- Release Date: November 10, 1999
- Genre: Adventure
- Style: Survival Horror
- Similar Games: Resident Evil (Sega Saturn), Alone in the Dark [DOS] (IBM PC Compatible), Clock Tower (PlayStation), Resident Evil (IBM PC Compatible), Alone in the Dark (Macintosh), Resident Evil (PlayStation), Jantei Monogatari (Sega Genesis), Silent Hill (PlayStation), Alone in the Dark (3DO), Resident Evil 2: Platinum (IBM PC Compatible), Resident Evil (Sega Saturn), Resident Evil (PlayStation), Resident Evil (IBM PC Compatible)
Game Description
It's been just days after the gruesome T-Virus disaster had finally ceased at the mansion's laboratory in the hills. Because of the revelations made on her journey, Jill Valentine resigned from S.T.A.R.S and attempted her escape from Raccoon City, now in shambles. But to her surprise, it was just the beginning in what seems to be a lose-lose situation after realizing her nightmares weren't over yet.Relying on her cunning and survival skills, Jill must put them to the ultimate test against flesh-eating zombies that now penetrate the city streets. She must also face-off against other hideous creatures of the night including bloodthirsty hunters, ferocious hellhounds, and a lumbering Nemesis. Concocted by the shady Umbrella Corporatioin, biotech terror is about to be unleashed once again. This time, however, it won't go unnoticed.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis has players assuming the role of Jill Valentine. You'll team up a variety of new characters and a few familiar ones that will assist you along the way. One of the new characters is
While other actions, elements and control schemes are the same as previous Resident Evil titles (such as file and map screens, combining weapons and herbs, chest boxes, saving via ink ribbons and a ranking process), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis features a few gameplay twists. Because the Nemesis is chasing you throughout the city streets, there are key moments in which you'll choose one of two distinctive options: to evade or face your opponent. Your decisions will effect the outcome of the game. You can also combine various ammunition types to create custom-made firepower! The game also supports Sony's Dual Shock Analog Controller for both analog control support and the vibration function.
There's also the Mercenaries game, a bonus option that unlocks upon completion of the game. Using the various Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service agents, it plays much like Resident Evil 2: Platinum's Extreme Battle Mode with an added time limit. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis offers faster animation, an improved graphics engine and an increased number of monsters onscreen as enhancements. Initial copies of the game also include a bonus CD -- a Capcom demo disc featuring Dino Crisis!
Come now, there's no time left. Find a way for Jill to leave behind the living dead once and for all. You have what it takes...it's in your blood.
Roots & Influences
The premise of Resident Evil originated from the Alone in the Dark series with elements from George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and an Italian zombie flick titled Zombie. Although the core basis may have been within the aforementioned game series, Resident Evil has always focused on better graphics, gameplay and a higher spook factor. The protagonist in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis debuted in the original survival horror game in this acclaimed series.Building upon the foundation of Resident Evil and its sequel, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis features a never before seen Mercenaries gameplay option, critical choices concerning the lumbering Nemesis that effect the outcome, and the ability to combine ammunition.
Review: Overall
Capcom's Resident Evil series has become part of our horror culture much like how Mortal Kombat marked the pinnacle of what was to come for the fighting genre. With the third installment of the series -- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis -- the whole zombie revolution has grown bigger in scale. Although not too much has changed since the previous version, there are some new features, and the story is something to behold in itself. It revolves around Jill Valentine's escape from Racoon City and explains what happened between Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 -- and why.Resident Evil 3 takes place sometime after the original Resident Evil with Jill's attempted retirement from the S.T.A.R.S. police force. Little does she know that there is no one there to handle the paperwork -- everyone in the city had become zombies! So what could she do?
Dressed in a sexy outfit as if she was on vacation, Jill runs into hordes of zombies, giant spiders, eels, flesh dogs and other blood suckers from hell. Unlike the previous two Resident Evil titles, there is only one adventure featuring the aforementioned heroine, which is both good and bad. However, you'll assume the role of a mercenary named
The cinematic introduction is similar to Resident Evil 2, although its quite a bit choppier for whatever reason. The quality is also a bit degraded and not as clear, represented with an even lower quality in the television commercials. Graphics are somewhat better and cleaned up from the previous title with the most noticeable visuals being the amount of detail and color; even the fire looks more realistic. Other than that you've got the same interface, camera angles, animation and whatnot.
Load times are a little faster as well, accompanied once again with the sliding and opening of doors or climbing ladders and stairs. Speaking of stairs, you no longer have to press a button to begin walking up or down as its handled manually. There are also some neat special effects like particles of water from the fire hydrant and the dropping of rain in the park. Additionally, there are more things you can manipulate in the environment and you're given more objects to toy around with.
The sound effects and musical score has always been one of the trademarks of this series and Resident Evil 3 has some of the most ambient effects in any
On that note, why doesn't the Nemesis only follow you through hallways and rooms that have the typewriter and chest box? Fortunately, he does not because it wouldn't be fair. The game has two difficulty modes: Easy and Hard. The Easy mode is good to start with and you get unlimited ink ribbons for saving! You will team up with partner characters at times and in dangerous situations, if he or she dies, your game is over just as if your character was killed. There is no on-the-fly switching of characters but at times you control the other character fully, though his or her task is usually cut short.
One of the newer features of this game is the First-Aid Kit box that allows up to three First-Aid Spray bottles, freeing up room in your inventory. Another new feature is the ability to turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction, allowing you to quickly face opponents attacking from the rear. The escape feature allows you to rapidly press buttons to get up quicker after you've taken a fall from an enemy's attack. Probably the best feature, however, is the ability to actually dodge an opponent's attacks as they're swinging at you while your weapon is pointed at them! This was much needed in a game like this. And last but not least, there are explosive canisters scattered throughout some levels that whenever one of them is shot at, everything in its proximity blows up. Zombies, watch out!
The controls haven't changed since the previous games and you're still given the option to change them to your liking. The gunpowder items allow you to combine different types of gunpowder with certain bullets to create a new type of ammunition. If you're low on regular handgun bullets, combining the proper gunpowder with a provided reloading tool will create more! The mapping system has also been improved for convenience (not graphically). You can press the Select button to bring up a list of maps you've already attained throughout the game. It also lets you view it from that list rather than scrolling through each map.
Pressing Select will also allow you to skip in-game cut scenes, which saves precious time! Another feature, however, might not be as convenient -- aiming your weapon. Pushing the R1 button lets you aim at enemies only while R2 has you aiming at all targetable objects. This gets quite confusing during gameplay when you want to shoot an enemy but instead you're pointing at the wall or some other object. On a different note, the force feedback/vibration makes a comeback with analog support. These are just some of the new and cool features of Resident Evil 3.
While it may not be considered a feature rather than an option, there is a bit of an adventure-book element to this game. During certain circumstances, you're offered two options -- the Live Selection events. You'll only have one opportunity to make a choice and it has to be decided almost immediately without hesitation. Your choice effects the way the remainder of the game is played out. Isn't that nifty? Making no choice at all will leave you in an even tighter spot than the options offered. Of course, Resident Evil 3 features a ranking system that determines whether or not you'll receive anything, new weapons, characters, clothes or a different ending.
Once you've completed the game, not only will Jill be offered a new wardrobe like in the previous Resident Evil titles, but you'll also obtain a bonus game called The Mercenaries: Operation Mad Jackal. Like Resident Evil 2, you'll fight the different types of monsters (including the Nemesis) as you make your way to a specific area. While you're limited to two minutes, you'll be awarded time increases by killing various critters in addition to rescuing the innocent civilians still alive.
The concept behind this is that your character has a bomb implanted inside him and he must deactivate it at the designated target room. The three characters you can use are
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis only takes one block of memory for saves and comes packaged with a bonus CD featuring Dino Crisis. Ironically, Dino Crisis comes packaged with a demo of this game! In any case, with this third installment you're getting a really sweet product that has plenty of replay value as it does new features. Although the game doesn't have 3D backgrounds, the quality is still high. Those who are in for a scare definitely need to get a hold of this one. And the rest of you casual horror fans should try it out because it may not look new on the surface, but skin deep the flesh is raw and fresh.





