Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Review (Spoilers)
Üdvözlünk a ToriJ a Video Game vélemények. Hang onto your berets because we're returning to Raccoon City in time for the Outbreak. In “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis” you play exclusively as S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine as she tries to escape a city overran by zombies. Unfortunately for Jill zombies aren't the only thing chasing her. Her biggest threat this time around comes in the form of an eight foot tall tyrant named Nemesis created by Umbrella to hunt down S.T.A.R.S. members. I certainly don't want to be a S.T.A.R.S. member right now, or a Raccoon City citizen, or a Midwestern for that matter. The first time I see a company named Umbrella moving in over here I'm gone!
The game opens up with narration from Jill Valentine giving us background on Raccoon City's relationship with Umbrella and the final fate of the town before we jump to a cut-scene of the police and members of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (U.B.C.S.) being killed off by zombies. So let me get this straight, the entire police force and trained mercenaries can't fight off a bunch of zombies, but one woman in a tube top and a miniskirt can plow through a whole bunch of them with just an assault rifle? I see how it is.
You're thrown right into the action from the get-go, and by that I mean you're literally thrown out of an exploding building and have your first taste of the control schemes. Okay, I'm starting to see why a lot of people didn't like the tank controls back then. This game was not meant to be played on a GameCube controller. I'm trying to steer Jill with the control stick and I'm just running into walls and all kinds of trout. The D-Pad on the PlayStation was a lot smoother than this. Come on Jill, back away from the zombies – Oh, okay, running into them and being eaten is a much better idea. What do I know?
At the beginning the game feels almost like an action movie than a survivor horror game. You have a fully automatic assault rifle and a bunch of other weapons with all this ammunition and you're just mowing down monsters left and right like you're smurfing Rambo. I know that's a bad idea given that the older games puts more stock in saving your ammunition and items to use for later, but damn if it isn't fun as all hell. Doesn't work much with Nemesis, though. In fact you're better off just running from Nemesis altogether.
Now, before we go any further in this review I have to do something about this outfit. I'm sorry guys, I just don't like it. I know the reason it's there is to appeal to men because why else would they play a game with a female lead? It's not like they'd enjoy it for the gameplay or anything. And don't give me that “Women can't be sexy?” crap because that's not what I'm saying, and you don't have to be barely clothed to be sexy. But to the game's credit there are alternate costumes you can unlock so let's try one of those.
Considering it has only been a couple of years since the first game, Resident Evil 3 plays largely the same as the last two entries, having more in common with RE2 than anything. Timeline wise it even happens around the events of Resident Evil 2. We also get the same overly complicated yet extremely easy to figure out puzzles. I'd like to have a discussion with the people who made this city because they're idiots. Who puts a battery behind a statue of the mayor? Who does that?!
The game really does up the ante in how it uses the zombies. Just minding your own business walking down a hall? Door flies open and zombies come pouring out. Returned to an area you already been to before? Zombie bursts out of a car door. Retrieved an item you need to advance the plot? Dogs crash out of the window. I swear Jill has the worst luck in the world. Here I am almost finished with fixing a tram and I get attacked by Nemesis AND a giant worm. Speaking of Nemesis, I should probably use this time to include him or be eaten alive by angry fanboys. The infamous tyrant makes his big debut in the game as soon as you arrive to the police station.
All throughout the game you'll be given real-time choices to make that changes the course of the story by either a little or a lot. You only have so long to make a choice so don't waste time. One choice in particular will affect the ending of the game and whether or not a certain lover of Jill Sandwiches makes an appearance, but let's talk about Nemesis.
Nemesis is a mean son of a bitch. You know how in past games you're usually safe when you go into the next room? Not this time. Once you hear his music nowhere you go is safe. Linger in a place for too long and he'll appear out of nowhere and chase you. Some times he'll stop and launch a smurfing rocket launcher at you! Talk about overkill.
Nemesis is considered the best boss in the entire Resident Evil franchise and it's easy to see why. His look is cool, he has an awesome weapon, and his voice is low-pitch and growly making him sound intimidating. None of those high screeches he does in future games that completely kills it. For most of the game you're better off just running away when he appears, but there are a few instances where you will have to fight him. Like at the Clock Tower.
Due to the dodge button being the same as the aim button, that fight was ridiculously easy for me. I pretty much just stood there and shot him while Jill dodged every hit he threw at me. Despite that, I love Nemesis. You hit him again and again and he keeps coming back for more. Even after being reduced to a blob he continues his mission relentlessly. Talk about dedication! I finally decided to let the nuke end him. I have better things to do with my time than fight big angry blobs. Like get kidnapped by my worst enemy and dye my hair blond.
Meet Carlos. A member of the U.B.C.S. that you can meet in three different locations depending on how you play the game. While they were hired by Umbrella they have next to nothing to do with the Outbreak here and were only sent to rescue civilians. But given that this is Umbrella we're talking about Jill doesn't believe that for a second. And why the hell would you trust anything Umbrella says? What she does believe is that Carlos and them are just hired guns and aren't to be blamed for the Outbreak. You even get to control Carlos at a certain part in the game.
Like with many of the RE characters there isn't that much to the character. Carlos is suave, cool, and just fun to interact with. I'd dare say that the movies even enhanced his character and made him more likeable. What I don't understand is why Carlos was never used again unless it's a game retelling the events of Resident Evil 3. He was just pushed off to the side with Billy and never heard from again. The movies actually did more with the character than the games did and considering all the trout the movies came up with that's just absurd!
The man you see in the picture above is named Nikolai, the squad leader of the U.B.C.S. team sent to Raccoon City. He's from Moscow, Russia and a lot less of a people's person than Carlos. That supposed rescue mission was just a disguise for people called “Monitors” to collect battle data on the zombies and B.O.W.S. left in Raccoon City.
When Nikolai reveals his true mission he becomes a straight up bastard and you just want to kill the smurfer. Once again depending on your choices he can either escape with one of the leftover helicopters or die at the hands of Nemesis. As much as I enjoyed him while playing the game, I can't say he left a lasting impression on me when compared to other villains like Albert Wesker or William Birkin. In fact, I flat out forgot about him until I replayed this game. A good character but nothing that really stands out.
Then we have “The Mercenaries.” A mode you can unlock after completing the game. This mode allows you to play as the three surviving members of the U.B.C.S. and can buy weapons with the points you rack up that can be used in a new game with infinite ammo. The goal is to reach the place where Jill starts her game before the time runs out. What happens when time runs out? You explode. Some bastard put a bomb inside of you, what the smurf?
You have two hours to get to your objective and killing enemies puts more time on the clock. The score will vary depending on the type of enemy and how you kill them. Zombies are worth three points, crows one point, and dogs are ten points a piece. Killing off multiple zombies can rack up a lot of points all at once. There are not one, not two, or even three Nemesises, but FIVE of the smurfing things you have to contend with. It was satisfying hitting that son of a bitch with the rocket launcher.
Mikhail is the easiest guy to use because he's armed with the shotgun, magnum, and rocket launcher. Carlos is a little more challenging since he only has the assault rifle and a handgun. Nikolai is the hardest of all of them with a handgun, knife, and a blue herb. All three characters have at least three healing items on their journey. Carlos and Mikhail have mixed herbs while Nikolai has three first aid sprays.
If I ever said a nice thing about the tank controls or fixed camera angles, forget about them. Both of these things kicked my ass here. Since this is more of an action setting it takes forever just to turn when a zombie, or a faster enemy, is running at you. There's the 180 degrees spin but some times you need to turn side ways. One zombie came out of nowhere and because of the camera angles it kept jumping back and forth making it impossible to tell where he was. I managed to make it to the end only to run out of bullets and be eaten by zombies. At the end of the stage you're graded and count up your total score. Each weapon you can buy is shown below and how many points you need in order to purchase. Not a bad way to kill some time if you want to give Jill new goodies to kill zombies with.
Resident Evil 3 is a great addition to the franchise, it has a clever use of zombies, more weapons, a memorable villain in Nemesis, and you get more Jill Valentine. How could you go wrong? If you haven't played it yet and can tolerate the tank controls I suggest giving it a try.
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