As South Africa enters its 21-day lockdown (UPDATE: Now extended by two weeks) in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus, it has left many civilians in the isolation of their homes. Many see this as a great opportunity to spend quality time with some family and loved ones, while others cherish diving into forms of entertainment to occupy their time and pass the weeks (when not working remotely, in that case). To cushion some of the tedium, Nexus has decided to create a daily feature in which we recommend games of varying lengths and content that could pass the time. Our twenty-third recommendation in Lockdown Gaming takes us back to Raccoon City before the explosion in Resident Evil 3's remake.



I previously covered the remake of Resident Evil 2, and it should come as no surprise that I absolutely adore it. It took everything that made the original game great and expanded upon it in fantastic ways that made it feel fresh while also paying respects to the stellar source material. However, just under a year of Resident Evil 2's release, Capcom had already dropped the reveal of a Resident Evil 3 remake - and naturally, I was very excited since among the original trilogy, I considered that entry to be the most entertaining from a gameplay perspective.

For the most part, Resident Evil 3's remake is still ridiculously fun, maybe even more than the original in some aspects. The controls feel a little more fluid than RE2's remake, and the focus on action meant that the pacing was always frantic and moving forward at a fast momentum. Among the big changes that the remake introduced came the decision to cut some sections of the original out, which has certainly been a hot topic online. Notably, the game completely removes the clock tower mission (though finds a clever way to replace it) and the park mission, though the removal of that arguably doesn't affect the story at all. Alongside those exclusions, many scenes are rearranged and the layout of a few areas has changed significantly, some for the better, some for the worse.



All things considered, this isn't exactly a novel concept in Capcom's remakes. Last year, Resident Evil 2's remake arguably went through similar big changes and exclusions, namely where character interactions, enemy rearrangements, and entirely new objectives are concerned. Resident Evil 3's remake does feel familiar in that regard, in that it still retains the spirit of the original game while injecting it with new (and borrowed) ideas that make it feel fresh and once again, modernized to be incredibly entertaining to play.

You play as Jill Valentine shortly after the events of the Arklay Mountains. Suffering from PTSD, Jill has to face her demons and the terrible happenings of that fateful night. However, it seems like the apocalypse ramps up early as Jill is suddenly attacked by a towering BOW called Nemesis, who comes crashing through her apartment and relentlessly pursues her for the rest of the game. The S.T.A.R.S. soldier must team up with a wayward Umbrella operative named Carlos to survive the night that Raccoon City faced the dreaded T-virus outbreak and an impending doom.



Resident Evil 3 remake's gameplay is pretty much exactly a carbon copy of Resident Evil 2 remake - which I guess is faithful to how the original games were in the first place. Like last year's remake, the camera has now removed itself from fixed angles to a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective to give Jill much more mobility. This is especially useful when trying to run away from Nemesis. Not only does it add an extra layer of tension knowing that the hulking behemoth could be inches behind you (and never knowing), but it also forces you to make use of some methodical forward dashes and evasions. New to the gameplay is Jill's ability to dodge at a perfect time, causing time to slow down and Jill to plan a more accurate shot or run away faster.



RE2's remake was a slow and masterful example of building tension through quiet moments of anxiety and horror that leaps out at you, but in RE3's remake, all of that is thrown out the window as the town of Raccoon City is engulfed in a non-stop parade of explosions, ravenous zombies, crumbling buildings, and screaming citizens. It's loud, it's chaotic, it's Resident Evil 3 in all its action-heavy glory (and not as stupidly incoherent as Resident Evil 6). It's worth noting that there are some sections where they go back to survival horror roots and really hone in on some claustrophobic tension and building anxiety (like the spiders nest mission), but for the most part, you'll be dishing out plenty of exploding rounds, shotgun blasts, and almighty Redfield punches with Carlos as you make your way through a decidedly linear Raccoon City - which I actually think works to its benefit sometimes. Also, the return to RPD is handled so damn well *chef's kiss*.



One of the biggest points of contention in the community is the game's length. Yes, it's quite short (clocking in at around 5-6 hours) with no Route A/Route B scenario between Jill and Carlos. Instead, both main characters' campaigns are merged together. Let me tell you why I love this and actually think it's welcomed. RE2 remake's biggest flaw, at least for me, was its inability to create unique playthroughs between Leon and Claire's route A/B scenarios. About 80% of each route is exactly the same, featuring the exact same puzzles and objectives, to the point where it almost doesn't make sense if their paths are meant to converge (which hardly happens). In the spirit of not repeating this mistake (and doing what the original did exactly), RE3's remake made the conscious decision to trim the fat and significantly shorten the length of the game - it's something that I will applaud them for, but I can still understand why some feel a premium price tag is a bit much.



RE3's remake does have plenty of replay value, at least for me personally. After each playthrough, you still earn points to unlock new fancy weapons and items (like health regenerating coins and infinite guns) to make repeated playthroughs more of a breeze. They're fun to collect, and the amount of points earned in each playthrough feels perfectly balanced to entice that "just one more" feeling of rushing the game, knowing exactly how and where everything falls into place. Unfortunately, where it stumbles is in the outfit department. Almost every Resident Evil game featured alternative costumes for characters once you completed the campaign, but in RE3 remake, only one costume between both Jill and Carlos is available. Hopefully Capcom adds more in future updates, but as it stands, when it comes to character customization, the variety is disappointingly shallow.



That said, there are some excellent reasons to invest in Resident Evil 3's remake - though I'll recommend that maybe you should wait for a slighter discount, but I guess the value of its content is also subjective too. For one, Nemesis is given such a massive boost in ruthlessness and appeal. His larger than life stature and intimidating presence is frightening whenever he's pursuing you through the streets - or in my case, right into save rooms. Yep, Nemesis can and will walk into save rooms to kick your *ss. It happened to me on two occasions. I love Nemesis in the remake, though I wish he was a little more involved in the plot, especially around the midway mark where he seemingly disappears for a good chunk of the story.



Is Resident Evil 3's remake as good as Resident Evil 2? Not quite. Is it just as polished and fun? Absolutely. What makes this remake work is the banter, the quippy writing and exchanges between Jill and Carlos (who share great chemistry), and the relentless pace of the game. It sometimes slows down for character building moments, but that doesn't last long as we're always in the thick of some intense action set piece. I loved the idea of merging both routes together in one campaign, much like the original, which eliminates one of the biggest problems about RE2's remake - though at the expense of some replayability incentives. I didn't feel the cut content as much as most fans did, but I also appreciated how it was able to weave together a solid narrative regardless of taking some shortcuts. Resident Evil 3 Remake isn't perfect, but it's a lovingly recreated vision of a classic from a passionate team who once again understand just how to bolster the modern RE experience.

Other Lockdown Gaming Features:

Lockdown Gaming Day 1: Skyrim Special Edition
Lockdown Gaming Day 2: Persona 5
Lockdown Gaming Day 3: Fallout 4
Lockdown Gaming Day 4: NieR: Automata
Lockdown Gaming Day 5: Bloodborne
Lockdown Gaming Day 6: Anthem & Fallout 76
Lockdown Gaming Day 7: Alien: Isolation
Lockdown Gaming Day 8: Final Fantasy VII
Lockdown Gaming Day 9: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Lockdown Gaming Day 10: Portal
Lockdown Gaming Day 11: Resident Evil 2 Remake
Lockdown Gaming Day 12: Limbo
Lockdown Gaming Day 13: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Lockdown Gaming Day 14/15: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition
Lockdown Gaming Day 16: Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
Lockdown Gaming Day 17: Resident Evil Origins Collection
Lockdown Gaming Day 18/19: Final Fantasy XV
Lockdown Gaming Day 20: The Witness
Lockdown Gaming Day 21/22: Assassin's Creed Odyssey

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