Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
PlayStation
Back in the late 90s I was all about Resident Evil. You might even call it an obsession. I played the first two games in the series a countless number of times. So many unlockables, different endings, different things happening each time you played the game. You had your choice of 2 different characters with different paths laid out in front of them. Resident Evil 2 upped the ante. When you beat the game with a certain character, you opened up a "scenario B" for the other character. This scenario B was almost a whole new game in and of itself. 2 characters, 2 scenario Bs. It was almost 4 games in one. And I am not even mentioning the mercenary missions. Resident Evil 2 had an amazing amount of replay value.
Which segues into the problems I had with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. In this game, you don't have a selection of characters you can choose from. You play as Jill, and only Jill (although you do briefly play as some other dude later in the game when Jill gets hurt). There are a few minor ways you can alter the path of the game and have different things happen each time you play it, but nothing major or groundbreaking. It basically amounts to: if I do this, is Nemesis going to pop out at point A or point B instead? When you finish the game, you don't really get anything worth playing the title over again. A new wardrobe... woo. Yay, I guess?
Plus the game is extremely short. I remember beating this in a day or two when I got it. I sat back and thought to myself... that's it? Yup, that was it. After the overall awesomeness and replayability of the first 2 games, I considered Resident Evil Nemesis a big fat waste of money.
So it was short and there was no replay value. But how was the game itself?
Despite my concerns, it was good actually. I preferred the slow, almost unbearable tension of the first game. Nothing scared me quite like Resident Evil 1. RE2 was more of the same, but there were parts of it that were definitely a lot more action oriented than the first. Plus, a police station just isn't as scary as that old mansion.
This game sets you loose in the streets of Raccoon City. Playing as Jill, you must wander around blasting enemies and trying to make your way to safety. In true Resident Evil fashion, expect more than just zombies to attack you. We got giant spiders, dogs, lickers... all classic staples from the series. In Resident Evil 2, I highly enjoyed the small parts at the beginning of the game where you got to walk around in the streets a little bit. So the setting here really excited me.
While this game is not as scary as the first two in the series, it does have its moments. If you have played the game at all, I am sure you know about the villain who is the name sake of the title - the Nemesis. This giant hulk-like monstrosity searches the city looking to eliminate STARS members. He is quite relentless. If you attack him, you can stun him. Even bring him down for a while until you leave the area. But don't think you are going to kill him.
This game is a lot more action oriented than the first two titles. Gone are a lot of the scary, tense moments of the past. Expect a lot of shooting and a lot of death. Heads will be blown off faster than you can grumble the word STARS in your best Nemesis impersonation. The scariest thing about this game is the Nemesis himself. Like I said, he can not be killed. You have to evade him for the majority of the game, and he has a way of popping in where you least expect him. There will be corridors you have traversed a countless number of times. You'll be walking down it when an ominous song starts playing and the Nemesis leaps out and attacks you. Definitely the scariest thing about this game is the anticipation of getting attacked. Is he going to jump out? He was in this room last time, will he still be there? There are moments you think you are completely safe only to have him jump in and start firing rockets at you.
This game definitely needed the Nemesis, because otherwise it is not scary at all. There is so much firepower in the game that the zombies are basically a joke now. Whereas in past Resident Evil games, zombie encounters were scary because ammo was scarce and your means for killing them were not as surefire. Now you can run around with these high powered guns and a nearly unlimited supply of ammunition and mow down rows of the undead without breaking a sweat.
The locale is not as scary either. Mainly you traverse streets that were once busy and heavily populated. You enter shops and businesses that have been abandoned. Hospitals, sewers, a construction site, even a gas station. One cool part of the game is when you revisit the police station from the second game. Don't expect just a rehash of what you have already seen and done. There are wrinkles added here that keep the experience feeling fresh, even though some of the scenery is the same.
In the right scenario, some of these places could be scary. But still the game lacks that added tension that made the first two games so edge of your seat. The Nemesis fills that role, sort of. But you play knowing that you can just simply run away from him and he probably won't touch you. It definitely takes a lot of the edge off.
Graphically, there isn't much that sets this apart from Resident Evil 2. The tank controls are the same as well. Really, not much has changed aside from your weapons and the scenery.
This game is also very short. In addition to being short, the puzzles here don't make you think as hard. And the majority of them are laughably easy. Another thing I liked so much about the first 2 games in the series is how it challenged you mentally. As well as being "physically" taxing trying to survive the zombie attacks. This game plays too much like a straight forward action title for my tastes. The puzzles are mainly an after thought.
And as the game progresses you will see that the story isn't as interesting either. Basically, your goal is to escape the city and evade the Nemesis. At the end, you learn that in order to contain the outbreak, the government has ordered a nuclear strike on Raccoon City. So you phone a helicopter and fly away. The end.
It seems like I am really ragging on the game. But as I said it is fun to play, while it lasts. Sure it is easy. Sure it isn't as scary as the older games. Sure there is no replay value. But once you get caught up in the game you don't care as much. Like I say, it is fun while it lasts. It just doesn't last very long.
Is it a good game? Sure. If you see it in the bargain bin - by all means buy it. The game has actually gotten better with age. It's a quick, fun game to beat. But be warned it has little to no replay value. I just can't help that when I think of this game, I think of a game that didn't live up to the legacy of the first two titles in the series. I am probably under rating this, but a C sums up my conflicting thoughts on the game pretty well.
Overall
C
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