Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

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Well the synopsis is basically how the mood of the game is usually like, quiet. But being quiet often makes the game better than watching a horror movie. Never mind about that, on to the review!

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are the best graphics yet to appear on the PSX, better than Final Fantasy VIII's and better than Gran Turismo 2. The only graphics that are better are from the Alpha series (mainly SFA2G and SFA3). The backgrounds are pre-rendered, which I don't mind but seeing--Dino Crisis' backgrounds being polygonal, it made--me just a TINY bit--disappointed, but the jaw--dropping graphics just blew me away. The environment is SUPER-DETAILED and look a lot better than the previous Resident Evil games. The characters are improved from the last game, although not a lot, it is significant to tell. The zombies as some people would like to call it(actually their infected citizens) are now in all sorts of variety. There are fat zombies, female zombies, poparazzi zombies and all the other sorts instead of just the usual 6 different zombies in--the previous game. The special effects are all--basically the same from--the last game. Basically these are probablythe best 3-D graphics that you will ever see on the Playstation.

Sound/Music: 10/10
The music in this game is very good, while there is more sound than music at times, the music sometimes gets you pretty nervous, especially the Racoon City Police Station music or the restaurant music. In this game you must play with the sound, well not must but the game relies a lot on sound. Sound can often help you prepare for the dangers ahead or let you escape from the townspeople who are infected(zombies). The game is SUPER-DETAILED with sound just like in the last game, when you step on glass you can hear it crack more beneath your feet and even stepping on sewer tops makes that metal clank sound, the exact same sound you would hear in real life, it's that good. There are some parts in the game that becomes quiet and then the windows crash with zombies or them stupid ravens that is guarantee to catch you often by surprise, scaring the jimminies out of you.

Replay Value: 8/10
The replay value in this game is pretty good, its almost the same as the last game except without the 4th Survivor. You can switch to Regina's costume back in the boutique shop after you've beaten the game and such. I do not want to spoil anything, but if you've played Resident Evil 2, you can pretty much get at least a sense of what is in this game.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is the same as last time so players from the previous horror game will get adapted rather quickly. The new moves includes the 180 degree turn as well as the dodge manuver. The game is divided into an Easy Mode and Hard Mode in which the last game Easy Mode only offered you more bullets. However in the game at hand, Easy Mode offers you not only A LOT more bullets but also more different weapons(like a loaded Magnum, extra Assault Rifles, and more), while the entire story remained the same. In Easy Mode you get double the amount of ammunition from your gunpowder, like Gun Powder A would give you 15 Hand Gun bullets, but in easy mode you would recieve 30. Also Carlos gives you double the amount as well. The game is filled with Live Selection, a easy to adapt to process in which you select one of two choices, which both will have a unique outcome, and sometimes it will affect you later in the game, mainly when the Nemesis will attack you and such. Speaking about Nemesis, this guy is probably the most scariest fiend to ever grace your television screen. Aliens, and all of those other movie monsters aren't nearly as scary as this guy right here. He is not like other zombies, he is intelligent, fast, strong, and he has one bad a@@ weapon, and no its not one of those Barney toys. Its a giant missle launcher with rockets that is more than willing to say hello to your face. The overall plot the Nemesis has in the game is what keeps the game interesting, as he will follow you at times and if you have a Dual Shock controller you can feel his presence as it rumbles. Heck every time you face you must run away from this guy because he's just so darn scary and powerful. I've hit this guy with 10 Magnum Bullets one time and he still comes after me. You are welcomed to defeat him in the game but it will take a lot of ammo, but he is only down for a while and then gets back up or he will chase you, the only rooms he will not chase you in is your save room. Apparently the Nemesis isn't too big with vocaulary, he constantly says "S.T.A.R.S!"its like he's a Pokémon or something and he could be the next Pokémon(hope not!) because he talks Poké language but he doesn't repeat "Nemesis" he just repeats one word over and over. As for the actual game, its pretty long and longer than I expected it to be, but it must be longer considering the past RE games. The overall environments are New York like and are pretty big but remains mostly small at times, but its intentional since Capcom wanted it like that to keep the mood to suspenseful. Overall the gameplay is very sweet, only if the controls were easier to adapt to and if there was a new control scheme, but after a while the controls become second nature.

Overall: 9/10
Get this game, quit reading this review and get this game! Sure the FMVs are not nearly as long as the last game and neither is the length of the game, but you must get this game if you are a fan of horror games. Capcom does horror games the best and even new--comers should get a definite blast out of this game. Heck every step you take in the game you think the Nemesis will be right there in front of you!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/99, Updated 11/22/99