Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

This was my favorite Resident Evil game for the PS1 and one of the most intense (if not, THE most intense) entry for the PS1.

The space of the game takes place before and after the events of Resident Evil 2. For about 90% of the game, you control S. T. A. R. S. Member Jill Valentine as she tries to escape from the now zombie infested Raccoon City while also avoiding a relentless and seemingly unstoppable new enemy sent by Umbrella. I'll get to him soon... She also meets up with U. B. C. S. corporal Carlos Oliviera who assists her throughout the game.

First of all, I love how the game sheds more light on the Raccoon City incident. More areas of the city are revealed, and you're given more opportunity to explore them and witness the effects of the T-Virus outbreak. RE2 was limited to a few streets and alleys, the RPD, some sewer tunnels, and the Umbrella facility NEST. Here, you'll traverse through city streets, a power station, restaurant, bar, clock tower, hospital, park, and finally an Umbrella facility.

Thanks to some new mechanics, the game is a bit more action orientated. You have a gunpowder mixer to create certain types of ammunition, a dodging feature for Jill to avoid damage, explosives barrels and boxes to shoot and kill enemies, split-second decision making that could mean difference between life and death, especially during scripted encounters with Nemesis. Plus, despite retaining tank controls, you can now make 180 turns to quickly retreat from danger.

The dialogue is decent, and the characters are well developed. Jill is more hardened and confident, thanks to her experiences in RE1. Despite being a seasoned Umbrella mercenary, Carlos still has a good heart and proves himself a reliable companion for Jill. Mikhail is a brave man grieving for the deaths of his troops and even sacrifices his life to save Jill from Nemesis, and Nikolai is the human antagonist who is a greedy opportunist.

The soundtrack was pretty good with dark and gloomy music like "City of Ruin" or "City without Hope" that emphasize that Raccoon is dead and hopelessly lost to the T-Virus. And we have the spine-shivering "Feel the Tension" that plays whenever Nemesis is nearby.

Speaking of which, throughout the game, Jill must avoid Nemesis, one of the most intimidating enemies in video game history. Not only is he super strong, fast, and durable, but intelligent enough to use weapons, open doors, set ambushes, track Jill no matter where she goes, and even speak, although all he says is his infamous catchphrase: "Sssssstaaaarsss!!!"

I remember being pretty damn impressed when I first got this game (first one I'd actually ever picked up). Having played the others since, I can say that this is equal to RE2 (which is saying something, considering that was great), though Nemesis is the best boss of the original three as far as I'm concerned.

Pros: + Nemesis. One of the most unrelenting, scariest bosses in gaming. + Pretty strong cast of characters. + Genuinely scary, a lot of the time.

Cons: - Same premise as before, in many ways (not the most original game). - Same gameplay as before, too.

I remember playing this game when it first came out in 1999 on the Dreamcast and thinking how intense/scary it was compared to RE 1 and 2. Resident Evil 3 takes place in Raccoon city (before and after RE 2) and you play as S.T.A.R.S member Jill Valentine who is desperately trying to escape. You meet a few characters along the way and some interesting enemies including Umbrellas new monster Nemesis who's only mission is to kill the remaining S.T.A.R.S members. The game is full of fun challenging puzzles way better then the other games in my opinion. And for its time had incredible cut scene graphics. To this day this game is my favorite video game of all time. Every time I play it its just as interesting as the first. 10/10

The graphics are great, the video sequences are even better and the puzzles are very good. This is a great new game. I liked the way that the zombies can now walk up and down stairs to get you. You'll never be bored with this game. There are always things to kill and puzzles to solve. Get this game, it's great!

Resident Evil 2 was everyone's favorite Resident Evil title at the time and with Resident Evil 3, it was some people personal favorite.

Positives: We get to play as one of the characters from the first game, Jill Valentine. The game still use tank controls but added something new that the pervious games doesn't have: dodging and 180 quick turn. These mechanics are use to help in some situations unlike the last 2 games, moving into a little more action. We finally get to explored the streets of Raccoon City where in Resident Evil 2 you explored the police station. While the game started to feel more action-toward, we we're quickly reminded that it's a horror game from one creature name Nemesis. Nemesis is seem like a clone of Mr. X but the difference is that he's smarter, have tentacles, and RUNS AFTER YOU! Nemesis mostly stalks you everywhere you go, which case me to get very paranoid throughout the game. You have a reloading tool which can be used with gunpowder to create ammo if you're running low. The more you use it, the better skilled you get. Also, the background environment looks way better than RE2, actually looks like a 3D game and it still holds up. There's a HD version on PC where you get a sharper look.

Negatives: Now honestly, I didn't really have anything negative to say but looking back at it, I do have issues with this. I did say the game seem to lean toward action which it's fine, but my problem is that the controls wasn't meant for a fast paced game like this and it's really a struggle. The amount of backtracking is such a pain. The previous has backtracking, but this one has the most out of all the 3 and it's a little annoying. We get to see new characters in this game which I liked, but they never showed up or even mentioned in future titles. Why introduced us to new people when we're not going to see them again. What a waste. I'm not going to be talking about the graphics or characters because this game came out on PS1.

Overall, this is my personal favorite Resident Evil game (I think I'm going to get hated for this but I think this game is better than RE2). It have some flaws but it's pretty enjoyable and addicting to play.