🏅▷ REVIEW: Resident Evil 3 is an almost perfect combination of action and terror

Return to Raccoon City with Jill Valentine, while escaping Nmesis in the new Resident Evil 3

Resident Evil 3 was the title of the time it entered the series of remakes that Capcom is developing this franchise so famous of the company. But after the success that Resident Evil 2 made last year, the continuation can also stand out. Yes and no. While Resident Evil 3 is a perfect homage to a classic of the horror genre in the gaming world with a well-measured dose of action, the game is underwhelming in some ways.

Showmetech had access to a copy provided by Capcom in Resident Evil 3 for Playstation 4 and, after a few days killing zombies and running away from Nmesis, we bring a complete analysis of the base game and the multiplayer experience Resident Evil Resistance that accompanies the remake.

Back to Raccoon City

Like the original game, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, it was released just a year after Resident Evil 2, l in 1999, now the perfect time for the remake to show up. However, when compared to the original that represented a great leap in quality, gameplay and history in relation to the second game of the series, this remake is far behind its predecessor of modern times.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that the remake of Resident Evil 3 is bad, as it is really good. The new Jill Valentine model (with evident inspirations from Lara Croft from the new games from the Tomb Raider series) is impressive. His desperate attempt to escape Raccoon City while the relentless monster Nemesis is in his wake creates a narrative that holds the player in each scene.

Unlike the original game, some elements of the plot have been remodeled so that Jill doesn't have all the spotlight on her all the time in the game. Carlos Oliveira, the mercenary of umbrella who saves Jill several times, gained prominence in the remake with extended sessions in which the player plays like him. This makes the game (considered by many to be too linear) a little more comprehensive by showing that there are more than one person fighting for their own life to escape this zombie apocalypse.

It is also important to highlight how beautiful Resident Evil 3 is. THE RE Engine – the graphics engine used by Capcom since Resident Evil 7 – creates levels of incredible detail throughout the game, making the world of Raccoon City, its characters and its dangers more alive than ever. In addition, the experience is more immersive now that the elements of the scenario react more to the player, such as stepping on broken glass, creaking wooden boards and even the wind that makes papers fly.

However, the biggest problem with Resident Evil 3 is like this whole brief experience. It is possible to finish the main campaign of the game in about 5 to 6 hours. Perhaps one of the main reasons why the game is so short is the focus more on action than on terror, like its predecessor. Make no mistake, the scares and suspense are still present here, except in smaller sections such as walking in the dark sewers or in a quiet corridor of an abandoned hospital.

“Re Engine creates incredible levels of detail throughout the game, making the world of Raccoon City, its characters and its dangers more alive than ever”

In the end, the Resident Evil 3 player spends more time blowing up zombies and monsters than taking care of every step he takes. In addition, thanks to the new mechanics of deflecting enemies, they are less threatening than in Resident Evil 2. If you manage to deflect perfectly, you can still carry out a counterattack that eliminates the enemy right away! Not to mention the arsenal of heavy weapons like woolen rockets and assault rifles that Jill and Carlos have access to.

Perhaps the biggest challenge the player will have in the game is not to survive the zombies that infest Raccoon City but to know how to manage the limited spaces of his inventory to know what ammunition and weapons to carry. In Resident Evil 3, your biggest fear is not to face Nmesis, but end up running out of ammunition to fight.

New (old) zombies

Capcom made some curious decisions regarding the plot and rhythm of the remake. At the beginning of the game, you start at Jill's apartment just as Nemesis starts his tireless hunt and was our hero to go to the devastated streets of the city. In the first hour of the game you spend a lot of time in downtown Raccoon City trying to find a way to get the trains back up and running.

In contrast to the police station in Resident Evil 2, the city of Raccoon City has wider spaces and, even with zombies everywhere, there are not a few objects in the environment that can help you survive like explosive barrels and electric generators. . However, although this world seems more open, it is incredibly small. You can even explore some buildings and rooms that were inaccessible in the original game, but the experience of interacting with the city is just that.

The return to the police station is a very cool moment for anyone who played Resident Evil 2, as the third game takes place just hours after the second game. It is interesting to see how the story unfolded before Leon arrived at the beginning of the previous game.

"The remake of Resident Evil 3 has become an even more linear adventure than the original game"

Definitely a change that did not please me, and the majority of fans was the remodeling of the Clock Tower section. While in the original game this area was a contrast to the killing in the city center with its unique architecture and several puzzles, in the remake it was transformed into a boss battle against Nmesis. It seems that the developers were trying to rush the player to continue the story, instead of maintaining the quality of the original material.

Carlos attacking a monster in the hospital

And speaking of puzzles, they hardly exist in the remake. There are only a few to be solved and they do not require much effort. The games in the series have always been famous for their puzzles and, since they are present in Resident Evil 2, you just can't understand why Capcom has reduced them in Resident Evil 3.

Thanks to these changes in gameplay and storyline, the remake of Resident Evil 3 has become an even more linear adventure than the original game. Even if you spend a lot of time retracing your steps looking for secrets and easter eggs, it will be difficult for you to get lost.

Run that Nmesis comes to!

Nmesis is the great villain of the game (no wonder his name was part of the original title of the game). However, even his various forms and his constant pursuit of Jill cannot overcome Mr. X's terror in Resident Evil 2. Perhaps the only sections of the game he is capable of making players desperate in downtown Raccoon City. However, he can't really scare. While Mr. X had a more imposing and dark presence, Nmesis can only be irritating for most of the game.

Some new mechanics have been added to the villain like the ability to jump in front of you even when you are too far ahead of him. However, even in these cases it is still not difficult to escape the creature. Almost all sequences involving Nmesis are already designed in advance to lead the player to a safe place, so the element of terror and fear is not as strong as in Mr. X's endless pursuits in the previous game.

All these elements mentioned: the pace, the progress, the actions of Nmesis, everything contributes to a feeling that the remake of Resident Evil 3 arrived too soon. Even though the Resident Evil 2 campaign can also be completed in a few hours, at least in this game you can play with two different characters that change different elements of the gameplay, while in Resident Evil 3 the maximum that players can experience is switching between Jill and Carlos in some sequences.

"While Mr. X had a more imposing and dark presence, Nmesis can only be irritating for most of the game"

That said, is there any replayability factor in it as in the previous title? Well, there are sections in hellish difficulty for those hardest fans of the franchise. Furthermore, in all game modes, the knife does not break, so you can try to reach the end just using it. In addition, as soon as you finish the game for the first time, a store opens and allows you to get customized clothes for Jill and other extra options if you fulfill certain challenges in the game.

Unnecessary multiplayer

One last point we need to comment on the extra content that comes with the base game: Resident Evil Resistance. This asymmetric multiplayer survival horror game of the kind 4v1 puts four players to escape the traps of a player who acts like a villain, the Mastermind. The group of survivors needs to coordinate their actions to escape this living nightmare while Mastermind must figure out how best to place enemies and traps to execute their victims.

Team of players in Resident Evil Resistance

When it was possible to find a match – as the servers were extremely slow and it was not uncommon for falls to occur during matches – it was an interesting experience, but very confusing to play with random users as it was difficult to organize the team's actions in moments of tension. Perhaps the game is more fun with friends together, but we believe that it is not something that is worth investing a lot of time or that provides more diversity than the base game.

When the original really looks better

In the end, it may seem that the reviews are too heavy for Resident Evil 3, after all this game comes just a year after a fantastic remake of the second game and expectations were very high. Jill is a very interesting character and she shines through the entire adventure. The feeling of cozy nostalgia, even if it is hampered by some changes in the script and gameplay. Perhaps, the biggest problem of all in this remake was to be inspired by an original material that was not so impressive and innovative in 1999.

And you already got your copy of the game? You can find Resident Evil 3 To the platforms:

Do not forget to tell your experience below, in our comments!

Resident Evil 3

History – 7/10
Gameplay – 8/10
Sound – 9/10
Visual – 9/10

8.3 / 10

resume

The remake sacrifices several elements of the original game to offer a more linear and action-focused experience. Few scares and a villain that is not as terrifying as Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 makes this experience a little disappointing and with the feeling that the remake came hastily and did not live up to its original content.

Pros

Further development of the characters of Jill and Carlos;
Deflection mechanics;
Incredibly realistic visual quality.

Cons

Very linear progress;
Lack of puzzles;
Nmesis is not as scary as we thought.

Systemgraph apparently ga...