Following in the footsteps of the Resident Evil 2 remake, Resident Evil 3 is a remake of the 1999 classic, and takes place 24 hours before the events of Resident Evil 2 and eventually catches up with it. The Resident Evil 2 remake was fantastic, it managed to not only retain the essence of the original, it managed to greatly improve upon it in every aspect, and also brought the franchise to the current gen of gaming. Resident Evil 3 has its work cut out for it with some very big shoes to fill, how does it fare?
Without giving away too much about the plot, if you’ve played the original Resident Evil 3, then for the most part, the story remains essentially the same. You play as Jill Valentine, a member of S.T.A.R.S, Racoon City police department. S.T.A.R.S are basically supercops, not that they have super powers or anything. They’re just an elite task force. She was also one of the protagonists of the first Resident Evil alongside Chris Redfield, with the Spencer Mansion and Umbrella Lab incident. That’s basically where the T-virus outbreak begins. Well, in Resident Evil 3, it has reached Racoon City and Jill, like any sane non-zombified person, is trying to escape the city.
Unfortunately, you know that incident we just mentioned that occurred in the first game? Well, Umbrella Corp (these would be the people who created the T-Virus in the first place) doesn't want anyone who witnessed said incidents alive. So they’ve set a new, unstoppable creature after members of S.T.A.R.S involved in the incident, including Jill – the Nemesis. If you remember Mr. X from Resident Evil 2, just imagine him, but like, on steroids. Also uglier and with a melted face maybe.
Those who’ve played the original Resident Evil 3 will know that the game had multiple endings. Without giving anything away, what we can tell you is that they've scrapped the multiple endings and opted for a fixed ending. We didn’t think this affected or took away from the game in any way and we still thoroughly enjoyed the story from start to finish.
We do feel like Carlos Oliveira needs a special mention too. While he was present in the original, in the remake he’s been greatly expanded upon. He’s got a lot more presence and there’s some more stuff you can do with him involved. They did this in the Resident Evil 2 remake as well, like with Sherry’s sequence, which wasn’t present in the original, but was definitely a welcome addition. The stuff with Carlos falls under the same umbrella. See what we did there?
Gameplay is still very much the same as it was in Resident Evil 2. You’ve got to be careful with munitions, every bullet counts yada yada yada. The iconic small inventory, and space management is all still there and will have you thinking twice and doubling back everywhere. The combat knife no longer degrades in Resident Evil 3 (thank you Capcom!) so you always have that to deal with sticky situations. Also, the lockpick makes a return, Jill is afterall, the master of unlocking. There are yellow padlocks across the city which will require the lockpick to unlock. They’ve also gotten rid of one-time use items to save yourself from zombie grabs. Instead, they’ve improved on the dodge mechanic. This is a very welcome – and much needed mind you – mechanic, especially since the number of zombies in general has been increased in the game.
When it comes to the new dodge, simply pressing the button (default spacebar) causes you to do a small dash in the direction you’re moving towards. However, timing the dodge just right results in you doing a roll and moving further away. Additionally, it also slows down time for like a second, giving you a brief window to get the right shot off if you want to. The game also introduces new weapons, one of them being a grenade launcher. However, this little detail also applies to Nemesis, who has more weapons. Like he needed more weapons.
You don’t need us to tell you that Nemesis is scary af. You’ll know whenever he’s shown up, he makes sure of that. Even if you’ve entered an area he can’t or are just taking a breather (we know we needed one), he’s just staring at you through the window. Players of the original game will know he can use weapons, well he can use even more now, including a FLAMETHROWER. If that wasn’t enough, he’s got a tentacle thing that can grab you from a distance and pull you right to him. However, the game rewards you for taking him down when you can, by giving you supply cases.
Coming back to the zombies and Racoon City in general, the city is a bit of a maze, well, not really, but with the zombies everywhere and constantly looking over your shoulder for Nemesis it can be. There’s a bit more freedom to be had however, when compared to Resident Evil 2, it’s a lot less cramped and there’s more room to do things. Like maneuver zombies around and lure them towards an environmental hazard like explosive red barrels or electrical boxes. These work on Nemesis too, and can stall him long enough for you to make an escape.
Like the Resident Evil 2 remake, Resident Evil 3 also features Assist Mode, where enemies are easier to kill, you have more ammo lying around, and you start the game with a fully loaded assault rifle right off the bat.
The game looks fantastic, if you’ve got a machine that can run this baby at max settings, you’re in for a treat. The RE Engine does look that good, it looked good with RE2, and it looks even better here. However, don’t let that stop you from getting the game. The RE Engine is also incredibly scalable, and you can bring the graphics waay down to play the game on weaker machines as well.
Coming to the creatures you face, in addition to new ones, many old ones return, including the Drain Deimos, Gama Frogs, Hunters, and more. If you thought they were scary in 1999, just wait till you see them now. The attention to detail is incredible. They look incredibly gross, disgusting and scary. Those are compliments.
Jill has also been redesigned, with a more practical look. She’s ditched the skirt from the original and now dons a very Lara Croft-esque outfit.
The sounds are also fantastic and will spook your socks off. Try playing this game in the dark with headphones on, just the sounds are enough to chill you to the bone. When Nemesis shows up, the music also flares up and you can sense the tension and urgency in the atmosphere. It’s all very well done.
RE3 comes with RE Resistance, a multiplayer co-op Left 4 Dead-style game mode for free. We haven’t really experienced this game mode yet, but here’s how it goes down. You’ve got a team of four against the zombie hordes, however, in Resistance, it’s not PvE, it’s PvP – 4v1. There’s another player who controls the zombies. It’s similar to E.V.O.L.V.E, only instead of controlling a single monster, you control the zombie hordes. You can even possess the zombies you spawn.
Remember we asked you how the game fares in the intro? Well it fares pretty darn well and then some. Longtime fans of the franchise should be more than pleased with the game, and newcomers will find a gripping horror adventure game that’s a great ride from start to finish.
MOAR:
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Played on: PC
Price: Rs 3,499