DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Capcom breaks its streak with RESIDENT EVIL 3, a half-baked remake that falls flat in almost every respect.

- Andy Kelly

The Nemesis’ hideous new look is a winner, at least.

When I first encountered the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3, a monstrous bio-weapon sent by the Umbrella Corporation to hunt and kill protagonist Jill Valentine, I felt my pulse rise. This towering stack of ugly muscle can move alarmingly fast, snag you with a pair of slimy tentacles, and even use weapons, including a colossal rocket launcher. You can outrun the Tyrant in the Resident Evil 2 remake fairly easily. Wait for a gap to open up, then slip through it. The worst he can really do is give you a firm slap. But running can’t save you from the Nemesis.

It stalks you relentlessly through the zombie-ravaged streets of Raccoon City, and always feels one step ahead of you. Seeing something that big and scary move so quickly is really unnerving, and for this first hour or so, I was starting to think this might be the scariest Resident Evil game ever.

Character animation is top notch, but the story’s weak.

At this point I assumed Resident Evil 3 would be one long, tense game of cat and mouse against a dynamic and unpredictable enemy—and I think that’s what lots of fans will have been expecting going in. But, sadly, that’s far from the case. That first run-in with the Nemesis is not only more scripted than it first appears, but basically a one-off set-piece in disguise. And for the remainder of the game the creature is promptly relegated to cutscenes and pedestrian boss battles, which is deeply disappointing. All the dread built up by that first encounter quickly dissipates.

DEAD WRONG