Morrigan Lover
CAGiversary!
ML’s Quick Reviews: Resident Evil 3
This is my quick review of Resident Evil 3. It contains spoilers.
Game: Resident Evil 3
Originally Released on: Sony Playstation
Platform Played on: Sega Dreamcast
Also Available on: IBM-PC, Nintendo Gamecube
Recommended platform: Dreamcast. The DC version is the only version w/ mercenaries mode and all costume unlocked from the beginning.
First thoughts: The first thing that stands about this game is its length. It is short. It took me 6 and 1/2 hours on my first play through. This is about half what I expected from a Resident Evil game, and indeed this game feels about half as long as Code Veronica. The second thing I remember is that the graphics of the 2D backgrounds were better than I expected, considering they are PS1 graphics. I was impressed, and never really felt I was playing an out of date game. On the downside, the graphics for the 3D character models were worse than I expected. Very pixilated, sharp edges of the polygons. The biggest complaint I have with the character models is that their mouths don’t move when they talk. It really subtracts from the in game scripted events.
Gameplay: Your Character still controls like a tank. This game is the first in the series to add the quick turn around move. I’ve actually never played a RE game without this feature (see below), and can’t imagine living without it. The other new movement feature is the quick dodge. There is no discrete button to perform this move, it is mapped to your aim/draw button, which switches function when an enemy lunges at you. Doesn’t work to well, as it is too hard to tell when the R button aims or when it dodges. Also, after you dodge, the direction you're facing is random, meaning you have to re-orient yourself to continue attacking. I’m not a big fan of the dodge, and am glad they removed it in subsequent games.
The other new feature is the ammo mixing. Much like herb mixing, you find two different types of gun powder throughout the game, and can make ammo for any weapon except the rocket launcher. This adds the dilemma: Do I make lots of ammo for weak weapons (pistol), or fewer ammo for the stronger weapons (magnum, rocket launcher). In my play through I choose to crank out some shotgun ammo, while saving as much a possible in case I needed the magnum for a boss. The game adds make-able Ice rounds for the rocket launcher. I never made any of these during my play through, I'll have to re-load my last save file and check them out.
You play a Jill Valentine for 90% of the game, except for a small portion about 3/4 through where you play as Carlos. The Carlos section felt more resident evil-like than the Steve section in Code Veronica, because you actually have a few puzzles to solve, and have your own item chests. In contrast, the Steve section in Code Veronica was straight run and gun.
This game adds “live selections”, which is where a menu pops up at different points during the game which act like the old Choose Your Own Adventure books. The purpose is to encourage replayablity, but apparently the choices only result in minor changes in the story (i.e. You’ll start in the basement of the building and work your way to the top floor if you choose A, and start at the top floor and work your way to the basement if you choose B. The choices effect which ending you get, but I think all endings result in you escaping in a helicopter and the city getting nuked.
As has been widely reported already, this game ups the zombie killing, and downplays the puzzles. All puzzles except 1 have you walk up to a panel and move gears/ flip switches until a pattern is matched. The exception is where you have to figure out you need to hand a compass to a stone statue. Yea I had to check gamefaqs to figure that one out.
Enemies (Bosses): Standard RE zombies, dogs, crows, and spiders. This game has zombies congregate in larger groups than any other RE game before RE4. It’s typical to have a group of 8 or so zombies slowly marching towards you. This game adds the frog hunters, which can swallow you whole. I only remember encountering them in 2 rooms in the entire game. Also the red poison hunters return (Same as the red poison hunters in Code Veronica). Also added are giant mutant fleas (yea I had to look up their origin creature on a wiki somewhere) that are the size of a human and try to attach to your head and suck brain fluid. There are small mutant leaches which are similar to the small snakes in RE1.
There are only 2 bosses in the game: Nemesis (which you encounter multiple times) and the giant “Tremors” worm (Same worm as in Code Veronica). I think having Nemesis the boss several times throughout the game subtracts from the variety you expect in a RE game. You can run from Nemesis, but he’ll randomly show up in rooms you go into unless you “kill” him. He has your standard videogame melee attack (punch, grab) + projectile (tentacle arm, rocket launcher) attacks.
Story: Jill is trying to make it out of the City. It’s a serviceable story. She meets up with a group of mercenaries, who are slowly picked off 1 by 1 as the story progresses, except for Carlos, who survives to the end (They need to bring him back. RE6 anyone?). The best part of the story is that the gov. nukes the city at the end.
Overview:
The Good:
2D pre-rendered backgrounds look sharp and detailed.
More zombie killing than a typical RE game.
The Bad:
The game is too short (about 1/2 the length of a typical RE game)
Poor in-game 3D character models
Gets boring having Nemesis be the area boss so many times.
You’re running around city streets, yet there are doors connecting everything. When have you ever seen a 2 streets connected by a door?
Overall rating: 6/10
The big reason for the low score is I feel the game is too short. While enjoyable, this is my least favorite RE game out of the 4 I’ve played. I also can’t stress how much of a better game Code Veronica is.
About me: I am a recent RE fanboy. The games in the series I’ve played (in the order I’ve played them): RE1 (GC), RE4 (GC), RE:CV (PS2), RE3(DC)
Games I own and have yet to play: RE2 (IBM-PC)
I’ll post my review of Code Veronica in the near future.
This is my quick review of Resident Evil 3. It contains spoilers.
Game: Resident Evil 3
Originally Released on: Sony Playstation
Platform Played on: Sega Dreamcast
Also Available on: IBM-PC, Nintendo Gamecube
Recommended platform: Dreamcast. The DC version is the only version w/ mercenaries mode and all costume unlocked from the beginning.
First thoughts: The first thing that stands about this game is its length. It is short. It took me 6 and 1/2 hours on my first play through. This is about half what I expected from a Resident Evil game, and indeed this game feels about half as long as Code Veronica. The second thing I remember is that the graphics of the 2D backgrounds were better than I expected, considering they are PS1 graphics. I was impressed, and never really felt I was playing an out of date game. On the downside, the graphics for the 3D character models were worse than I expected. Very pixilated, sharp edges of the polygons. The biggest complaint I have with the character models is that their mouths don’t move when they talk. It really subtracts from the in game scripted events.
Gameplay: Your Character still controls like a tank. This game is the first in the series to add the quick turn around move. I’ve actually never played a RE game without this feature (see below), and can’t imagine living without it. The other new movement feature is the quick dodge. There is no discrete button to perform this move, it is mapped to your aim/draw button, which switches function when an enemy lunges at you. Doesn’t work to well, as it is too hard to tell when the R button aims or when it dodges. Also, after you dodge, the direction you're facing is random, meaning you have to re-orient yourself to continue attacking. I’m not a big fan of the dodge, and am glad they removed it in subsequent games.
The other new feature is the ammo mixing. Much like herb mixing, you find two different types of gun powder throughout the game, and can make ammo for any weapon except the rocket launcher. This adds the dilemma: Do I make lots of ammo for weak weapons (pistol), or fewer ammo for the stronger weapons (magnum, rocket launcher). In my play through I choose to crank out some shotgun ammo, while saving as much a possible in case I needed the magnum for a boss. The game adds make-able Ice rounds for the rocket launcher. I never made any of these during my play through, I'll have to re-load my last save file and check them out.
You play a Jill Valentine for 90% of the game, except for a small portion about 3/4 through where you play as Carlos. The Carlos section felt more resident evil-like than the Steve section in Code Veronica, because you actually have a few puzzles to solve, and have your own item chests. In contrast, the Steve section in Code Veronica was straight run and gun.
This game adds “live selections”, which is where a menu pops up at different points during the game which act like the old Choose Your Own Adventure books. The purpose is to encourage replayablity, but apparently the choices only result in minor changes in the story (i.e. You’ll start in the basement of the building and work your way to the top floor if you choose A, and start at the top floor and work your way to the basement if you choose B. The choices effect which ending you get, but I think all endings result in you escaping in a helicopter and the city getting nuked.
As has been widely reported already, this game ups the zombie killing, and downplays the puzzles. All puzzles except 1 have you walk up to a panel and move gears/ flip switches until a pattern is matched. The exception is where you have to figure out you need to hand a compass to a stone statue. Yea I had to check gamefaqs to figure that one out.
Enemies (Bosses): Standard RE zombies, dogs, crows, and spiders. This game has zombies congregate in larger groups than any other RE game before RE4. It’s typical to have a group of 8 or so zombies slowly marching towards you. This game adds the frog hunters, which can swallow you whole. I only remember encountering them in 2 rooms in the entire game. Also the red poison hunters return (Same as the red poison hunters in Code Veronica). Also added are giant mutant fleas (yea I had to look up their origin creature on a wiki somewhere) that are the size of a human and try to attach to your head and suck brain fluid. There are small mutant leaches which are similar to the small snakes in RE1.
There are only 2 bosses in the game: Nemesis (which you encounter multiple times) and the giant “Tremors” worm (Same worm as in Code Veronica). I think having Nemesis the boss several times throughout the game subtracts from the variety you expect in a RE game. You can run from Nemesis, but he’ll randomly show up in rooms you go into unless you “kill” him. He has your standard videogame melee attack (punch, grab) + projectile (tentacle arm, rocket launcher) attacks.
Story: Jill is trying to make it out of the City. It’s a serviceable story. She meets up with a group of mercenaries, who are slowly picked off 1 by 1 as the story progresses, except for Carlos, who survives to the end (They need to bring him back. RE6 anyone?). The best part of the story is that the gov. nukes the city at the end.
Overview:
The Good:
2D pre-rendered backgrounds look sharp and detailed.
More zombie killing than a typical RE game.
The Bad:
The game is too short (about 1/2 the length of a typical RE game)
Poor in-game 3D character models
Gets boring having Nemesis be the area boss so many times.
You’re running around city streets, yet there are doors connecting everything. When have you ever seen a 2 streets connected by a door?
Overall rating: 6/10
The big reason for the low score is I feel the game is too short. While enjoyable, this is my least favorite RE game out of the 4 I’ve played. I also can’t stress how much of a better game Code Veronica is.
About me: I am a recent RE fanboy. The games in the series I’ve played (in the order I’ve played them): RE1 (GC), RE4 (GC), RE:CV (PS2), RE3(DC)
Games I own and have yet to play: RE2 (IBM-PC)
I’ll post my review of Code Veronica in the near future.
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