Resident Classic (Resident Evil 3 - Nemesis (DC))

Member Name: deano76

Product:	Resident Evil 3 - Nemesis (DC)
Date:	23/01/03 (391 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very addictive, good graphics, good sound

Disadvantages: lousy instruction manual, some occasional poor graphics

Being a huge fan of roleplaying computer games I have collected and completed quite a few of the top game titles. Games like the Tomb Raider titles, Dino Crisis and Resident Evil 1 and 2, so when Capcom brought out the third instalment of the Resident Evil series, I simply had to go out and grab myself a copy.

RESIDENT EVIL 3 – NEMESIS

~~~~~~GAME PLOT~~~~~~

A month after the horrific T-virus tragedy which turned normal people into flesh hungry zombies (which was where RE2 left off), the people of Racoon City were just starting to get back to their normal lives.
Then, it happened again, another leak has begun to surge through the city causing massive devastation.
The T-virus is back with a vengeance, the dead walk the streets once more and the people of Racoon City live in fear for their very lives.
Our heroine, Jill Valentine (a special task force member from the Racoon City police force) returns to once again do battle with the hoards of evil zombies and rid the city of evil.
She is helped by Carlos Oliveira, a combat soldier who has been sent in with a special team for classified reasons, these reasons are slowly revealed throughout the game.
There is however, one huge problem which also plays a part in the mission at hand, some of the zombies have mutated into huge, almost indestructible creatures, which Jill and Carlos will have to defeat in order to bring the city to peace once again.
For them to succeed will be up to you.

~~~~~~WHAT DOES THE GAME ENTAIL?~~~~~~

Well, you are basically in control of Jill (and later on in the game Carlos) and you have a set of specific tasks which you have to do. This may be finding a special key to open a door or a component to fix a certain machine. Along the way you are attacked by all sorts of creatures, zombies, demon dogs, vicious flying birds, giant crocodiles and various other weird monsters. These will have to be destroyed or dodged in order for

you to access certain areas. There are also quite a few puzzles to solve along the way (similar in a sense to Tomb Raider), these involve using machines to measure certain levels of water and electricity flows in order to open doors. They are pretty simple if you don’t try to look for the more complicated solution as I did. Upon completion of certain areas you are given an FMV (Full Motion Video) sequence to watch which sometimes holds clues for you to use later on, this also gives your fingers a rest from playing.
Clues are also obtained in certain documents and letters, which you can pick up from certain rooms on tables and chairs throughout the game.

~~~~~~CONTROLS AND GAMEPLAY~~~~~~

The basic manoeuvres of Jill (Your main character), are fairly straight forward, walking, running, and shooting your foes are so simplistic that you will be able to master them without the need to have played any of the first two games. Picking up objects, opening doors and using keys and your collected items are all done with a simple click of a button. However, there are some times within the game that you may need a little more than to simply run or shoot (when you are completely surrounded by zombies for instance) and it will happen believe me. When this happens you will need to master the games advanced actions,
these include the likes of a quick 180 degree turn, dodges and escapes. Instead of basic one button moves, these generally require the use of several buttons at the same time and are fairly difficult to do correctly when you are in a state of panic over the onrushing demons.
The main plus point in Resident Evil 3 is the array of devastating weapons which you can acquire, these along with your other collected items (keys, tools and first aid kits) can all be accessed via a special menu (object inventory) system. This is brought into view by pressing the Start button at any time during the game. You must find your own ammunition
throu
ghout the game to keep your weapons well stocked but you can also find various tubs of gunpowder which, when you combine them, make up different kinds of weapon ammo. This is also the case when you find different herbs, combine them in your inventory and they make up health inducing remedies.
I do think that even though my favourite role playing games have always been the Tomb Raider chronicles, Resident Evil 3 is far easier to master and control, even though there is far more shooting and running to do compared to Lara Crofts adventures.
The one big catch with your object inventory is that you can only carry up to 8 items at any one time and so things that you collect need to be stored in large treasure chests. These you will find in a game save room along with an old typewriter which allows you to save your progress. Game save rooms are scattered around the various streets and complexes an but there always seems to one nearby wherever you are.

~~~~~~GRAPHICS SOUND AND MUSIC~~~~~~

The graphics in RE3 are quite split in terms of quality, the actual game itself is visually superb but some of the FMV sequences are pretty poor.
The game graphics are so precise that you can even read the headlines on a newspaper that has been left behind by a fleeing resident.
As I say though, the FMV sequences within the game are relatively poor and in some parts it makes it difficult to actually see what is going on.
The sound effects within the game are absolutely first class, you can hear approaching zombies or monsters moaning, growling and slurring their feet from three and four screens away. This then gives you the power to prepare yourself and equip the correct weapon with which to deal with whatever type of creature is coming your way.
There are quite a few scenes in which Jill and Carlos speak to each other and these sound as real as talking to one of your friends.
The music in RE3 is (apart from the completed game the
me tune wh
ich is like a terrible record from the Rocky films), quite good.
It carries the games atmospherics to the point where you are even engrossed simply by watching someone else playing. It tends to change as certain situations arise (just like in a real film) and this holds your interest quite convincingly.

~~~~~~GOOD POINTS~~~~~~

The good points about RE3 are that it is simply one of the most addictive role playing games that I myself have ever played.
No matter how stuck you get, you just can’t shake that feeling and will to keep on going to the very end, it’s simply engrossing.
The plot of the game is also quite good and along with the decent graphics and sound effects it can at times feel like you are the major star in a Hollywood movie.
The puzzles within this game are really quite clever and can take a while to solve, this in my eyes is always a good thing and here there are plenty to wrap your mind around.
Also, it is well worth completing the game as you are rewarded with a special bonus, I’ll reveal all about that in the ‘other information’ section.
I think that compared to other top role playing games such as Tomb Raider and Dino Crisis, RE3 ranks up there with them both, it is certainly better than the first two RE games and has a lastability rating second to none.

~~~~~~BAD POINTS~~~~~~

RE3 doesn’t have all that many things which you could call bad, okay, it is aimed mostly at the male market but the heroine is actually female so women could quite enjoy it as well, if you can tolerate the blood and guts genre. I suppose the only let down I had was with the actual FMV sequences, perhaps a little more time could have been spent with the blotchy graphics.
Oh and there is a huge error in the game instruction manual, to save your game when you find a typewriter you simply have to use your ink ribbon which has unlimited use, so you can save the game a
s many times as
you want. In the manual you are told that you can use the ribbon once only and that you have to try to find more ink ribbons if you want to save your game again. This find and use tactic appeared in Resident Evil 1 and 2 but as I have said, in RE3 your ribbon is unlimited.
I suppose one further bad point is the fact that if you have already played RE2 (as I have) then some of the surroundings will be very similar in style and appearance. In fact, some of the areas in RE3 are actually the very same ones from the second game but with slightly altered goals.

~~~~~~OTHER INFORMATION~~~~~

Resident Evil has a 15 certificate because of the high level of violence and gore which the game contains, so if you have a weak stomach or you simply don’t like violence and horrific gore scenes, then you’d do well to avoid this.
Right as I promised earlier, I’ll tell you about the nice reward you get upon completing the game.
After the credits have rolled up, you are given a page which tells you how many times you saved and how long it took you to complete the game. 17+ hours in my case making it quite a vast game considering that you only play for an hour or so at a time and taking into account all the times you are killed and have start from your last save place. Anyway, you are then given a free bonus game called ‘The Mercenaries’, your goal in this game is to use one of three soldiers to run through the city (with a time limit) and reach a certain place killing anything in your way. Your weapons and first aid packs are limited though making it all the more difficult. After every attempt you are given a points score which you can then save up and buy yourself cheat modes for the RE3 game should you wish to play it again.
You can buy three different types of weapon with unlimited ammunition, two of these weapons are not available during the normal game so that is a bonus in itself.
A large r
ocket launcher and a
Terminator 2 style gatlin gun with unlimited ammo makes the game so much more interesting to play a second time round. Believe me, these new weapons are devastatingly powerful and you never need reload them. The fourth option which you can buy, is simply unlimited ammunition for every weapon you collect during play (but as I said no gatlin gun or rocket launcher, these must be bought separately).
You can, if you have the patience collect enough points on your bonus game to buy the lot and start the game all over again armed to the teeth. I completed the game second time around in just over three hours so you can see the difference the new weapons made.
To make sure you don’t get bored with the game the second time around, the makers have added something into the game where at certain points during play, you are presented with a live selection.
These are short scenes where you are in a situation with two possible ways to deal with it, the game freezes and gives you the two options, depending on which one you choose determines slight changes in the story so you are not doing everything twice. You can simply choose the opposite option to what you chose the first time around and hey presto, it is almost like owning three separate games. Your first RE3 game, the bonus ‘Mercenaries’ game and finally a slightly different second assault on RE3 but with new weapons and unlimited ammo.
Another bonus you are given for completing the game is a special key not available in the game first time around. This is the boutique key and allows you to change Jill’s costume into something more fetching.

The game is compatible with any playstation controller (dual shock included) and uses one block on your memory card and you can start with a choice of two different difficulty settings..


~~~~~~PRICE AND AVAILABILITY~~~~~~

Resident Evil 3 – Nemesis is available from most playstation game
stockists, HMV, Virgin Me
gastores, Game and Gamestation all tend to have copies for sale. If you buy a brand new copy, that will set you back nearly £20 but I got mine from Gamestation second hand for £7.99 and that is in my eyes great value.

~~~~~~HINTS AND TIPS~~~~~~

Because you can only carry eight items with you at any one time, it is wise to make sure you have your weapon of choice and some first aid with you at all times.
Also, make sure you always have a couple of carry spaces empty as you may need to pick up more objects along the way.

Use your treasure chest, that is what it is there for, even if you store some objects or weapons which you don’t need yet in a certain treasure box at the beginning of the game, you can always collect them from your box in another room later on. All of your treasure boxes are universal so if you put your shotgun into the box in the police station for instance, it will appear in every box throughout the game in case you want to use it again.

Keep your ears open for approaching footsteps and moaning noises, this way you can prepare for an attack before it actually happens.

Save your game on a regular basis, there’s nothing worse than playing the game for half an hour and then being surprised by a pack of killer dogs and having to do all of your hard work again. Remember, despite what the manual says you do have unlimited saves throughout the game. As I have already explained, the manual is WRONG.

If you run low on ammunition during the game, then you can always use your run function to evade most creatures, you don’t have to kill everything (unless of course you want to).

~~~~~~ASSOCIATED WEB SITES~~~~~~

Here are a few web sites associated with the game and a few sites where you can purchase your own copy.

http://www.eidos.com

http://www.gamestation.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk

http://www.capco
m.com

Highly recommen
ded 9/10.

Thanks for the read.

DEANO!

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