Resident Evil 3 Remake Review

I have pretty much been devoured by the Resident Evil 3 Remake from the moment I first played it months ago all the up to now.  I honestly cannot get enough of this game and have had a lot of fun trying to get the hell out of Racoon City. I honestly cannot think of any other Resident Evil game, in recent years, that I have had this much fun with. This game brought in a lot of missing elements that really made it shine, as well as some that were a little annoying. Overall, I have been a happy S.T.A.R.S member and wanted to give everyone my review of this fun game.

I find this remake to be one giant game of hide and seek. I constantly felt my senses on overdrive, listening to every noise, trying to see if Nemesis around the next corner. I truly felt unsafe on my first playthrough as I didn’t know where I would greet Jill’s pursuer. It really heightened the fear factor as every turn or door opened might lead me to that grinning bastard. I really love how the background music really made me pay attention to all the sounds just to see if I could get some sort of clue as to where Nemesis would be next.

The game really builds up its atmosphere with the tension and it’s such an enjoyable experience. Just trying to listen to any sound clues made me love how hopeless the game felt in terms of watching all hell breaking loose. Seeing people flee in terror or die by the unleashed horrors that Umbrella let loose, either by accident or on purpose, and seeing the aftermath of what Umbrella did to the poor unsuspecting citizens of Raccoon City was really an eye opener compared to other games in this series. Rooms where people ended their life, or just fell to their death trying to escape, made this game feel so heartbreaking. You can’t save everyone, but I really wanted to save someone as I tried to escape the city.

I do feel that Nemesis was underutilized in this remake. It just felt that he would only appear in a few places and after that you had free reign to explore. I did not mind that aspect when I first played this game as it allowed me to fully know what to do and get a good layout of the area I was playing in. I just wish that Nemesis was used more in this game, like in the original. A lot of the terror I had with the original was that Nemesis would chase you around Raccoon City. While I really wish Nemesis was more of a purser throughout the whole game, I know that, for me, the way this game handles Nemesis is perfect because my method of handling him is just running around in fear. However, I do wish dear old Nemy was more of a threat throughout the game instead of just in the places he pops up. I feel that would have really made the ultimate pursuer more frightening. Well, at least for me.

The one thing that I genuinely love, and one of the things lacking in the remake of Resident Evil 2, is the banter and growing relationship of Jill and Carlos. I really love how much we got to interact with and to see the two main characters grow closer throughout the game. That made me care so much more whether they were going to be okay. It really added to the character growth that made this remake shine. I still get a huge kick of their antics together and how much they genuinely care about one another – so much so that each would sacrifice their own life to save the other.

Carlos’s role in this game truly evolved to one where he is a leading man instead of a side character. I loved how much fun his part was in this remake and that he had more screen time. I did find that his missions are a lot more intense with much more enemies that he faces versus what Jill goes through. Sure, she is fighting dear old Nemy, but he is mowing down waves and waves of the undead which made the time we get to play as him more memorable. I did wish he had longer areas to fully explore; like, for example, having gameplay getting him to the RPD instead of just showing up. I really wanted to explore Raccoon City as Carlos even for a little bit. The only thing missing with Carlos was his cheesy line that I was hoping would show up just once. Just to make me howl in laughter.

The hospital is my least favorite section in the game and one that really made me anxious. The whole area is one giant action-packed section where we are trying to get a vaccine for Jill. I just felt that there was someone or something watching me as I played. I never felt safe. This was especially true when the hunters arrived. Then it became a more nightmarish scenario. I really felt that the hospital scene made this game come together with the original, and yet still stand up on it’s own. It felt like you were in one huge wave of aggravation, but with a huge payoff. Once Carlos’ section was over it made playing as Jill more cautious as I didn’t know what horrors were left in the area and had no idea what to fully expect. The hospital was also a great way to see what Carlos could do in the tight corners versus his section in the RPD. It made me appreciate the differences between both characters and enjoy playing as either or.

What I wanted to see in this remake was Jill exploring more areas such as the graveyard. The graveyard, in the original really stood out and made the game more memorable. I mean all good zombie movies need to have some sort of graveyard scene. All of my favorite zombie movies such as The Return of the Living Dead and Dance of the Dead, have really awesome graveyard scenes. I really cannot think of anything more terrifying than trying to get out of a graveyard with the undead rising from their graves.

I understand that this game has a set path that takes us to certain key areas. I just wanted to see more of the city before reaching the hospital. I just felt that the remake shortens itself by omitting several key landscapes that really made the original stand out in my opinion. I do hope that if Capcom does give us DLC they’ll include other areas to explore or even throw us mercenary mode. Fingers are crossed.

I do like how they made Nikolai a dick early on. I mean you knew he was looking out for himself and really not on Jill’s side or the platoon’s. You just didn’t know when his true colors would come out and when they did it was met with a lot of swear words. Nikolai really stole all scenes that he was in and made the focus all about him and his true mission. I really enjoyed that when you first meet him he pretty much pulls no punches. He is my second favorite villain right after Wesker and a memorable character that made the remake shine.

The game isn’t as long as Resident Evil 7 and I find that to be okay. You got an action-packed adrenaline joyride that only ended after the ending credits. I honestly felt that this is the better remake and much more fun than RE2. I loved that the remake added familiar settings but made a much different experience. It made the game feel brand new, yet in some ways the same. Besides my minor issues, if I want to really call them that, I had fun and I think most people would. I do urge people to give this latest installment a chance and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do.