I need to start this review with a large disclaimer. I have never played the original Resident Evil 3 game and so my review is specifically reviewing the RE3 Remake as its own game, and not as a comparison to the original. I also need to state that I did not buy this game at launch when it was $60 and if I had, that perhaps would have altered my opinions on it because of how short the game is.
Story and Characters
-The story of Resident Evil 3 is very much a familiar Resident Evil story. Without going into spoilers, the story follows Jill who is still in some ways dealing with the horrors that happened to her during the events of the original Resident Evil game. While she is in her apartment, a massive outbreak occurs in Raccoon City with people being turned into zombies and chaos erupting in the streets. She is quickly ambushed by a massive, relentless monster that pursues her through the streets and seems to be unstoppable. She meets up with Carlos, a mercenary for the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) and together they try to help some people get out of the city and stop the virus from spreading anymore. This story isn’t anything all that original and in some ways it feels pretty similar to the story 2, but I think it is mostly effective. The story is not usually the strongest aspect of the Resident Evil games and that is no different here, but I think it is still enjoyable enough.
- The shortcomings of the story are slightly alleviated by the greatness of the characters in my opinion. Jill Valentine returning from the first game is a great character here and her voice acting is much improved from the 1996 original. She is a badass STARS member who has dealt with the zombies before so she feels much more confident in going about her mission. She also has a fun level of sass to her and she drops some great one liners throughout the game. Carlos is the other main character that you play as and he is also quite likable and charming. I thought it was cool playing as someone who works for Umbrella, who doesn’t yet realize all the terrible things that the company has done. It allows for some good character development and watching Jill and Carlos bond as the game progresses is fun to see.
-The voice acting across the board is really good, even for the side characters you meet like fellow UBCS members Mikhail Victor and Tyrell Patrick or the secondary antagonist of the game, Nicholai Ginovaef. The side characters don’t get too much screen time, but they are all good and Nicholai serves as a great villain in the game.
Gameplay
- The gameplay shifts a bit in the 3rd game from the gameplay in the 2nd as there is a lot more action and the game is more linear as well. The player now has the ability to dodge and timing it perfectly can help you better position yourself to take out approaching enemies. You are also given a lot more ammo and you are given far more damage heavy weapons earlier in the game. This gives the game a much faster pact to it as you often have to deal with larger groups of enemies and enemies that can take a lot more hits. I actually like this change because while you do lose some of the horror the second game had with its bigger emphasis on ammo preservation and threats behind every corner, this action focused shift works on a narrative level as well as a gameplay one. Jill and Carlos are both trained fighters who know how to deal with threats and dangerous situations. Jill fought tons of zombies and a giant snake in the first game, it would feel odd to have her slowly sneaking around and being incapable of effectively fighting back. In the second game, Leon was a rookie cop and Claire was a college student with some training from her brother, but neither of them had ever been in a situation like that before. It is cool that new mechanics like the dodge demonstrate a difference in skill level in the series’ protagonists.
- The gunplay feels quite similar to how it did in the second game, but it also feels like the zombies go down a bit quicker. This could also be a deliberate choice to show that the protagonists are more skilled fighters. Having the grenade launcher, shotgun and the assault rifle make you feel way more confident and as mentioned before, the game is far less scary because of that.
- Unfortunately, the game is far more linear than some of the other RE games and while there are sections of the game where you are exploring different areas by getting new supplies and keys, these sections are all fairly small. For example, the first area you are in after the exciting opening sequence is downtown Raccoon City. This location is really cool and looks incredible, but it is fairly small and the whole section can be completed in under an hour. Compared to the police department in RE2, it just feels a bit disappointing because there isn’t the same level of exploration and there are no real puzzles in the game.
- Nemesis is a big focus in this game and unfortunately, he is kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, it is a cool story idea to have this relentless monster chasing Jill through the city and he serves as an unstoppable force that you just can’t seem to kill. The various boss fights you have with him are all pretty good and I think they tend to be a step up from the boss fights in RE2. On the other hand, I found him to be far more annoying than scary and he was just kind of frustrating to deal with. While Mr X was a slow moving stalker enemy that you constantly had to worry about, there is only one section in RE3 where you are actually pursued by Nemesis and it feels more awkward than scary. He jumps around the city chasing you but he is also quite fast and can sprint at you so you are kinda just running around and trying to dodge attacks that you can’t see because he is off screen behind you. You can also be running away from him only to have him randomly jump right in front of you again. I never really found him to be very scary outside of a couple jump scares and I almost wanted to just rush though the sections when he was following me because it was annoying.
-The rest of the enemies in the game are all pretty good, it is mainly a lot of zombies, but there are some new additions as well. There is a section of the game where you are navigating a disgustingly overgrown power station that is full of these creatures called Drain Deimos and they are pretty freaky. You also have creatures called Hunter Gammas that would come out of the walls in the sewers and I liked learning the backstory on those. The coolest new enemy though are probably the Hunter Betas, they are fast and tough and have an attack that can instantly kill you if you aren’t careful.
Side Content
-The main game doesn’t really have any side content except for some optional loot that you can go back and try to collect. They do have a shop in the main menu where you can purchase special unlocks for future playthroughs which is a cool idea, but I wouldn’t really consider it side content.
-This game does have a multiplayer side game that came with it, but I did not play that so I cannot give my thoughts on it.
World/Level Design
-The level design here is pretty solid, but as mentioned before, I wish the levels were just a bit bigger so they didn’t feel so linear and would make the game a bit longer. My favorite area of the game would be the downtown sections as I thought it looked really cool and it was fun to see the main city, especially since Raccoon City is such a key location to the franchise. The other standout location to me was the hospital that you explore as you play as Carlos. It was a bit creepy and was fun to explore and read the notes from the people who died there.
- I also want to mention that I did think it was cool to see the RPD again from the second game and I liked that we went there before the actual events of RE2. Funnily enough, I actually think this game serves as a better kind of “B run” than the one we got in the actual game. I just liked seeing how certain things in RPD became damaged or what happened to certain characters and I wanted more of that in the B run of RE2, but that is a different discussion.
Graphics, Music and Glitches
-The graphics are legitimately very impressive, especially the faces on the characters in all of the cutscenes. I think they are probably the best looking character models in any RE game and they hold up very well. The locations are all very well crafted and I loved seeing the lighting from the fire and police lights in areas like the downtown section.
- This game actually had more music that I noticed then RE2 did, which I really liked. The save rooms had an ominous score that would play and certain parts of the game had creepy music that would play as you explored. It definitely added to the atmosphere and made for a better experience.
-I did not have any glitches on my playthrough.
Main Positives of the Game
- The characters of Jill and Carlos are very likable and I liked their chemistry throughout the game. It was cool playing as characters that are more capable fighters and I liked how the gameplay reflected that.
-The boss fights were an improvement over RE2 and I really liked how all of the action felt. The dodge button was a very nice addition and really added to the faster pace that the game has.
-Some cool locations like downtown Raccoon City, the hospital and the return of the west wing of the RPD. While I wanted to get more from many of the locations, the stuff we did get was all very well done.
-Phenomenal graphics, especially the face animations, they all looked really incredible.
-There are some fun, memorable sequences such as the opening Nemesis attack, the hospital zombie horde survival and the ending sequence.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The game is far too short in my opinion. Now, most Resident Evil games aren’t that long and probably clock in close to the 10 hour mark, but RE3 Remake I finished in under 7 hours. It also doesn’t have the same replayability as 2 as that one had two different characters you could play as with their own stories, even though the levels were mostly the same. I think adding more to some of the areas that they already had could have added more to the playtime, especially more in the downtown section.
- Nemesis isn’t really all that scary and he ends up being more annoying than anything. I get that they wanted to make him feel like an unstoppable threat that is always hunting you, but he gets old pretty fast, especially since the game kinda front loads a lot of the stuff with him so in the first few hours, you feel like you are constantly having to fight him or run away.
-I kinda already mentioned it, but the game is far more linear than 2 and I missed some of the puzzles and exploration that was present in that game as well as many of the other games in the series.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Story and Characters
-The story of Resident Evil 3 is very much a familiar Resident Evil story. Without going into spoilers, the story follows Jill who is still in some ways dealing with the horrors that happened to her during the events of the original Resident Evil game. While she is in her apartment, a massive outbreak occurs in Raccoon City with people being turned into zombies and chaos erupting in the streets. She is quickly ambushed by a massive, relentless monster that pursues her through the streets and seems to be unstoppable. She meets up with Carlos, a mercenary for the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) and together they try to help some people get out of the city and stop the virus from spreading anymore. This story isn’t anything all that original and in some ways it feels pretty similar to the story 2, but I think it is mostly effective. The story is not usually the strongest aspect of the Resident Evil games and that is no different here, but I think it is still enjoyable enough.
- The shortcomings of the story are slightly alleviated by the greatness of the characters in my opinion. Jill Valentine returning from the first game is a great character here and her voice acting is much improved from the 1996 original. She is a badass STARS member who has dealt with the zombies before so she feels much more confident in going about her mission. She also has a fun level of sass to her and she drops some great one liners throughout the game. Carlos is the other main character that you play as and he is also quite likable and charming. I thought it was cool playing as someone who works for Umbrella, who doesn’t yet realize all the terrible things that the company has done. It allows for some good character development and watching Jill and Carlos bond as the game progresses is fun to see.
-The voice acting across the board is really good, even for the side characters you meet like fellow UBCS members Mikhail Victor and Tyrell Patrick or the secondary antagonist of the game, Nicholai Ginovaef. The side characters don’t get too much screen time, but they are all good and Nicholai serves as a great villain in the game.
Gameplay
- The gameplay shifts a bit in the 3rd game from the gameplay in the 2nd as there is a lot more action and the game is more linear as well. The player now has the ability to dodge and timing it perfectly can help you better position yourself to take out approaching enemies. You are also given a lot more ammo and you are given far more damage heavy weapons earlier in the game. This gives the game a much faster pact to it as you often have to deal with larger groups of enemies and enemies that can take a lot more hits. I actually like this change because while you do lose some of the horror the second game had with its bigger emphasis on ammo preservation and threats behind every corner, this action focused shift works on a narrative level as well as a gameplay one. Jill and Carlos are both trained fighters who know how to deal with threats and dangerous situations. Jill fought tons of zombies and a giant snake in the first game, it would feel odd to have her slowly sneaking around and being incapable of effectively fighting back. In the second game, Leon was a rookie cop and Claire was a college student with some training from her brother, but neither of them had ever been in a situation like that before. It is cool that new mechanics like the dodge demonstrate a difference in skill level in the series’ protagonists.
- The gunplay feels quite similar to how it did in the second game, but it also feels like the zombies go down a bit quicker. This could also be a deliberate choice to show that the protagonists are more skilled fighters. Having the grenade launcher, shotgun and the assault rifle make you feel way more confident and as mentioned before, the game is far less scary because of that.
- Unfortunately, the game is far more linear than some of the other RE games and while there are sections of the game where you are exploring different areas by getting new supplies and keys, these sections are all fairly small. For example, the first area you are in after the exciting opening sequence is downtown Raccoon City. This location is really cool and looks incredible, but it is fairly small and the whole section can be completed in under an hour. Compared to the police department in RE2, it just feels a bit disappointing because there isn’t the same level of exploration and there are no real puzzles in the game.
- Nemesis is a big focus in this game and unfortunately, he is kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, it is a cool story idea to have this relentless monster chasing Jill through the city and he serves as an unstoppable force that you just can’t seem to kill. The various boss fights you have with him are all pretty good and I think they tend to be a step up from the boss fights in RE2. On the other hand, I found him to be far more annoying than scary and he was just kind of frustrating to deal with. While Mr X was a slow moving stalker enemy that you constantly had to worry about, there is only one section in RE3 where you are actually pursued by Nemesis and it feels more awkward than scary. He jumps around the city chasing you but he is also quite fast and can sprint at you so you are kinda just running around and trying to dodge attacks that you can’t see because he is off screen behind you. You can also be running away from him only to have him randomly jump right in front of you again. I never really found him to be very scary outside of a couple jump scares and I almost wanted to just rush though the sections when he was following me because it was annoying.
-The rest of the enemies in the game are all pretty good, it is mainly a lot of zombies, but there are some new additions as well. There is a section of the game where you are navigating a disgustingly overgrown power station that is full of these creatures called Drain Deimos and they are pretty freaky. You also have creatures called Hunter Gammas that would come out of the walls in the sewers and I liked learning the backstory on those. The coolest new enemy though are probably the Hunter Betas, they are fast and tough and have an attack that can instantly kill you if you aren’t careful.
Side Content
-The main game doesn’t really have any side content except for some optional loot that you can go back and try to collect. They do have a shop in the main menu where you can purchase special unlocks for future playthroughs which is a cool idea, but I wouldn’t really consider it side content.
-This game does have a multiplayer side game that came with it, but I did not play that so I cannot give my thoughts on it.
World/Level Design
-The level design here is pretty solid, but as mentioned before, I wish the levels were just a bit bigger so they didn’t feel so linear and would make the game a bit longer. My favorite area of the game would be the downtown sections as I thought it looked really cool and it was fun to see the main city, especially since Raccoon City is such a key location to the franchise. The other standout location to me was the hospital that you explore as you play as Carlos. It was a bit creepy and was fun to explore and read the notes from the people who died there.
- I also want to mention that I did think it was cool to see the RPD again from the second game and I liked that we went there before the actual events of RE2. Funnily enough, I actually think this game serves as a better kind of “B run” than the one we got in the actual game. I just liked seeing how certain things in RPD became damaged or what happened to certain characters and I wanted more of that in the B run of RE2, but that is a different discussion.
Graphics, Music and Glitches
-The graphics are legitimately very impressive, especially the faces on the characters in all of the cutscenes. I think they are probably the best looking character models in any RE game and they hold up very well. The locations are all very well crafted and I loved seeing the lighting from the fire and police lights in areas like the downtown section.
- This game actually had more music that I noticed then RE2 did, which I really liked. The save rooms had an ominous score that would play and certain parts of the game had creepy music that would play as you explored. It definitely added to the atmosphere and made for a better experience.
-I did not have any glitches on my playthrough.
Main Positives of the Game
- The characters of Jill and Carlos are very likable and I liked their chemistry throughout the game. It was cool playing as characters that are more capable fighters and I liked how the gameplay reflected that.
-The boss fights were an improvement over RE2 and I really liked how all of the action felt. The dodge button was a very nice addition and really added to the faster pace that the game has.
-Some cool locations like downtown Raccoon City, the hospital and the return of the west wing of the RPD. While I wanted to get more from many of the locations, the stuff we did get was all very well done.
-Phenomenal graphics, especially the face animations, they all looked really incredible.
-There are some fun, memorable sequences such as the opening Nemesis attack, the hospital zombie horde survival and the ending sequence.
Main Negatives of the Game
-The game is far too short in my opinion. Now, most Resident Evil games aren’t that long and probably clock in close to the 10 hour mark, but RE3 Remake I finished in under 7 hours. It also doesn’t have the same replayability as 2 as that one had two different characters you could play as with their own stories, even though the levels were mostly the same. I think adding more to some of the areas that they already had could have added more to the playtime, especially more in the downtown section.
- Nemesis isn’t really all that scary and he ends up being more annoying than anything. I get that they wanted to make him feel like an unstoppable threat that is always hunting you, but he gets old pretty fast, especially since the game kinda front loads a lot of the stuff with him so in the first few hours, you feel like you are constantly having to fight him or run away.
-I kinda already mentioned it, but the game is far more linear than 2 and I missed some of the puzzles and exploration that was present in that game as well as many of the other games in the series.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
RedBackLoggd
10 days ago
The ability to dodge sounds really good as that was an issue I had with the RE2 remake when it came to the boss fights.
Do you get those weapons (grenade launcher/assault rifle) as part of the story or do you have to find them like you did in RE2 Remake?