By Edwin Hickman
When I first loaded up Resident Evil 3 on my PC, I sat in my bedroom, after a long day of online schoolwork that I was doing while stuck in quarantine. I was expecting the survival horror atmosphere and zombie shooting action that the series is known for. When the game loaded up, I was shown a live action introduction, depicting the fictional Raccoon City as overrun by those infected by the T-Virus, as well as angry mobs. It’s described as a pandemic that has “spread faster than any disease in modern history,” and informs that the CDC has “quarantined the lower midwestern region of the USA.” Sitting in my chair, I thought to myself, “This seems a bit too topical right now.”
Resident Evil 3, the latest installment in Capcom’s survival horror franchise, is a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), as well as a follow up to last year’s Resident Evil 2 (2019), itself a remake. Resident Evil 2 was my favorite game to come out last year, so I had a lot of expectations going into this one. However, I have not yet played the original, so I’m judging this game based on its own merits rather than how it holds up as a remake. The fact that this game came out during the COVID-19 pandemic adds a bit of weight and relevancy to the game’s setting, though obviously our reality is not as severe as the game’s world.
Resident Evil 3 follows Jill Valentine, a Raccoon City police officer and one of the protagonists of the first Resident Evil (1996, 2002). After her previous run in with the evil Umbrella Corporation, she finds herself being hunted down by Nemesis, a genetically engineered supersoldier who’s seemingly unstoppable, all while she has to escape the zombie infested city. She runs into the secondary protagonist, Carlos Oliveira, a
mercenary who is a part of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service. Jill puts aside her differences with Carlos to help his platoon evacuate civilians out of the city. I won’t spoil too much of the rest of the plot, but I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially the interactions between Jill and Carlos.
The game places you in Raccoon City, which is overrun by zombies and in a state of destruction. Throughout the game, you have to traverse different parts of the city, accomplishing various goals. There are various items you need to collect, as well as weapons to use against zombies and other creatures. The settings of the game look amazing: they are incredibly realistic and create a tense and horrifying atmosphere. The game uses Capcom’s RE Engine, which has been used in previous games like Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5 (2019), and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017). This means that the game builds off the user interface from previous games, and uses some of the same assets as previous games. While some may interpret this as making the game less unique, it actually creates a consistent system that players will grow familiar with. Resident Evil 3 is not for the faint of heart, as it contains intense violence, blood and gore, strong language, as well as horror elements that are meant to make you tense and unsettled. If you can handle that, then the game will be a fun but frightening experience.
One of the biggest features of the game is Nemesis, the almost invincible enemy that hunts you down. Nemesis, unlike other zombies, is extremely strong, fast, has tentacles that can grab you, and can use weapons. Some segments of the game feature you in an open map, running from Nemesis while you try and complete other goals. Other segments are solely designed for you to escape or fight. These are some of the most challenging moments of the game, and will surely drain your ammo and healing items.
While I enjoyed the game, there are a few flaws. The game’s plot is amazing, but the campaign is somewhat short compared to last year’s Resident Evil 2. Part of this length is due to the fact that this game has a single campaign that shifts between Jill and Carlos, while Resident Evil 2 featured two separate campaigns. The game also removed the sub-weapon system from its predecessor, which means that if a zombie gets a hold of you, you simply have to brace for the attack, rather than use a knife or a grenade to free yourself. Finally, I wish the areas of the game were more open for exploration. Though there is certainly a diversity of setting that feature explorable elements, the campaign progresses through these areas in a linear fashion, not allowing players to backtrack. However, these are ultimately minor nitpicks, and were not detrimental to the game’s enjoyability.
Overall, Resident Evil 3 definitely left me satisfied. Though I still prefer last year’s Resident Evil 2, this gave me a lot of scares, a lot of action, and compelling characters in Jill and Carlos. The game’s chaotic pandemic evokes the current COVID-19 pandemic in a sense, if unintentionally, and creates an amazing horror environment. When a horror game has you on the edge of your seat and screaming in fear, that means it’s doing its job correctly.
Resident Evil 3 is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
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