When Capcom unleashed the original Resident Evil on the PSX back in the spring of 1996, they had no idea that it would become one of their most successful franchises to date. In fact, the series is still going strong to this day with new games on the PS2 and Gamecube. So Capcom heeded the fans' calls for a sequel, and released RE2 a couple years later. This game ended up being much greater than the original and won over many more gamers with its intense action and edgy suspense. After RE2 received much success, it wouldn't be long before another sequel would be in the works. Come the fall of 1999, RE3 would make its appearance.
The first thing most gamers will notice is that RE3 isn't intended to be a full blown sequel, but rather more of a side mission designed specifically for veterans of the first two games who thought they were two easy and wanted something more challenging. Plus it would buy time for the next real sequel, RE: Code Veronica. It's quite clear that Capcom had this group of fans in mind when designing the third game. There are two difficulty settings, and although RE3 isn't intended for newbees of the series, the easy mode does give you plenty of ammo to survive most of the game without any problems. Hard mode, on the other hand, is VERY tough and it teaches you to conserve ammo and health items until they are absolutely needed. And even though it was always important to save the game in the past, it's STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you do it here, because it's that tough. The action is certainly more challenging, and it offers a plethora of small improvements over the other games.
The game's only real downfall comes from the fact that the story isn't anywhere near as compelling as the other games, as it just takes place in the same time frame as RE2. Well, specifically, the first half of the game starts a day before the events of RE2 and then the second half picks up several days after that game. Basically, the plot consists of Jill Valentine (star of the first game, and thankfully NOT played by the same voice actress!) trying to escape the streets of the T-Virus infested Raccoon City, all the while avoiding getting killed by the Nemesis (a crazed rocket wielding monster who's out to kill STARS members). There's nothing really surprising to the story, although Jill does encounter numerous mercenaries from Umbrella's evacuation fighting squad. Carlos is the only one Jill spends the most time with and he resembles sort of a love interest for her. Capcom doesn't really succeed as much with these two as say the relationship between Ada and Leon or the young girl Sherry's affection towards Claire, both in the previous game. Still, there are multiple paths and different endings to achieve, so plenty of replayability is here. Thankfully, any fallacy of the story is more than made up for by the gameplay.
If you're already a fan of the action from the first two RE games, then you'll love RE3 because there are a TON of additions to make the action segments more enjoyable. For instance, you can now dodge enemies attacks and utilize a quick turn so that running around is a lot easier to do. Plus, there are now interactive environmental items that you can fire at to cause damage to enemies. There's nothing more satisfying than being chased by a group of 8 zombies and then suddenly taking them all out by firing a single shot at an explosive. BANG! How cool is that? BTW, zombies can now run after you and chase you up stairs, so watch out! Another cool feature is the ability to create your own type of ammo by collecting and mixing different gunpowders. Even on hard mode, with the right combinations, you can end up with a LOT of heavy firepower.
As for the graphics, sound, and music, they are all nearly identical, so read my comments on them in my RE2 review to get the synopsis. Same with the music, although I will comment on the effectiveness of the music when the Nemesis arrives. It's quite scary when you leave the room that the Nemesis inhabits and then slow eerie music starts playing. You know that the Nemesis is nearby and will attack you at any time. This aspect was done very well.
There's only one playable character this time, but the game lasts at least 5-6 hours depending on how fast you go. Not to mention that items and monsters are randomly placed each time you play the game. RE3 does improve on the lack of challenging puzzles from the last game by featuring ones that have random outcomes each time. In fact, one puzzle toward the end of the game took nearly an hour to solve! The scare factor isn't quite as high as in RE2, but a new fear element is introduced and revolves almost entirely around the Nemesis when he's chasing you. The first time I played the game, I thought that killing the Nemesis was impossible, but now I know that even on hard mode you can still best him if you use your resources properly. After the game is done, there's still plenty of unlockable goodies to acquire, such as a timed battle mini game, different outfits, and numerous epilogues to explain the story further.
Overall, if you've mastered the first two games and hunger for more, then by all means pick up RE3. It's not perfect, but any older fan will find this game worthwhile. However, NEW FANS SHOULD START WITH THE OTHER GAMES FIRST BEFORE TACKLING ON THIS ONE, AS THEY MAY FIND RE3 TO BE FRUSTRATING. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Resident Evil 3 brings back the excitement and horror of the previous two games, but is lacking something. There is nothing new about this sequel-in fact, some features have been lost. The game is only one disc, and there is only one playable character (except for a short section). RE3 loses the replay value RE2 had because the story is the same every time through. The enemies appear in different places, though, and there is a neat reward bonus game which can affect the supplies the player has in the real game. Still, this doesn't provide the same amount of gameplay RE2 had.Also, the "Nemesis" which tracks Jill through the story gets to be a real pain, leading to lots of running and shooting instead of story progression.
Finally, maybe I missed something, but the plot here is a big jump from the last game, in which Leon and Claire were searching for Chris, Jill, and other STARS members. Yet Jill was in the city the entire time?
Rent this game if you are a fan of the series or if it looks interesting to you. But it isn't as big of a step up as the last sequel was.
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