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Playstation | Action | Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | Review

Boxart for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis 63 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 5.0
  • SOUND: 5.0
  • CONTROL: 4.5
  • FUN FACTOR 5.0
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.1
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Review by THED-PADDESTROYER | 04/13/2006 | 08:44:54 AM PST

Fans of survival horror games have been waiting to re-enter the world of Resident Evil. Now, after more than a year or so of wanna-bes like Silent Hill and Echo Night, the monster-makers at Capcom bring your fears back to life with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Fans of survival horror games have been waiting to re-enter the world of Resident Evil. Now, after more than a year or so of wanna-bes like Silent Hill and Echo Night, the monster-makers at Capcom bring your fears back to life with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Can You Survive the Horror?
Get it through your head - Resident Evil 2 hasn't happened yet. Nemesis begins with the match on the powder keg, the events of the 24 hours leading up to when Claire and Leon meet in the flaming wreckage of Raccoon City. You're Jill Valentine, the "Master of Unlocking" and member of the Raccoon Police's elite STARS unit (and star of the first Resident Evil), and you have to escape the city of the dead. That might sound easy, but there are legions of the dead out to turn you into a "Jill sandwich" - not to mention the mercenary forces of the evil Umbrella Corporation, who've been sent out for "damage control."

Luckily, Jill's learned a few things since the first Resident Evil. Besides a few lessons in fashion, she's also learned a new dodge maneuver, she can also push zombies away before they grab her, or she turns completely around when retreating. And you'll be doing a whole lot of retreating, as you never know when you'll bump into Nemesis, a hulking pile of exposed muscle who's basically just there to make Jill dead. The fun never stops here in sunny Raccoon City.

Cast Your Dreams Someplace Else!
Nemesis boasts some of the best graphics you'll see on the aging PSX, with frighteningly real polygonal characters running about on horrific detailed pre-rendered backgrounds. The zombies and other creatures stand up well to close inspection, and Nemesis itself looks like a true machine of death as it plods along behind you. The static backgrounds make it difficult to see enemies just offscreen, but the stellar sound helps cover for that.

Speaking of which, the sound in Nemesis is the PSX at its bloodcurdling best. Shambling corpses, crying crows, the pitter-patter of little undead dog feet, and even far-off gunfights as the other survivors fight for their lives. Music plays constantly on an almost subconscious level, but it pipes in with violence when things get hot. In all, Nemesis keeps the action hot by hiding what you shouldn't see, but telling you about it through the audio.

Resident Evil's nemesis has always been control, and that's the same for this one. The control scheme works well for exploration and skirmishes, but in fights where twitching helps more than careful aiming, the controls fall flat. The first time or two you meet Nemesis, expect the big lug to kill you, or at least maim you horribly. You'll get used to the controls, but they'll never be more than just adequate, especially against bosses.

Embrace Your Nemesis
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis writhes with dark themes and horrifying action. It's not for the squeamish, and its Mature rating is there for a reason. Those gamers with nerves of steel and stomachs of iron will learn to love their Nemesis.