When Resident Evil made its debut for the PlayStation in 1996, it
gained instant cult status like a good b-horror flick. Albeit far from
a complicated gaming experience, Resident Evil's blend of endless
zombie encounters and interesting puzzle designs was a
successful recipe, spawning many sequels on various platforms and countless spin-offs.
It wasn't long before Capcom ported the Resident Evil series to the
PC with aspirations of the kind of success the series acquired on
the PlayStation. Unfortunately, most PC gamers didn't buy into the
series. Despite Resident Evil's ability to provide chills and thrills,
gamers were often disappointed not only by the lack of elaborate
gameplay, but mainly due to the fact the series looked dated on
the PC. This time around, Capcom has teamed up with Eidos
Interactive in an attempt to bring the Resident Evil series to the PC
like never before with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. So, is the third
time the charm?
In terms of the story, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is set after the
original Resident Evil, but before the events of Resident Evil 2. At
the beginning of the game, players control STARS member Jill
Valentine, the main character from the original game, as she
attempts to escape from Racoon City, a small town that has been
biologically altered by the Umbrella organization's manufactured
T-Virus, a plague which has turned all the residents into flesh
consuming zombies. As if things couldn't get any worse, a
Goliath-like zombie named Nemesis seems to have a vendetta
against Jill and the rest of the STARS crew.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, like the rest of the Resident Evil series, is
a third-person action title. Unlike most third-person games though,
the camera in Resident Evil doesn't roam, rather each location has
a fixed camera position, a tactic employed to provide dramatic
effects, often involving zombies jumping out and scaring the
fillings right out of your teeth. While this system works well on the
PlayStation, it's rather frustrating on the PC in terms of controlling
the game's character, particularly during combat. Capcom has
implemented a 180 button to help the situation, a key that allows
you to turn around instantly without worrying about muddling with
numerous keys, as well as the ability to dodge zombie attacks, but
the finicky controls are difficult to handle, especially when you're
under pressure to react, shoot, or escape from zombies. Toss in the
fact that Resident Evil 3 appears to have problems with gamepads
other than Sidewinder and you've got this title's biggest downfall,
the controls.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is not unlike its predecessors when it
comes to gameplay. Most of the game is made up of action
sequences involving, well, zombies. As mentioned earlier, you can
now dodge zombie attacks, which helps make the endless zombie
encounters a little less repetitive in terms of the actions you can
perform while in combat. You can also create your own
ammunition by combining different types of ammo available in the
game. Resident Evil 3 also tosses in a few bonus items including
the mini-game Mercenaries, as well as the ability to outfit Jill in a
number of costumes as she begins her daring escape, features that
must be unlocked in the PlayStation counterpart. Besides the
mindless zombie killing, Resident Evil 3 has also stepped up it's
puzzle element by focusing less on keys required to open doors
and more on problem solving techniques, all welcome changes to
the series to say the least.
If the zombie assaults weren't enough, the aforementioned
Nemesis pops up numerous times throughout the game, often by
crashing through a wall, door or window, and scaring the
beegeebers out of you in the process. Whenever he makes an
appearance, he brings with him an option screen that presents a
set of choices you have to make that wind up affecting where the
game moves, by unlocking certain areas, and how the story
develops for the next few minutes. It's an excellent addition to the
game that not only brings with it several shocking moments, but
also increases the replay value of the title. On a side note, you
won't actually be able to defeat Nemesis until the end of the game,
so don't bother wasting what precious ammo you have on him.
One of the problems with the previous editions of Resident Evil
was the visual department. Resolutions were often limited to
640x480, resulting in poor character animation and scruffy
backdrops. While Resident Evil 3 does little to improve on the
models and environments themselves, Capcom has bumped up the
resolution quite a bit. Although higher resolutions are available, I
found that 1280x1024 was as high as I could go without incurring
inopportune slowdowns. It would have been nice to see Capcom
overhaul the visuals completely, over the PlayStation version, but I
suppose increased resolution is better than nothing. In terms of the
sound department, everything is the same as the PlayStation
equivalent, bad voice acting and all.
I few other gripes I have with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis include the
console-style save function, which remains in tact. Special rooms
with typewriters are the only place where you can save your
game, there's no quick save available. In the same vein, you can
only carry approximately 10 items in your possession, so you have
to store your extra items in chests located throughout the game. In
an odd David Copperfield kind of way, when you store items in a
chest in a particular area of the city, those same objects will
re-appear in a different chest found in a seperate location. Who
with the what now? While this tactic certainly helps gamers avoid
having to re-trace their steps for various stored items, it doesn't
exactly give the game a feeling of realism.
Ok, so the game sports terrible controls, odd console'ish elements
and limited visuals, but we've heard this story before, haven't we?
Of course we have. These problems have plagued the series since
it's inauguration on the PC, but Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is still the
best Resident Evil title to date for the PC. The simple reason for
that is the improved gameplay, particularly the enhanced puzzle
elements and the addition of Nemesis and the game-altering
choice screens he brings with him. Well, that and the fact I'm a
sucker for mindless horror entities. If you enjoyed the previous two
titles in the series and you have no problem overlooking the rough
edges, Resident Evil 3 will probably satisfy your hunger for more
zombie antics.
By: 
