At least some of the
lights are still on.
PREVIEW
Resident Evil 3
RELEASE
April 3DEVELOPER
CapcomPUBLISHER
In-houseLINK
residentevil.com/re3NEED TO KNOWWhilethepreviousgamewaslargely
confined to the shadowy corridors of the
Raccoon City Police Department, this
remake takes the action to the streets. It’s
a compelling change of scenery, with dark,
claustrophobic alleyways opening up into
big, open areas lit by neon signs.
Set 24 hours before the events of
Resident Evil 2, Jill Valentine is
trapped in the city with the
aforementioned Nemesis, a
bio-weapon created to hunt down
survivors of RPD special forces team
STARS. The shift to an outdoor setting is a
dramatic one, but through devious
placement of crashed cars, fences,
elaborately locked doors, and other
obstacles, it still has the complex,
labyrinthine feel that defines the series.
My demo begins on a street lined with
abandoned shops, and I notice
immediately that there are a lot more
zombies in this remake. Capcom has
widened some areas to suit the urban
setting, but balanced this out by throwing
a lot more undead at you.
I decide to evade them and find myself
using the larger space to reposition thezombies, luring them up one staircase so I
can slip safely down another. There are
still plenty of tight, narrow corridors, but
these moments give the RE3 remake a
very different feel. A lot of the shops are
locked, but later I find tools including a
lock pick and a bolt cutter, and I’m able to
return and loot them for weapons, ammo,
and puzzle-solving items.MR X FACTOR
Navigating the wreckage of the city is my
main concern as I attempt to restore
power to the city’s subway network. As
well as those ever-present zombies, which
have a terrible knack for lunging out of the
shadows when I least expect it, I find
myself blocked by a raging inferno, which
requires a fire hose to extinguish.
Later I have to activate a series of
breakers in a basement, which is made
difficult by the presence of giant, mutant
fleas. If they get too close they infect Jill
with a parasite that slowly saps her health,
and the only way to get rid of them is to
munch on a green herb. Eat one and Jill
theatrically pukes the parasite up.
I manage to get the subway back up
and running, but because this is
Resident Evil, the relief is short-lived.
As I run back to grab a train to the
next area of the city, the Nemesis
crashes through a wall and charges
towards me. I run past him, as I’ve done
with the Tyrant in Resi 2 so many times,
but he catches up with me and
immediately and kills me.
Next time I lob a frag grenade and he’s
stunned long enough to let me gain some
distance. He also drops a supply case
containing a stock for my pistol – a reward
that also seems to be a clue from the
developer you have to be more aggressive
in dealing with this guy. I can shoot objects
in the environment to slow the Nemesis
down as well, including explosive barrels
and generators that zap him with arcs of
crackling electricity.
After a brief boss battle, in which the
Nemesis comes at me with a
flamethrower, I finally escape from him
and the demo ends. Resident Evil 3
doesn’t feel as excitingly fresh as the Resi
2 remake did when it was first released,
but relocating the action to Raccoon City
does enough to set it apart.
Andy KellyT
he breakout star of the Resi 2 remake
was undoubtedly Mr X, the massive
fedora-wearing mutant who relentlessly
hunted Leon and Claire. But imagine if
Mr X could jump, use weapons and choke you with
slimy tentacles. You’ve just imagined Resident Evil
3 ’s Nemesis, whose meme-spawning predecessor
seems a minor inconvenience in comparison.Jill Valentine returns. And so
does her relentless stalkerRESIDENT EVIL 3
I FIND MYSELF BLOCKED BY AN
INFERNO, WHICH REQUIRES A
FIRE HOSE TO EXTINGUISHPLAYED
IT