Resident Evil 3 Nemesis is a 1999 survival horror video game developed by Capcom and released for the PlayStation. It is the third installment in the Resident Evil series and takes place before and after the events of Resident Evil 2. The story follows Jill Valentine and her efforts to escape from a city infected with a biological weapon. Choices through the game affect the story and ending. The game uses the same engine as its predecessors and features 3D models over pre-rendered backgrounds with fixed camera angles.
Originally planned as a spin-off featuring a different protagonist, Resident Evil 3 was designed to have more action-oriented gameplay than previous Resident Evil games. It features a larger number of enemies and introduces the Nemesis creature, which periodically pursues the player. Accompanied by a major marketing campaign, Resident Evil 3 received positive reviews and sold more than three million copies worldwide. Critics praised the game’s detailed graphics and the Nemesis as an intimidating villain, but some criticized its short length and story. Resident Evil 3 was ported to Dreamcast, Windows and GameCube to varying success. A remake of the game was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in 2020.
Gameplay
The player, playing as Jill Valentine, is evading a zombie. Like its predecessors, the graphical style of the game features 3D models over pre-rendered backgrounds with fixed camera angles.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is a survival horror game where the player controls the protagonist, Jill Valentine, from a third-person perspective to interact with the environment and enemies. The player takes control of another character for a brief portion of the game.[1] To advance, the player explores a city while avoiding, outsmarting and defeating enemies. The player can interact with the environment in several ways, such as opening doors, pushing objects or climbing obstacles. Scattered throughout the city are weapons, ammunition and other items, which can be collected and put in the player’s inventory. Items can be examined, used, or combined with others.[1] The inventory is limited to a certain number of slots, and the player must often move items from the inventory to a storage box located in special rooms to manage space.[1]
The player can use a variety of firearms to defeat enemies, ranging from pistols to a rocket launcher. Aside from enemies, parts of the environment, such as explosive barrels, can be shot at, causing them to explode and damage nearby enemies. The game also introduces the ability for players to dodge attacks or perform a quick 180-degree turn to evade enemies.[2] The player has a certain amount of health which decreases when attacked by enemies. Health is regained with first aid sprays, as well as herbs, which can be used separately or mixed together to increase their healing effect. The game also features an ammunition creation system that allows players to create new ammunition from different varieties of gunpowder.[1] In addition to engaging in combat, the player must often solve puzzles that focus on logical and conceptual challenges.[2]
During certain situations, the player will be put in a perilous situation, where they will be prompted to choose between two possible actions or suffer a certain penalty, if not instant death. These choices affect how the story unfolds and which ending is achieved.[1] Additionally, a creature called Nemesis is encountered multiple times throughout the game as a recurring boss. Nemesis is considerably more powerful than the player and has the ability to use a rocket launcher as a weapon, dodge incoming fire, and pursue the player from one area to the next. During one of these encounters, the player can choose to either fight Nemesis or run until he is evaded.[2] A variety of encounters are possible, with some being mandatory, and some varying in nature and location based on certain choices made by the player. Even if evaded or defeated during one of these encounters, Nemesis will inevitably continue to pursue the player until the end of the game.[1]
Upon completing the main story mode, a minigame titled “The Mercenaries: Operation Mad Jackal” is unlocked.[1] In this mode, the player must control one of three members of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service that Jill encounters during the main game and run from one side of the city to the other within a limited amount of time and resources. However, the starting time limit given is insufficient to actually perform this task directly, and the player must continuously receive time extensions by performing certain actions such as defeating enemies, rescuing civilians and exploring hidden areas. Depending on the rank received and difficulty chosen, completing the main game may unlock alternate costumes for Jill and epilogue files that detail the activities of different characters following the events of the game.[1] The mercenaries minigame and alternate costumes for Jill do not need to be unlocked in the Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast versions of the game.
