It's hard not to compare this game to RE2 after playing them back to back. I loved my time with RE2, and although RE3 isn't outright bad, it really misses the mark in a lot of ways compared to its predecessor.

To start with the positives - I liked the setting a lot. Raccoon City is fun to explore, and I appreciated the great use of color and lighting that made the city feel alive despite it being filled with the undead. I also enjoyed being able to flip back and forth between Carlos and Jill, as it helped to keep the gameplay fresh.

This game's biggest weakness is its characters, specifically Carlos and Nemesis. I thought Jill was a solid enough lead, but Carlos was just so corny and just poorly written. He had absolutely no depth to him, and he just felt like the stand-in macho military dude with an assault rifle. Nemesis was also pretty underwhelming--I rarely felt tense or anxious when he did show up, and fighting him so many times got to be old after a while.

Although I try not to compare games to one another and aim to evaluate them on their merit, RE3 feels like a big step backward from RE2. It wasn't awful, but it left a lot to be desired with the story and characters.