game is called Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

This time we find ourselves in Raccoon City a mere month and a half after the initial disaster from the first Resident Evil game. Jill Valentine returns to take the lead in this story and tries to battle her way out of the city in an effort to reach her fellow S.T.A.R.S. members that have all taken off to Europe before the full details of the disaster were known.

RE3 promises to fill in the gaps between storylines from RE1 & RE2 but can it manage to top the prior two outings in sheer terror and gameplay?

Sound and Vision:
 
Image Loading...      RE3 opens up with a sweet kick ass CG intro that easily exceeds the quality of the previous two games. This episode takes place only a few hours before the Resident Evil 2 story and it starts with Jill giving a quick overview about the town of Raccoon and how Umbrella basically controls everything in sight.

History would show that the townsfolk should have fought against this massive corperation instead of burying their heads in the sand, but for now it was all about survival. She calmly explains how she must escape from this living nightmare... or die trying.

Image Loading...The intro than goes on to show a town literally swarming with zombies, attacking non-infected citizens. The police and STARS members show up and are quickly outnumbered as they try to blast as many of the undead as they can before becoming one themselves. We are also treated to a glimpse of Nemesis…a rather large fellow whose bite looks a hell of a lot worse than his bark.

The in game graphics have also been improved, both for the characters and the backgrounds. The characters now have a good deal more textures and appear more solid and defined. As usual, the on screen zombie count also looks to be higher. I managed to spot up to nine (!) on the screen at once all coming after poor Jill. There is also a lot of variation in the zombies now as well, much more so than the previous two games combined. There is fat ones, small ones, some which can dart at you with some decent speed. There are men and women zombies, cops zombies, citizen zombies. All in all a pretty good selection of different looking zombies! The animations are also improved and we are now treated to zombies that can almost run after you.

Image Loading...The backgrounds are also as much if not more detailed than ever before. Everything now looks extra crisp and sharp with environments that have a nice bit of interaction with the characters. I really liked the fact that a lot of the game takes place out of doors. It gives the game a much more open feeling…and also gives the developers the opportunity to have creatures pop out from virtually anywhere!

The background music and sound effects are just as creepy as ever and succeed in building up tension and a sense of fear as you journey along through the game. Once you are outside there is a constant air of doom created perfectly by the all of the background sounds going on all around.

Image Loading...The music will also shift in tempo during the more dramatic and intense scenes. This has been a nice trademark of the series and continues the legacy in RE3 as well. The score definitely adds to the horror of the game and will get players totally immersed in the on screen action.
 
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