When this game was first released in Japan, it was titled
Biohazard: The Last Escape, which caused a murmur
among fans of the series that this would be the last game
we’d ever see. Fortunately, it looks like fans just
wouldn’t let the game die and now we’re looking
forward to several new releases on separate systems... Which
may or may not be a good thing, but that’s another
story. It does look like this is the end of the story for
Raccoon City though.
The genius of the series is the fact that there are several
different characters following the plot simultaneously.
Resident Evil, the original, showed us the beginning
with the involvement of Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield.
The sequel, Resident Evil 2, took us through with
Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Well, in this installment
takes place a few hours after Resident Evil, but
beforeResident Evil 2. This game ends
somewhere afterResident Evil 2, however.
I know, it can get confusing. At any rate, the fact that
the storyline supports all of these different events and
characters at the same time is a credit to the series. Because
it means Capcom can, does, and has released games one after
another showing the progression of each character.
As I said, this takes place after the original game. Jill
has escaped the mansion, retired from the S.T.A.R.S. team,
and it now trying to get the hell out of Dodge, err... Raccoon
City. The problem is she’s forced back by the onslaught
of undead that has been created by the rampant epidemic
of T-Virus. Now she needs to focus on her escape. This game
also introduces Carlos Oliviera, a member of the Umbrella
clean-up crew sent to Raccoon City to contain the virus.
In fact, halfway through the game Jill becomes infected,
and you take over control of Carlos as he tries to save
her.
There are two big differences between this game and the
others that came before it. First off, instead of upgrading
your weapons as much, you now focus on ammunition. The game
designers came up with a way to create the ammunition you
wanted to use by mixing different types. For example, mixing
“A Powder” and “B Powder” would
create a usable type of ammunition. The other difference
is a massive, annoying, and frightening one. That would
be Nemesis himself. Of course, Resident Evil 2 has
Tyrant, but it was nowhere near as important to the game
as Nemesis is to Resident Evil: Nemesis. He might
even be too prominent in the game. I don’t know about
you, but by the time I got to the end of this game I was
ready to scream if I heard him say “Staaarrsss...”
again. And then, of course, he did.
This game comes with good news and bad news. The good news...
There’s a whole lot of killing, with a whole lot of
weapons, in really great locations. It’s a good, solid
game with really very few problems other than those that
plague all survival horror games of its day. Things like
load times, character motion, etc. There’s also a
good incentive for finishing the game, since once finished
you can unlock more outfits for Jill (thank God) and play
through the “Arcade” style search and rescue
with the Umbrella mercenaries. That would be the aptly named,
“Mercenary mode.“ The bad news... The puzzles
are challenging because most of the time because they make
no logical sense at all. A battery in the statue of the
mayor? I have to go back how far to open the gas
station?
Even with all of that, it's still a great game and a good
chapter in the story of Resident Evil. As could easily
be predicted, Capcom made all the improvements in this game
that they needed to make to have it stand head and shoulder
above the other games. Technically, anyway. While I'd recommend
this game or anyone that liked horror games, so the casual
gamer, I'd still probably recommend Resident Evil 2
to start them out.
RATING
(Out of 5)
THE BEST PART
It has to be Mercenary mode. It's challenging, it's
fun, and you can win high powered weapons for the
next play through of the story mode.
ZOMBIE
LESSON LEARNED
Apparently the Umbrella Corporation isn't showing
Night of the Living Dead to it's mercenaries,
because they're STILL discharging firearms around
gas pumps!
