Story

Resident Evil 3 takes place between Resident Evil 1 and 2 where our heroine, Jill Valentine will once again face a new breed of zombies in Raccoon City. She meets up with another young hero Carlos Rivera, a mercenary of Umbrella who will aid Jill in her escape in the zombie infested town. Players will temporarily take the role of Carlos after Jill gets rendered unconscious by the rocket launcher toting terror, the Nemesis. If Carlos succeeds in riving Jill, players will continue the game playing as Jill. The game will continue on taking place right after the events of the second Resident Evil just 24 hours after Leon and Claire make their escape. I don't want to spoil the entire game for you all because the storyline in this game is just amazing and more gripping than both the first two games combined.

Graphics

The graphics of Resident Evil 3 is where the game really shines. The visuals look much better than the previous games with improved detail and design of the landscaping, monsters and characters.

The realism of the devastated Raccoon City is an incredible sight to see. Buildings are in flames, cars are destroyed, and the city streets are covered with bodies, broken glass, and a whole lot of other rubble and debris. It looks like the city was overrun with crazed monsters (oh yeah, it was!). Also note that Raccoon City is fairly large so there will be lots of things to look out for.

The design of the characters are also amazing. All the monsters are convincingly frightening and there is more variety on the appearance of the zombies. Watching the heads explode and the blood splattering everywhere is very entertaining and never gets old. Another frighteningly cool thing is that you can watch the zombies catch on fire from a flame shot and they'll still come after you while burning! The best and most frightening of them all is the Nemesis. He's a huge freak who's very resilient to your weapons and wields a gigantic rocket launcher. Would you run from something like that? Of course you would.

On the prettier side of the game, Jill Valentine looks pretty hot! She's a zombie killing chick wearing just a tube-top and mini skirt (hmm, I wonder how she holds all the guns and ammo wearing just that…) and she's out to save the city! Who could resist such a woman? ;)

Sound

The sound and music of RE3 are great contributing factors to the eerie atmosphere of the game so this is one of those games where you'll want to crank up the volume! The creaking doors, the mysterious sound of footsteps, and the howl of the wind will keep you looking over your shoulder or out the window as you play. The sound of the zombies chewing on flesh and groaning as they walk towards you are also equally frightening. The game's music, although similar to RE2's adds to the creepy mood and will send chills up your spine. The Resident Evil series is known to have bad voice acting. RE3 is no different from the others. Although the acting is not so terrible, Capcom should have gotten a much more better cast using their multi-million dollar resources. With excellent sound effects and music, the voice acting should have been equally great as well.

Gameplay

RE3's gameplay is very much similar to those of RE1 and RE2 with a few minor improvements and some new features that add more depth. RE3 retains all the zombie blasting excitement and huge variety of weapons like the previous RE games so you'll know what to expect in the fun factor department. The controls of the game are basically the same with the addition of an instant (and very useful) 180 degree turn. Another new improvement is that maps can be easily accessed using the L2 key without having to go through the menu system.

To add some non-linearity to the game, the player is able to make Live Choices in certain situations that can effect the outcome of the storyline. For example, sometimes you'll have an option to fight the Nemesis, run away from him, or hide in a safe area. Live Choices can speed the pace of the game and increase some tension at certain moments. Like all of the other Resident Evil games, ammunition runs out pretty quick making you desperately search for some bullets. This time, there is a new ability to create and customize your ammo using various combinations of gunpowder which contributes to the exploration and replay value of RE3.

Speaking of exploration, unlike the earlier RE games where the focus is just one building (mansion in RE1 and police station in RE2), RE3 takes place throughout the entire Raccoon City making it a huge adventure game. Jill will be journeying through the city streets, parking lots, a Café, City Hall, and more. You'll even get to explore the very same police station of RE2! As I said earlier, this game is huge.

Of course, what would Resident Evil be without the annoying puzzles? Yes folks, the stupid puzzles are back in the game and they are still a pain in the ass. Quite a few of them seem out of place and it will take awhile to name all of them. Some of the puzzles will make you run around the city like mad just to get the damn thing solved because they require a lot of backtracking. Once they're solved however, you'll be very satisfied.

Overall

Resident Evil 3 is the best of the series because the graphics are better, the sound is outstanding, the storyline is compelling, the game is a lot of fun, and even the load times are faster! In other words, Resident Evil 3 is better than the rest in every single way (except for the corny voice acting). This is an instant classic and is a definite must have for all you diehard Resident Evil fans out there!