Resident Evil 3 Review

Resident Evil 3 Nemesis is a fantastic addition to the series. It's the hardest and best looking. I still think I like RE2 the best, but I'm going to go through it again just to be sure. Either way, this is damn fine gaming, and a near brilliant third chapter in the series.

As far as comparison between Dino Crisis and RE3, well, the biggest comparisons are obvious. Dino vs. zombies. But I preferred the puzzles in Dino Crisis more than these. They were more original and compelling. Also, Dino Crisis has more wandering -- and running from Dinos, which eventually became boring -- whereas while there is some running from baddies here, RE3 has lots more action. Lots more fighting. Lots more zombies. And in my opinion, more zombies = more good. (Heh) My biggest complaint with Dino Crisis was that it simply wasn't as scary, gloomy, or horrific as RE. And RE3 is as scary as either of the first two.

While the basic setbacks of the original series have been improved -- branching story, better translation, better graphics, better control, collapsing areas -- the game still suffers from some of the same original problems in the first game. The load times haven't been massively squeezed down, the amount of motion in the lead character's aim is still restrained to up, down, and forward, the phenomenal amount of backtracking is still infuriating, and the puzzle logic is sometimes completely ludicrous.

And yet, in no way does RE3 falter or slip below the quality level of the previous two games. If anything it upholds the series' depth and challenge, even though it's still essentially more Resident Evil. The story still wonderfully unfolds in an intensely slow, intriguing way. And the combination of the great story telling and precise style of gameplay is still perfectly blended. If anything, it's a compliment and a message to Capcom that so many similar games (Evil Dead, Galerians, Fear Effect) are currently in the works. The message? Gamers love Resident Evil. And gamers will love RE3, too.