Resident Evil 3 (XBox One)

Resident Evil 3 is unsurprisingly a remake of the 1999 title Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Following hot on the heels of last years near perfect Resident Evil 2 remake, can Capcom do it again and bottle lightning or will history repeat its self? 

So full disclosure, I had the original, PSX, Dreamcast and Gamecube, I only really played the PSX version that I remember. For some reason I’ve never held a love for Resident Evil 3, I played it again recently and found I appreciated it alot more than I used to. Just getting this out to show I don’t really have a nostalgia for the game like I did other titles in the series, even 0!.

So tackling the story of Resident Evil 3 first, this game does a really good job of hitting most of the major plot points made in the original, while changing some aspects to make it fit into the current canon.

The game offers a better look at Jill Valentine and her mental state post Arklay Mountains incident (Resi 1) or at least it does in the intro. 

Resident Evil 3 the original was always known as the title that took a more action route with the classic series, remake also aims to do this but I can’t help but feel they sacrificed some story & writing to do so. 

This isn’t me saying the writing is bad, this is Resident Evil it was never going to have the most intricate, sensible and well thought out plot, but what Remake does is tease you with a slice of more, before it abruptly sends you on its rollercoaster.

If I were to describe the pacing and story content of Resident Evil 3 it would be that of an overexcited child giving you a run down of what happened in the original game. It hits everywhere it needs to, it throws iconic locations at you at breakneck speed but it never just settles for a bit and let’s you take it in, like a greatest hits so to speak. 

Graphically it’s hard to find fault with Resident Evil 3, it looks just as good as Resident Evil 2 Remake did. There are a few low resolution textures kicking around but the streets of Racoon City have never looked so good, y’know for zombie riddled destroyed streets.

The character facials are once again S.T.A.R.S of the show, Jill has some genuine facial expressions which will cause a reaction from you, Carlos has the loveable cheesy hero look going for him, even the monsters are looking good!. 

Voice acting is the usual mixed bag of being really well done and spouting some B Movie horror quality lines, just as you would expect from the series!.

Resident Evil 3 much like the original has taken the more action approach to that of Remake 2. Jill and Carlos are your playable characters here but unlike 2 you don’t get to choose, instead at various parts of the story you’ll switch between the 2 of them.

Naturally Carlos and Jill are both a little better versed in combat than that of Leon and Clare and gameplay reflects so. This mainly materializes its self in the form of the dodge that has now been added, if you hit this at the right time you’ll dodge, go into slow motion and be able to pop off a few shots OR Shoryuken an enemy if you have the knife equipped. 

Throughout the story you’ll come across gunpowder, herbs and other goodies you need to combine to make items, the enemy count is quite high in this one and the aggression of the enemies shouldn’t be understated so you’ll be creating alot of health and ammo throughout. 

Another key thing that makes Resident Evil 3 is the amount of additions you can add to your guns, these improve them from the aim to damage and ammo capacity. 

Puzzles seem to have really fallen by the side on this adventure, off the top of my head I only remember 2 of them and I’m pretty sure that’s either accurate or not too far from the truth. 

So now we’ve gotten the basics out of the way, let’s talk selling point, a certain antagonist who is not only on the title screen and front cover but made it into the games title, Nemesis!. 

In the original games, Nemesis was a massive “improvement” over Mr X, in the original RE2 he only appeared in a few screens and after the initial shock wasn’t really all that imposing. If you have played Resident Evil 2 Remake you know Mr X got a massive upgrade and was one of the biggest selling points of the game. Nemesis in the original RE3 seemed relentless, random in his appearances, dangerous and up until RE2R Mr X, the most dangerous Tyrant in the series.

Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 Remake is not only a giant misstep but is actually closer to what the original Mr X was when he should have improved on the remake Mr X. It seems outside of forced events, Nemesis isn’t around, when he is in an open area it’s not for too long and a quickly thrown grenade knocks him to his knees with great ease. 

Nemesis in this remake has been downgraded into a plot device, the only boss battles in the game and despite having his arsenal upgraded aswell as his abilities, he has never felt so easy to manage. Rather than feeling tense when he turns up, you’ll know you’re hitting the next big story part and roll your eyes at what a missed opportunity this once mighty behemoth is. 

The story should run you around 6/8 hours on your first go, there are several additional difficulty modes including the Nightmare mode which switches enemy and item placement and generally creates more of a feeling of Resident Evil 3 original than the other modes. 

There are no extra modes upon completion, Mercenaries mode is gone and there is no extra Survivor Stories like in 2 Remake. There is a shop where you can buy unlockable weapons and items for following playthroughs.

Resident Evil 3 Remake feels like a fine snack after the meal that was Resident Evil 2 remake. Much like the common consensus with the originals is that 2 was the better game, history has repeated itself once again. Resident Evil 3 is more of an action game in a horror setting than that of its predecessor and its pacing makes it feel like a completely different game than its prequel. 

The Multiplayer mode is a nice addition, one we won’t be covering for various reasons but does help to justify the full asking price of the game. While it may not have the impact of the one that came before I still really enjoy Resident Evil 3 and think any fan of the series should have a gander at this adventure, just keep expectations in check.